The Best Time to Take Your Supplements | EP 395

Summary

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Podcast Summary: The Dr. Gundry Podcast

Episode 395: The Best Time to Take Your Supplements

Release Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Dr. Steven Gundry
Length: ~13 min (main content before ads)

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Overview

In this episode, Dr. Steven Gundry answers listener-submitted questions about supplements—dispelling common myths and providing practical guidance on timing, quality, and necessity. The main focus is on demystifying when and how to take supplements, how to spot high-quality products, and whether supplements are necessary given today's food supply challenges. Dr. Gundry weaves in decades of clinical experience and data from patient outcomes to drive home his points.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Is There a “Best” Time or Way to Take Supplements?

• [01:15] Can I take all my supplements at once?
  • Dr. Gundry: "Yes, you can." The best way to take supplements is whichever way ensures you’re actually taking them consistently.
  • He notes some individuals do better splitting doses, but emphasizes consistency over timing.
  • Quote:

    “Whatever way I can actually get you to take the supplements is the correct way for you.” — Dr. Gundry (01:29)

  • Supplements do NOT have to be taken with food or on an empty stomach.

2. Shelf Life & Storage

• [02:33] Most supplements have a long shelf life.
• Exception: High polyphenol olive oil as a supplement can degrade after air exposure. Buy in small containers for freshness.

3. Can You Take Supplements With…?

• [03:10] Alcohol:
  • If taking them with red wine or champagne means you’ll actually take your supplements, it’s fine, though Dr. Gundry notes this with some reservation.
• During fasting (Do supplements break a fast?):
  • “No. Supplements do not break a fast. Even fish oil will not break a fast.”
• Before a blood test:
  • Not necessary, and likely negligible effect on test results.
• With coffee or juice:
  • Any beverage is fine—except maybe not juice, but mainly for health reasons.

4. Quality Control: How to Choose High-Quality Supplements

• [05:47] Beware of online bargains:
  • Many web-sold supplements lack the declared active ingredients—up to two-thirds, according to some studies.
• [06:45] Real-life cautionary tale:
  • Patient’s supplement switch led to a dramatic drop in CoQ10 blood levels.
  • Quote:

    “What seems like a miraculously great deal, you’re usually swallowing sawdust rather than the active ingredient.” — Dr. Gundry (07:41)

  • Solution: Buy from reputable sources, even if it costs more.

5. Are Supplements Necessary? Can’t We Get Everything From Food?

• [08:29] Modern food is nutritionally depleted:
  • Even with perfect organic diets, soil depletion means key nutrients are often missing.
• Dr. Gundry asserts he can always detect when patients stop supplements based on blood work.
  • Quote:

    “Sadly, our soil is so depleted of nutrients and vitamins that you could eat perfectly organically and still be very deficient in essential nutrients that your body needs.” — Dr. Gundry (08:50)

• Supplements are not “expensive urine”—their effects are measurable.

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Memorable Listener Questions & Answers

Inflammatory properties of animal products and dairy

• [09:34] Q (Lafayette 1964, YouTube): “Does this also mean that all dairy products from cows have those same inflammatory properties?”
• Dr. Gundry:
  • Dairy (cow, goat, sheep, buffalo) has inflammatory potential due to NEU 5 GC, unless fermented (e.g., yogurt, cheese, kefir), which removes this compound.
  • However, some people still react to dairy regardless.
  • Quote:

    “Just because you get rid of neu5gc does not mean that you yourself won’t still react to it.” — Dr. Gundry (10:08)

The “Health Halo” of Gluten-Free Products

• [10:42] Listener Review (Vitaleo Co, Instagram): Called out “the gluten free label as a health halo.”
• Dr. Gundry:
  • Agrees the food industry exploits health trends without delivery genuine benefits.
  • Quote:

    “If I have learned anything from doing this for 30 years now, the food industry loves a trend… and will not tell you the truth about what’s actually happening in that trend.” — Dr. Gundry (10:55)

