As you age, your body's requirements for vitamins change. Ideally, your diet and the foods you eat should include all nutrients you need. But as an older adult, some vitamins are easier for your body to absorb in supplement form. If you think you need to take a vitamin supplement, talk about it with your physician first to ensure the supplement won’t interact with your prescriptions.
Vitamin B-12 is vital for creating new red blood cells, but it also plays a role in your metabolism, brain processes and repairing genetic material. Meat, fish, eggs and dairy are some of the best sources of B-12; however, as a senior, you should get the vitamin from supplements rather than whole food sources. B-12 from animal foods needs to break away from protein with the help of hydrochloric acid in your stomach. As you age, your body doesn’t make as much stomach acid, so some B-12 passes through your digestive tract without being absorbed, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements explains. Multivitamins, B-12 supplements and fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals, contain synthetic B-12 that is already in a free form, meaning it doesn’t need to break off before absorption. Aim to get 2.4 micrograms of B-12 every day, primarily from supplements or fortified foods.
As your body starts getting older, your bones naturally get weaker. Although you can’t prevent bone loss all together, you can slow it down by getting more vitamin D. This vitamin improves calcium absorption, which keeps your bones strong and lessens your risk of fractures as you age. Your body makes some vitamin D when you go out in direct sunlight, but in your senior years, this process isn’t as efficient. In your 50s and 60s, you’ll need 600 international units of vitamin D per day. After age 70, your recommendation increases to 800 IUs daily, according to the Office of Dietary Supplements. In addition to supplements, you’ll also get vitamin D from fortified dairy foods, salmon, cod liver oil, whole eggs, fortified orange juice and some fortified breakfast cereals.
Meeting your daily vitamin K recommendation – 120 micrograms for men and 90 micrograms for women – is essential for blood functions, notes the Linus Pauling Institute. Vitamin K is responsible for making your blood clot. If you have a fall or injure yourself, vitamin K jumps in and ensures that the wound heals properly. Additionally, vitamin K could help prevent bone loss from osteoporosis, although more research is needed. Your daily multivitamin may contain a large portion of your vitamin K requirement, but eating more broccoli, spinach, kale and Swiss chard elevates your vitamin K levels even more.
As an antioxidant, vitamin C wards off free radicals that destroy healthy cells. The vitamin protects your eyes, lessening your risk of age-related macular degeneration; reduces damage to heart tissues, minimizing your chances of developing cardiovascular disease; and boosts your immune system, reducing your risk of getting sick. While taking a vitamin C supplement might not help prevent catching a cold during winter months, it could shorten the duration of symptoms, explains the Office of Dietary Supplements. Most fruits and vegetables -- especially citrus fruits, strawberries, broccoli and red peppers -- are packed with vitamin C, but your multivitamin is another way to get more. Men need 90 milligrams daily, while women should get 75 milligrams per day. Smoking increases oxidative stress on cells by boosting levels of free radicals in your body, so if you smoke, you’ll need an additional 35 milligrams of vitamin C.
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