When you wake:Medications for thyroid (Synthroid) and osteoporosis (Boniva, Fosamax). Take these about half an hour before breakfast, says Prevention advisory board member Jennifer Reinhold, PharmD, and wait 2 hours before taking supplements, which make these drugs less effective. With lunch:Calcium and magnesium. Break up calcium intake into doses of 500 mg or less, because that’s all your body can use at once, says Heather Mangieri, RD, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. If your first dose is at lunch, you can take the next (if needed) at dinner. It’s good to take vitamin D at the same time, since it aids absorption of the minerals. Before bed:Aspirin for heart health; also statins. People with prehypertension who took aspirin at bedtime had lower blood pressure readings than those who took it in the morning, found a 2009 study at the University of Vigo in Spain. Because you produce most of your cholesterol at night, you should also take cholesterol-lowering simvastatin (Zocor) at bedtime, Dr. Reinhold says. More from Prevention: 3 Medication Mistakes That Everyone Makes