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Notable Quotes

• "Supplements do not make expensive urine. We can see the results on blood tests and people can feel the results." — Dr. Gundry (07:21)
• "However I can get these things into you is the proper way to take them." — Dr. Gundry (03:01)
• "Sadly, we're not hunter gatherers collecting our food in 8ft of loam soil. That's the truth." — Dr. Gundry (09:16)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:15 – Taking supplements all at once vs. twice a day
• 02:33 – Shelf life and storage (olive oil exception)
• 03:10 – Taking supplements with alcohol, fasting, before blood work, and with coffee
• 05:24 – Are vitamins supplements? How to know if they’re high quality
• 06:45 – The CoQ10 patient example; dangers of bargain supplements
• 08:29 – Can we get everything from food? (Soil depletion discussion)
• 09:34 – Listener Q&A: Inflammation from dairy; gluten-free label discussion

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Tone & Language

Dr. Gundry’s style throughout is practical, plainspoken, and light on jargon. His advice is both science-backed and grounded in decades of patient experience. The episode’s tone is encouraging: focus on sustainability and what works best for each individual, rather than absolute “rules”.

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Conclusion

Dr. Gundry’s key message: The “best” time to take your supplements is whenever ensures you actually take them. Quality matters far more than timing, and supplements are often necessary in the modern diet due to depleted soil and food nutrient loss. Stick with reputable sources, beware miracle deals online, and personalize your routine for consistency and results.

For further questions—Dr. Gundry encourages listeners to submit them for future episodes.

Transcript

[Dr. Gundry]

You've been sending in your supplement questions and today we're getting into all of it. No fluff, just straight answers. Whether you're wondering what to stack, what to skip, or when to take what, we're covering it all right now, so stay tuned. Dr. Gundry here. I want to give a big thanks to all of you who are listening to my podcast right now. To show my thanks, we're giving listeners the chance to win free Gundry MD products formulas designed to support gut health, inflammation, energy and healthy aging. Here's all you need to do. Leave a positive review for this podcast on Apple Podcasts. Then take a screenshot of your review and email it to podcastr gundry.com that's it. You'll be entered for a chance to win a free prize that can help support your health from the inside out. So don't overthink it. Leave a review, send the screenshot, and you could be our next winner.

[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

Doctor Gundry, can I take all my supplements at once?

[Dr. Gundry]

The answer is yes, you can.

[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

I tend to take my supplements twice a day, but my wife finds it much more convenient to take all of her supplements at once. And quite honestly, through the years, what I've learned is whatever way I can actually get you to take the supplements is the correct way for you. Some women don't like to take a lot of supplements at once, particularly on an empty stomach. Others have absolutely no problem. So many times I see my patients who take their supplements twice a day forget their afternoon or evening dose and I can see it on their blood work. Yes, I can see it on their blood work. Supplements do not make expensive urine. So however I can get them into you is the proper way to take them. And no, you don't have to take them on an empty stomach. No, you don't have to take them with food. However it works for you is the correct way. Do supplements go bad? Shelf life for supplements is actually incredibly long. That's the good news. The only bad news is if you're using, for instance, high polyphenol olive oil as a supplement and we should view it as a supplement that will go bad once it's exposed to air. So you always want to buy high polyphenol olive oil in smaller containers that you'll use more rapidly. Otherwise, supplements have a very long shelf life. Can I take supplements with alcohol? Well, I hate to say this, but if that'll get you to take your supplements, you and you're going to use red wine or champagne?

[Dr. Gundry]

Sure.

[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

Do supplements break a fast? The Good news is no. Supplements do not break a fast. Even fish oil will not break a fast. Can you take supplements before a blood test? Well, I'm not sure why you take supplements before a blood test because you're usually going to get your blood drawn at 8 or 9 o' clock in the morning and you're going to be told not to eat anything and hydrate. On the other hand, we're not going to see the effect of that immediate taking of the supplements on a blood drop. Can I take my supplements with coffee again? It really doesn't matter what you use to take your supplements, except of course, a glass of juice. However I can get these things into you is the proper way to take them.

