Important dietary supplements for seniors

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A healthy diet coupled with an enjoyable exercise regimen is the best defense against the ravages of time on the body.

As people age and the symptoms of aging begin to manifest they often ask if there is something more they could be doing to help themselves. With an exhaustive catalog of supplements available to customers at all stages of life, finding the right or most valuable ones can be a daunting task.

There has been research that validates that over dietary supplementation can be just as damaging as under supplementing. So, taking a daily multi-vitamin may actually be doing the body a disservice.

Even if a person's diet is as healthy as it could possibly be, encompassing plenty of organic whole foods and produce, there are a few nutrients which are difficult to make sure the body gets enough of. The first of these nutrients is calcium.

Considering that it would take the equivalent of drinking 5 glasses of milk a day to get our maximum daily allowance of calcium it is small wonder that most people don't take in nearly enough calcium in their diets.

Taking a calcium supplement is the best way to insure that enough of the nutrient is ingested. Calcium citrate is the best way to take the supplement as it doesn't cause constipation and is more easily ingested by the body. In addition and in conjunction with calcium is the hormone Vitamin D.

Vitamin D assists the body with calcium absorption and therefore calcium supplementation is practically worthless without it. Without Vitamin D supplements the bodies only other way of receiving Vitamin D is through sunlight. Seniors often find themselves outside less and less frequently and as such receive far less Vitamin D naturally than they otherwise might throughout their lives.

Appropriate intake of calcium and Vitamin D together throughout life has been linked to lowered incidences of cancer of the breasts, prostate and colon.

In addition to calcium and Vitamin D, folic acid is exceptionally important in the diet of aging citizens. It is directly linked to lowered heart disease incidences and will therefore keep the heart functioning at an optimal level.

Focus on folic acid rich foods such as orange juice, nuts and seeds, legumes and green leafy vegetables to obtain the nutrient and use supplements to obtain your suggested daily value.

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Nothing on this site should be considered advice. You should contact a qualified advisor for health, beauty or medical advice.

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site updated: 4.2.2012

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Important dietary supplements for seniors