There’s no shortage of dietary supplements lining the shelves at the supermarket or local vitamin shop. Arranged from A to Z, you can find everything from Abscess Root to Zizyphus, but which ones should you take?
While there are some supplements that are beneficial at every stage in life, as we get older, our dietary and health needs change.
That means that our supplement needs change as well, to fill in the “gaps” that appear in our forties, fifties, sixties, and beyond.
1. Fish Oil
We tend to think of fish oil as beneficial for brain health, but it does so much more than that!
Supplementing with fish oil provides the body with essential omega-3 fatty acids that help the immune system and the nervous system. According to Dr. James Chestnut, DC, omega-3 fatty acids are one of the most important nutrients ever identified for human health. These fatty acids are in every cell in the body, and they are vital for optimal function.
When the body becomes deficient, it makes you more susceptible to cancer and heart disease. DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) supplementation improves cardiovascular health, lowers LDL cholesterol, and helps prevent chronic illness.1
The modern American diet doesn’t contain many natural sources of omega-3s, making supplementation crucial, especially as we age.
2. Collagen
It’s no secret that wrinkles and a loss of skin elasticity go hand-in-hand with getting older, so it’s necessary to give our bodies the building blocks they need to regenerate from the inside out.
After the age of 25, your body produces less and less collagen over time. The first signs of a collagen slow-down include fine lines on the face, indentations, and sagging skin.
The decline of collagen production in our bodies continues to accelerate, making supplementation necessary to help improve skin firmness and elasticity, thicken hair, and strengthen fingernails.
However, it’s not just about how you look on the outside that’s affected by collagen. Because collagen makes up one-third of the protein in the body, it’s also a critical component for joint health, digestion, metabolism, muscle mass, energy, liver health, and cardiovascular health
When supplementing with collagen, look for multi-collagen proteins to get the maximum benefit for skin, hair, nails, bones, ligaments, tissues, and your cardiovascular system.
3. Vitamin D
Vitamin D is vital. It helps the body absorb calcium and also promotes bone strength. A deficiency in Vitamin D can lead to a variety of diseases, including several types of cancer, obesity, and depression.
The body naturally produces its own Vitamin D, but it needs sunlight in order to do so. To get the full benefit from this vitamin, about a third of your body needs to be exposed to the sun. This means donning a tank top and shorts. This wardrobe choice is impractical for most people during the winter months, and as we mature, we might not feel comfortable exposing so much skin. Therefore, supplementing with Vitamin D is necessary to maintain healthy levels in the body.
4. Probiotics
Probiotics are beneficial at any age to promote gut health and proper digestion, but as we get older, they’re even more critical.
It turns out that many of the age-related, degenerative illnesses that we suffer from are directly associated with an imbalance in the gut’s microbiome. This includes osteoarthritis, depressed immune systems, cancer, and dementia.
Further, if you take antibiotics or other prescription medications, these can also destroy essential gut flora, making you vulnerable to chronic inflammation and illness.
5. Turmeric
Curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, is one of nature’s most potent anti-inflammatories. Recently, scientists discovered that inflammation is at the heart of almost every disease in Western society. Therefore, supplementing with turmeric should be a part of your daily routine.
In addition to fighting inflammation, turmeric is also linked to improved brain function, reduced risk of heart disease, cancer prevention (and treatment), reduced arthritis pain, anti-aging, and more.
6. Multivitamin
In an ideal world, we would all eat a perfectly balanced diet, rich in every nutrient we need. The reality, however, is that it’s nearly impossible to get everything we need from our food.
Sadly, today’s soil is not as nutrient-dense as it was when we were kids. It has significantly fewer vitamins and minerals than it did during our childhood.
Modern agriculture has stripped the soil of nutrients due to excessive use of pesticides and altered growing methods. Since 1950, the levels of calcium, phosphorous, iron, riboflavin, Vitamin C, and protein in our fruits and vegetables have dropped across the board.
To ensure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals you need to achieve and maintain optimal health, doctors recommend taking a multivitamin made from whole food ingredients, not synthetics. The problem with synthetic vitamins is that they’re neither bioavailable nor recognized by the body.
Sometimes, multivitamins get a bad rap for being a waste of money. This is mostly because synthetic vitamins do virtually nothing. In fact, the synthetic ingredients can actually harm your body because the kidney will treat them as toxins! So, when you seek out a multivitamin, make sure the label specifies that the ingredients are sourced from food, not chemicals or synthetics.
7. Magnesium
Our nutrient-depleted soil also means that most of us are deficient in magnesium. This mineral is responsible for over 300 biochemical reactions in the body, so not getting enough it in our diets is detrimental to our health. It’s known to boost immunity, strengthen bones, and maintain normal muscle and nerve function. It can also give you extra energy and repair damaged DNA. Just like some foods are considered “superfoods,” magnesium is like a “super supplement.”
Disclaimer: This list is not intended to provide diagnosis, treatment, or medical advice. Consult with a healthcare professional before starting taking a new supplement.