[Dr. Gundry]

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[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

Are vitamins considered supplements? Yes, vitamins are considered supplements. How do I know if a supplement is high quality? Whenever you're buying supplements, it's really particularly if you're going to buy them, for instance, on Amazon. It's really buyer beware. There have been now many published studies. A lot of them have been done by a supplement manufacturer now. And up to two thirds of the supplements that have been examined, purchased from the Internet do not have the active ingredients that they say they do. I'll give you a recent example with a patient of mine who has very low levels of coenzyme Q10COQ10. And we had eventually got them to a point where they needed 600 milligrams of CoQ10 every day to get adequate levels. Now, that's actually quite a bit, but that's what this person needed. And with the next blood draw, their CoQ10 levels plummeted. It was like they weren't taking anything at all. And I said, you're not taking your Coq 10 anymore.

[Dr. Gundry]

They said, oh, yes, yes, we are.

[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

And I said, and you're taking the same one that we were using. And they said, oh, no, found a better one on the Internet. It has 600mg of CoQ10 and it's got 10 other great ingredients and it was cheaper. And I go, oops, that's a fraud. There's nothing in it.

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[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

So I said, look, it's a little bit more money. Go back to the one that was working. So the next time we tested her blood in three months, bingo, her coenzyme Q10 levels were normal. And that goes back to what I always tell my patients. First of all, supplements do not make expensive urine. We can see the results on blood tests and people can feel the results. But number two, particularly on the Internet, buyer beware. What seems like a miraculously great deal, you're usually swallowing sawdust rather than the active ingredient. Do I actually need to take supplements? Can't I get everything from my food? Well, it would be nice and naive to think that you could actually get everything you need from food. Sadly, our soil is so depleted of nutrients and vitamins that you could eat perfectly organically and still be very deficient in essential nutrients that your body needs. And I see this over and over again with some of my most compulsive patients, and I have a number of patients who want to prove it to themselves. So they'll stop the supplements without telling me, get their blood drawn and see if they can catch me. And I'm batting 100% at knowing who surreptitiously stopped their supplements. I always catch it and they're always amazed that, oh, my gosh, I thought I was doing great. I'm sorry. Our modern food is devoid of. Of the things we need. Sadly, we're not hunter gatherers collecting our food in 8ft of loam soil. That's the truth. That's why supplements do not make expensive urine. So I hope that answers a lot of your questions. Let me know if you've got a question, just put it down in the comment section and hopefully I'll be able to answer it next go round.

[Dr. Gundry]

The question of the week comes from Mr. Lafayette or Lafayette 1964. Over on YouTube on my episode about collagen, they asked, so pork and beef have inflammatory properties. Does this also mean that all dairy products from cows have those same inflammatory properties? Well, yes, dairy that isn't fermented, whether it's cow, goat, sheep, even Buffalo, has NEU 5 GC. But the good news is if you ferment it either in fermented cheeses or yogurts or kefir, that is gone. Now, having said that, a number of my patients do react to dairy. So just because you get rid of neu5gc does not mean that you yourself won't still react to it. Hope that helps. Now it's time for the review of the week, a review from Vitaleo Co over on Instagram on my reel about the truth about gluten free products, they said the gluten free label has become a health halo that tricks people into thinking ultra processed junk is suddenly healthy. Thanks for calling this out, Dr. Gundry. The food industry loves to exploit health trends. Well, does the food industry ever love to exploit health trends? If I have learned anything from doing this for 30 years now, the food industry loves a trend, will hop on a trend, and will not tell you the truth about what's actually happening in that trend. And I'm here to help you learn what I've learned over the last 30 years thanks to my patience. Thanks for writing

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[Podcast Host/Outro]

I hope you enjoyed this episode of the Dr. Gundry podcast. If you did, please share this with family and friends. You never know how one of these health tips can completely transform someone's life when you take the time to share it with them. There's also the Dr. Gundry podcast you can YouTube channel where we have tens of thousands of free health insights that can help you and your loved ones live a long, vital life. Let's do this together.

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[Dr. Gundry]

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[Dr. Gundry]

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[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

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[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

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[Dr. Gundry]

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[Supplement Questioner/Interviewer]

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