Dietary Supplements: Essential Vitamins and Minerals for Older Adults

Key Points

• Essential supplements for seniors keep you healthy as you age.

• Take a multivitamin for broad nutritional support, or target specific nutrient deficiencies.

• Choose top supplements that boost your health.

Do you have a nagging sense that you don't feel your best? Do you have trouble sleeping, experience problems with digestion, or get sick frequently? Many common later-in-life health concerns improve just from using the right senior health supplements.

This article looks at essential supplements for seniors. It has you covered, from the best nutritious senior diet to the top minerals for seniors. The best supplements for aging help prevent chronic illness, increase energy, and keep your bones and muscles strong.

Try these nutritional supplements for elderly health.

Adult Multivitamin Multimineral

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by Centrum 

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09/27/2023 01:10 am GMT

A Multivitamin a Day Keeps the Doctor Away

The best way to get all the necessary nutrients is to eat a varied diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, good protein sources, and healthy fats. However, you may not absorb enough of your food's vitamins and minerals as you age. 

“Proper nutrition throughout adulthood is crucial in laying the foundation for healthy aging, but most people fail to realize that your body’s reliance on certain nutrients changes as you age,” says Erica Savage-Jeter, M.D., a family physician and divisional chief medical officer at CenterWell Senior Primary Care in South Carolina.

Diseases, surgeries, gastrointestinal illnesses, and alcoholism can prevent you from absorbing nutrients. Plus, common medications like diuretics, proton pump inhibitors, and treatments for Parkinson’s disease reduce nutrient absorption. 

Multivitamins are an excellent daily supplement for seniors who cannot meet their nutritional requirements through diet alone. Look for one that contains the Recommended Daily Allowance amounts of the best vitamins for seniors and bears the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) seal of approval on the label. Elderly supplement brands like Centrum, One-A-Day, and Nature Made are good options.

Centrum Adult Multivitamin for men and women helps you maintain your overall health. Each tablet contains antioxidants like vitamins C and E, plus twenty-three micronutrients, including Vitamin D3 to support bone health, B Vitamins for metabolism support, and essential minerals like iron and zinc, which are top minerals for seniors. 

Vitamin D, AKA the Sunshine Vitamin

Taking Vitamin D is one of the top senior vitamin recommendations. It’s called the sunshine vitamin because your body converts direct sunlight into an active form of this nutrient. People over 65 produce less of this vitamin because they go outside less, and the body grows less efficient at converting sunlight into vitamin D as you age.

Vitamin D builds healthy bones, reduces inflammation, supports the immune system, aids in muscle function, helps generate brain cells, and acts as an antioxidant. Low levels of vitamin D increase your risk of falls and fall injuries. 

Many older adults benefit from vitamin D supplements since getting enough vitamin D from sunlight or food alone is challenging. Look for trusted brands like Nature's Bounty, NOW Foods, or Garden of Life.

Nature’s Bounty Vitamin D provides 2000 IU of Vitamin D3, the same form naturally produced in the body during sunlight exposure. This supplement helps support the production of Vitamin D all year long. Nature’s Bounty Vitamin D3 Softgels are non-GMO, gluten- and sugar-free, and contain no artificial colors or sweeteners.

Fish-Rich Omega-3 Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are a beneficial daily supplement for seniors. Omega-3s are unsaturated fats naturally found in fish such as herring, salmon, or tuna or in flax. 

This healthy fat regulates blood triglycerides, reduces heart disease, reduces inflammation, strengthens joints and bones, protects brain function, and eases breathing if you have asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD). 

Many people consume too little omega-3 fatty acids, especially if they seldom eat fish or flax oil. Quality nutritional supplements from makers like Nordic Naturals, Nature Made, and NOW Foods ensure you benefit from this essential nutrient.

Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega features high concentrations of omega-3 fish oil in their soft gels. This formula meets the daily recommended dose suggested by the American Heart Association to support a healthy heart. Don’t worry about fishy burps — Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega is in the same form naturally found in fish for optimal absorption and features a great lemon taste.

Nordic Naturals fish oil is non-GMO, gluten- and dairy-free, and has no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives.

Bone-Building Calcium 

Calcium is one of the top minerals for seniors. It keeps your bones strong and supports healthy muscle function, nerve transmission, and hormone secretion. You need more calcium as you age because your body absorbs it less efficiently. Over two-thirds of older adults don’t get enough calcium from their diet.

