As people age, they often develop vitamin and mineral deficiencies. A number of factors increase the chance of becoming deficient in essential nutrients if you're over 50. Vitamin and mineral deficiencies can cause a number of potentially serious health problems if not adequately treated through supplementation. Always ask your doctor about taking supplements, which can interact with other medicines.
Causes
Older people often have less appetite and may not eat enough to consume all the vitamins and minerals they need. In addition, older people often don't absorb some vitamins as well. A decrease in stomach acid production and thinning of the stomach lining, called atrophic gastritis, affects 30 percent of people over age 50, according to the Harvard Health Letter. These changes can cause a decrease in absorption of B-12 in people over 50. Some vitamin and mineral deficiencies arise over age 50 because your need for certain vitamins and minerals, such as vitamin B-6, calcium and vitamin D, increases. Vitamin D deficiency may occur if you spend less time in the sun, which synthesizes vitamin D in your skin.
Treatment
Special vitamin and mineral formulations for people over 50 supply more of what you need, and less of things you don't need, as you age. Pre-menopausal women, for example, need iron supplementation, because they lose blood, which contains iron in the red blood cells, each month during the menstrual cycle. Women over 50 no longer need extra iron if they've gone through menopause.
Timing
Some vitamins should be taken at a certain time of day or in a certain sequence to supply the full dose you need. You need 1,000 to 1,200 mg of calcium per day if you're over age 50, for example, but you can't absorb more than 600 mg of calcium at one time, according to Michael Roizen, M.D., of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Institute. So you may need to take extra calcium supplements at different times of day to get the amount you need.
Diagnosing
Some vitamin and mineral deficiencies are easily diagnosed through blood tests or by symptoms. Never attempt to self-diagnose and treat vitamin and mineral deficiencies; let your medical practitioner decide which supplements will work best for you without interfering with any other medications you may take.
Caveats
More is not better when it comes to all vitamin and mineral supplements. Taking a multivitamin plus extra supplements of individual vitamins and minerals, plus eating fortified foods, could give you too much of some vitamins and minerals, which can be as dangerous as having deficiencies, Nutrition.gov warns.
References
- Harvard Health Letter: Vitamin B12 Deficiency
- Ohio State University Extension: Over 50: Consider Vitamin B 12 Supplement
- Cleveland Clinic: Multivitamins: Your Insurance Policy for an Imperfect Diet
- Nutrition.gov: Questions to Ask Before Taking Vitamin and Mineral Supplements
- Ohio State University Extension: Vitamin Guidance Changes with Age
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