As you get older, you can’t help but notice that your body changes. From child to youth to adult to senior citizen, your body is in a constant state of flux.
You watch your weight, eat nutritious foods, exercise regularly and generally take care of yourself. Yet your muscles ache more often; you slow down; your stamina isn’t quite what it used to be, and you become ill more often. You do your best, but sometimes the human body needs a little boost. That’s where your vitamin and mineral supplements help.
Because your body’s needs change over time, so should your multi-vitamins. What you took as a 25-year-old doesn’t supply your 50-year old body with all that it needs now. Adjust your supplement intake to your chronological, diet and activity needs. Although the foods you eat gave you all the essential elements your younger body needed, and your health and fitness reflected your paying attention, as you age, your metabolism changes: Your body doesn’t absorb vitamins and minerals the same way any longer. Even medication you take may negatively affect your vitamin and mineral absorption. Almost one-third of senior citizens experience vitamin and mineral deficiencies despite a well-rounded diet.
Some terrific and essential elements you want to make sure you take regularly in your silver years include
1) Calcium: Both men’s and women’s bones become brittle. Your body has a harder time absorbing the calcium in the dairy products you eat, such as milk, eggs and cheese. Additional calcium supplements may, at face value, provide more than the daily recommended ‘dose,’ but remember: Your body is allowing more calcium to pass through the body than it used to. So long as you don’t go overboard on the element, maintaining a healthy diet and taking calcium through supplements is a good thing.
2) Vitamin D: This vitamin is crucial: It helps your body absorb calcium, helps your kidneys and other internal organs. Foods rich in Vitamin D include fatty fish, milk and other foods. Adding the element in a daily supplement ensures you receive what you need—50 to 70 years old, 10mcg; over 70 years old, 15 mcg every day at a minimum.
3) Potassium: Again, both genders use this mineral. Potassium, among other health benefits, is considered ‘brain food.’ Feed your bones, ligaments, tendons—and your brain with this crucial supplement.
4) Iron: Women need more iron than men throughout their lives, but both genders should maintain a healthy level. Foods rich in iron include spinach, beans, meats, cereals and grain. Adding iron to your diet through a good, daily supplement helps balance and maintain good iron levels in your system, regardless of natural fluctuations in your diet.
5) Vitamin B12 : Absolutely necessary for your bones and muscles, make sure you receive enough of this protein. Vitamin B12 is vital for cell replication and production of something called SAMe (S-adenosyl-L-methionine). It works with folic acid to control levels of homocysteine, which is an amino acid. If you have too much of this amino acid, you increase your risk of a heart attack, a stroke and maybe developing Alzheimer’s disease or osteoporosis.
6) Vitamins A, C, E, B6, and folic acid: Because many older citizens eat both smaller portions and fewer vegetables, whole grain and fruit products, which can be expensive, it is vital that these additional vitamins and minerals be included via a daily supplement. Your skin, heart, circulatory system, nervous system and musculature still depend on receiving all the nutrients they need to work as well as they can for you.
Take care of your body. Adjust and continue to take age-oriented daily supplements.
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