Most Americans fail to get all the necessary daily nutrients from their diet. This can be due to poor food choices, yo-yo dieting or simply lack of knowledge. Choosing the best multivitamin for men over 50 is a challenge.
Multivitamins become more important as you age as your requirements go up while your body’s ability to absorb goes down. The market is flooded with options. Knowing what to look for and reading labels carefully is key.
What is a Multivitamin and How Do They Work?
Multivitamins may be in the form of pills, capsules, injections, gummies, or liquids. They contain a variety of different vitamins, and sometimes also contain minerals needed by our bodies too.
This video explains the basics:
Why Men Over 50 Should Take a Multivitamin
As you age, you are at risk for more ailments. Diminished energy, osteoporosis, cardiac, prostate and eyesight issues are a few of the concerns that may benefit from vitamin supplementation.
If you are suffering from lack of energy or feeling constantly tired, you may just chalk it up to “getting older”. However, you should have your blood levels checked by your doctor – these can be symptoms of an iron deficiency, i.e. anaemia. If this is the case you may also require additional B-12 and folic acid. Adding these supplements to your diet will help keep your red blood cells and nerves healthy, so you will feel more spry.
Vitamin D is poorly absorbed in men over 50 and an adequate amount of Vitamin B-12 is needed to maintain energy levels. Similarly, calcium and vitamin D are essential for strong bones. As you age, your bones become more porous and brittle. They can break more easily. The addition of vitamin D and calcium keeps bones strong.
Chronic age-associated illnesses such as heart disease and diabetes seem to benefit from the antioxidant vitamins – beta carotene, vitamin C, and vitamin E. Because heart disease is a leading cause of death for men, adding these nutrients to your diet via food or a supplement may be beneficial to your overall health.
Men specifically need to take supplements to ensure a healthy prostate. Dr. Stephen Sinatra makes the recommendation that men would benefit from: zinc, vitamin D, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folic acid, vitamin C, lycopene, vitamin E, and selenium for optimal results.
Additionally, many men have issues with vision and memory as they age. There are a variety of different supplements that can help men keep their vision and their memories sharp as they age. Antioxidants such as vitamins A, C, and E are essential for healthy eyes while vitamin B-12 and gingko biloba are recommended for memory and cognitive health.
How to Choose a Multivitamin for Men Over 50
The first thing to do when choosing multivitamins for men is to look for one that is specific to your age and gender. Since needs change as you age, the best vitamins formulated for seniors are geared to the needs of a person over age 50. Similarly, since men and women have different needs, look for the supplement that matches your gender.
Next, you will need to decide what form is best. Most multivitamins come in pills or capsules but there are also liquids, gummies, and injections from your doctor. Liquids are absorbed faster but may taste unpleasant. Pills may be more convenient, especially if you travel frequently. Fit the supplement to your lifestyle and needs.
The most important aspect of every multivitamin is the nutrients it contains. Read the label carefully, and look for one that contains the basic nutrients: vitamin C, B1, B2, B3, B6, folic acid, B12, B5, biotin, A, E, D2 or D3, K, potassium, iodine, selenium, borate, zinc, calcium, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, beta carotene and iron.
While reading that label, you should take notice of the amount of each nutrient included. Most should be at or near 100 percent.
The Best Way to Use Multivitamins
Always take the recommended dose of all multivitamins. While an excess of some vitamins is simply excreted and wasted, others could be detrimental to your health. Try to spread your supplements throughout the day. Taking them directly before or after a meal will help avoid tummy upset.
Controversy Over Multivitamins
While most doctors will agree that multivitamins are beneficial, there are some who say that you are wasting your money on them. For example, Regan Bailey, a nutritional epidemiologist at the National Institute of Health says, “”The majority of scientific data available does not support the role of dietary supplements for improving health or preventing disease.”
People such as Bailey contend that eating a healthy diet will provide you with the recommended daily allowances of the nutrients you need. While you should try to consume much of your daily allowance from food sources, multivitamins may still be beneficial.
Many seniors find that they lack appetite or cannot eat certain foods. As you get older you may find that you don’t want to spend as much time preparing complex, nutritious meals. These issues can lead to nutrient deficiencies. Multivitamins for men over 50 can be important tools to help seniors attain the proper amount of nutrients.
Reviews
Conclusion
In my opinion, Nature’s Way Alive Men’s 50+ Ultra Potency Tablets are clearly the best multivitamins for men over 50. These vitamins are great value for money – you can increase your health without decreasing the money in your wallet too much.
Best of all, Nature’s Way Alive contains natural ingredients that are easy for the body to absorb. Fruits, veggies, mushrooms, and other green foods are the sources of nutrients in Natures Way Alive.
Based upon the needs of men over 50, this supplement addresses all the key areas. While some of the other supplements also have blends to support men’s health, this one is most complete. And you only need one pill per day so it’s easy to remember.
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