This isn't one of those articles promising that there's a Fountain of Youth in this vitamin or that mineral. We've been around long enough to know there's no such thing. But what you do need to know is that many of the problems commonly associated with aging can be prevented if you adjust your nutritional intake to the needs of your changing body.
Speaking of changing bodies, did you know that with each passing birthday the human stomach produces less hydrochloric acid needed to digest food and properly absorb adequate amounts of certain key nutrients?
By age 50, this dwindling supply of acid causes a vitamin B-12 inadequacy in at least one in four Americans; by age 75, it affects about 40 percent. What are the telltale symptoms of getting too little vitamin B-12? Memory lapses. Joint pain. Fatigue. Tingling hands and feet.
Sounds a lot like aging, doesn't it? "People often say, "You're just getting old." But many of the classic signs of aging overlap with the symptoms of nutritional inadequacy," says Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D., of the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. Just because you feel that you're aging doesn't mean it's because you're aging.
But don't go blaming your stomach for every midlife complaint. Fact is,
just like millions of others who have passed the half-century mark-even if you're eating balanced meals.
So, How do you meet those needs? In many cases, a daily "senior formula" multivitamin supplement is all you need to fill the void. In other cases, even that multi may not be enough. Here's what you need to know
Vitamin B-12
You can also get additional B-12 in your diet by eating meat.But, because this vitamin is "bound" to protein (making it hard for your body to absorb), even if you eat plenty of beeŁ chicken, and fish, it's hard to get enough B-12 by diet alone.
Vitamin E
The most powerful of the so-called antioxidant nutrients, vitamin E is crucial in preventing or minimizing the damage caused by molecules brought about by smoking, pollutants, and radiation. These molecules, called free radicals, contribute to heart disease, cancer-not to mention wrinkling-and some 200 other diseases associated with aging.
Basically, vitamin E acts as armor, preventing these damaging molecules
from wreaking their havoc on healthy cells. "The problem is, after about
age 40 or 45, the body produces more free radicals and fewer natural
antioxidants to fight them, " says researcher James Jessup, Ph.D., R.N.,
of the University of Florida College of Nursing. Unfortunately,
vitamin E is also the hardest antioxidant to get from diet alone.
Unless you eat two entire bunches of spinach each day or enough nuts to
qualify as a squirrel, you may not be getting enough vitamin E for it to
be effective.
What to do? :Supplement your diet with between 200 and
400 IUs (international units) of E daily in addition to your multivitamin. Jessup
reports inBiological Research for Nursing that a daily vitamin E supplement helped healthy seniors slash in half their levels of a blood marker that indicates free-radical damage.
Calcium and Vitamin D
This mineral-vitamin combination is the singlebest dietary method of
preventing osteoporosis, a condition in which the bones become more porous
and brittle. Vitamin D needs to be taken with calcium in order for calcium
to be properly absorbed into your body.
But after grade school, few of us drink the four to five glasses of milk
each day that contain enough of both nutrients to guard against bone loss
and fracture-which may explain why most older Americans aren't getting
the 1,200 milligrams of calcium and 400 IUs of vitamin D they should get
each day (a single glass of vitamin D fortified milk contains one quarter of
these daily needs).
What to do?: In addition to your daily multivitamin,
take a calcium supplement that contains vitamin D (amounts of each vary by
product, so be sure to check labels)
Fish Oil
The omega-3 fatty acids-commonly known as fish oil-have made headlines
for helping to prevent heart disease.But they are a prized catch for
other reasons: Memory loss, depression,and even learning problems can
result from a deficiency in omega-3s,while high amounts may ease digestive
woes, inhibit cancerous tumors,help prevent Alzheimer's, and relieve
pain and inflammation.
What to do:? For starters, eat more
seafood. You'll maintain or improve heart health with at least two servings
of salmon or mackerel aweek.But eating fish alone won't do the trick. Many
of the documented disease-fighting benefits derived from fish oil have
come as a.result of taking concentrate supplements of about 1,000milligrams.
Omega-3 A lifesaving fat
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How much is good?
Eat fatty fish (salmon, herring, tuna,sardines, mackerel) two or three times per week.And/or take fish oil supplements (800-1,000mg EPA and DHA combined) every day.