Your body needs calcium in conjunction with vitamin D for proper absorption. Choose an elderly-friendly supplement brand of calcium like Nature's Bounty, Viactiv, or Caltrate.

Nature’s Bounty Calcium Plus Vitamin D3 contains 1200 mg of calcium plus 1000 IU of vitamin D3. Calcium Plus Vitamin D3 softgels are gluten- and sugar-free and contain no artificial flavor.

Magnesium the Conductor

Magnesium helps more than 300 enzymes carry out chemical reactions in the body, like building proteins and strong bones and regulating blood sugar, blood pressure, and muscle and nerve functions. 

Aging causes decreased magnesium absorption in the gut and increased excretion in urine. Plus, some medications can lower magnesium stores. Alcohol abuse, digestive malabsorption, and type 2 diabetes may also reduce magnesium levels.

Essential supplements for seniors help ensure your body gets the necessary magnesium. Look for proven brands like Natural Vitality, Solgar, and NOW Foods.

Natural Vitality Calm Magnesium Citrate Supplement is a dietary supplement in an unflavored powder form that supports healthy magnesium levels and provides a calming and uniquely relaxing experience. This award-winning vegan and gluten-free drink mix uses magnesium sourced from the Pacific Ocean.

Energy Boosting Vitamin B12

Vitamin B12 is a water-soluble vitamin that helps with DNA creation, red blood cell formation, and proper nerve function. It aids in so many vital functions that it’s one of the best supplements for aging. Low vitamin B-12 levels cause anemia, fatigue, gastrointestinal issues, constipation, unintended weight loss, neurological changes, confusion, and mouth soreness.

Animal products are the primary dietary source of vitamin B12, so if you don’t consume meat or dairy, you need an alternate source of B12 to prevent deficiency. Choose senior health supplements from a reliable manufacturer like Nature's Bounty, Garden of Life, or Jarrow Formulas.

Nature's Bounty Vitamin B12 comes in easy-to-swallow, coated tablets. These supplements are vegetarian, non-GMO, and free of artificial flavors, sugar, lactose, and gluten.

Vitamin C the Immune Booster

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is another top senior vitamin recommendation. It protects against free radical damage and strengthens your immune system by boosting white blood cell production and antioxidants. It also supports good heart health, increases iron absorption, and helps your body produce collagen. 

Choose nutritional supplements for elderly health, like vitamin C from a quality manufacturer such as Nature Made, Emergen-C, or NOW Foods.

Nature Made Vitamin C supplements provide 1000 mg of vitamin C to take once daily. This vitamin C supplement has no color added, no artificial flavors, no added preservatives, and is gluten-free. 

Probiotics for Gut Health

Probiotics have become a buzzword in recent years. Both good bacteria, which aid digestion and fight infection, and harmful bacteria, which can trigger diarrhea, gas, and cramping, populate your gut. When your bacteria levels are out of balance, it impacts your physical and mental health.

Fermented foods like yogurt and sauerkraut contain dietary probiotics, while supplements contain live bacteria in pills or powders. Choose a reputable manufacturer like Culturelle, Garden of Life, or Renew Life for a healthy dose of live probiotics for your gut. 

Culturelle Daily Probiotic Capsules contain powdered Lactobacillus rhamnosus (LGG), a probiotic strain that has been clinically studied and proven effective. LGG helps your digestive system work better. To preserve the billions of CFUs (colony-forming units) in Culturelle, store it in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Culturelle is vegetarian and contains no gelatin, gluten, milk, soy, wheat, or preservatives.

Zinc the Infection Fighter

Zinc is one of the top minerals for seniors. It is an essential trace mineral that helps the immune system function properly. Zinc deficiency reduces your immunity and increases your likelihood of infectious diseases, a significant cause of death in older adults.

Older people tend to have lower zinc levels and low zinc intake. Supplements help you get adequate zinc when you can’t consume enough. Choose effective supplements from brands like Nature's Bounty, NOW Foods, and Garden of Life.

Get Your Essential Vitamins and Minerals With Supplements

Many seniors can’t consume all the necessary vitamins and minerals for optimal health. Diseases, medications, illnesses, and eating difficulties make it challenging to consume an adequate healthy diet for seniors. The body grows less efficient at absorbing certain nutrients as you age, making it even harder to ensure a well-rounded nutrient intake.

Taking supplements that contain essential vitamins and minerals fills these gaps, giving your body the nourishment it needs to stay healthy in your senior years.

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