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The omega-3 fat in fish is more than a well known tonic for the heart. It's the one fat you shouldn't skimp on. Here's why:
Blocks Cancer. Women who ate the most fatty fish in a ten(*)(10) year period were (*)seventy four percent (74%) less apt to have kidney cancer than those who ate lean seafood or no fish.
Fatty fish has up to 30 times more omega-3 than does lean fish.)
In a Harvard study among men who don't take aspirin, those who had the richest blood levels of omega-3 had 66% less colorectal cancer than those with the lowest levels. Reason: Omega-3, like aspirin, is anti-inflammatory.
Fights Pain. Taking fish oil supplements reduces the pain of rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and menstruation, according to a Canadian analysis of 17 studies.
Builds Bones.&nsp;In young men, higher blood levels of omega-3 predicted greater bone mineral density, concludes a new eight year Swedish study.
Implication: Strong bones in adolescence help prevent osteoporosis and fractures in later life.Other evidence suggests fish oil may keep bones strong in the elderly.
Spurs Weight Loss. Taking fish oil and exercising gets rid of pounds without cutting calories or changing your diet, says a recent Australian study. Researchers believe omega-3 increases fat burning ability by improving blood flow to muscles.
Lifts Mood. Fish oil is a natural antidepressant, says National Institutes of Health researcher Joseph Hibbeln. He found that seriously depressed patients who attempted suicide had lower blood levels of DHA, a component of fish oil.
Selenium
A stalwart antioxidant, selenium protects healthy cells from free-radical
damage that can cause heart disease, arthritis, and various forms of cancer.
While selenium is present in most plants and in the animals that eat
them,the amount you consume from these sources varies, depending on
where the crops were grown and how much they're refined.
Consequently,it's pretty much a crapshoot whether or not you're getting enough and the odds stack up even higher against you if you have digestive problems such as Crohn's disease.
What to do?:Nothing beyond taking that daily multivitamin.
But read the label carefully.Some senior formulas have less than the 200 microgram
dose recommended for boosting immunity in people over age 50.(Men
need to pay special attention to dosage At 200 micrograms, selenium is believed to reduce the risk of prostate cancer.
Lutein
This nutrient acts like a pair of sunglasses,shielding your eyes from the
hazards of ultraviolet light that lead to cataracts and macular degeneration.
"There's also evidence that lutein may reduce the risk of heart disease and
some cancers," says Blumberg.
What to do?:Hit the greens. There's no
RDA (recommended daily allowance)for lutein, and its best food sources are
collard greens, kale, and spinach. But people who are taking the anticoagulant Coumadin or have a history of clotting problems should check with their doctor before increasing these greens,because they affect clotting.
An alternative:
egg yolks, another lutein-loaded food (though there's that little matter of
cholesterol). Or look for a multivitamin that contains about 250 micrograms of lutein (some formulas contain none).
Magnesium
A multipurpose mineral, magnesium is required for some 300 different bodily
functions, including keeping your heart rhythm steady, maintaining normal
muscle and nerve function, and metabolizing food into energy.
It's especially important for older Americans for another reason:
"Magnesium,like vitamin D, also works with calcium for bone strength," says Sue Moores, an American Dietetic Association spokesperson and St. Paul, Minnesota,registered dietician who specializes in age-related nutrition.
What to do?: Pretend it's Halloween. Two handfuls of dried pumpkin seeds contain nearly all of the 320 milligrams needed by women each day,and about three-fourths of the 420 milligrams required for men.
Magnesium is also abundant in nuts, legumes, rice bran, and other whole grains, and even some antacids.
Along with a daily multivitamin, a few servings each week of these
magnesium rich foods can prevent deficiency in most people.
Note: Taking a separate supplement in addition to a multivitamin is
considered unnecessary and can cause diarrhea and appetite loss.
Zinc
Along with stimulating the activity of about a hundred different enzymes to strengthen
immunity,heal wounds, and prevent infection, zinc is critical for keeping your sense
of taste sharp as you age."And many seniors have a diminished sense of taste," says Moores.The majority of aging women and nearly half of men fail to get the RDA of eight to 11 milligrams of zinc.
What to do? Make the world your oyster.
A single oyster contains about eight milligrams of zinc. If you prefer land critters,
a six-ounce serving of beef, lamb, or pork contains your daily requirement.
As for supplements, most multivitamins contain the daily requirements for zinc. So, for insurance,it's a good idea to take that multivitamin for your zinc needs.