Vitamins and minerals are essential nutrients which, together with the antioxidants of nutraceutical phytocomplexes, help ensure the total functionality of the body and prevent an excess of free radicals. Without exception, these nutritional factors are very useful, indeed necessary, to maintain the state of health in all age groups.
Obviously, certain periods of life could be considered more delicate than others; among these we recognize that of development, gestation, breastfeeding and the entire period that runs from 50 years onwards.
Population Over 50
In recent years, life expectancy has grown to the point that today the over 50s make up almost 44% of the general population; as many as 26%, or 12,8 million people, is represented by people aged 65 or over.
The increase in "life expectation" is a very important fact that indicates, especially through prevention, a growing ability to stay healthy and a continuous search for complete physical and mental well-being - not only in holistic but also strictly medical terms. This is above all the reason that pushes people over 50 and 65 to take multivitamin food supplements, to be more active and to keep themselves more controlled overall.
On the other hand, one might wonder why it can be decisive, in addition to following a healthy and balanced diet, to take food supplements. It is soon said. Statistics indicate that a good third of people (about 33%), despite having been educated to the Mediterranean diet, do not take the recommended intake of fruit and vegetables; on the contrary, the preference for red meat, cheese, refined foods, ethnic and junk food seems to increase.
This attitude can be complicated by further factors such as: a greater level of psychophysical stress, pollution, prolonged working hours, chronic discomfort related to age and lifestyle (which, as we know, have an effect on our nutrient needs) . Here, a greater intake of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants can certainly help to support the most difficult periods while maintaining the physical and mental well-being of the person.
Necessary vitamins and minerals
Men and women over the age of 50 use supplements based on specific complete formulas - with vitamins, minerals and natural herbal extracts - in quantities that are 3 times higher than 20 years ago. Furthermore, we know that as many as 20% of Europeans take a vitamin every day, but what is surprising is that in your country this attitude has been increasing since 2017.
The best-selling active ingredients are vitamins of the B complex, antioxidants of various kinds, important minerals but not very present in the diet, and plants - or their drugs - with nutraceutical and phytotherapeutic properties. However, multiple formulations (over 40 ingredients) seem to be more successful, with essential nutrients combined with natural botanical extracts, specifically designed to seek optimal effects on the over 50 and over 65 age group.
Let's go into more detail: "What do people over 50 and 65 need?" To answer this question it is first of all necessary to understand what are the specific needs for this segment of the population.
Supplements and prevention
Men and women over the age of 50 and 65 take food supplements with the aim of seeking or maintaining general well-being both physically and mentally.
Men and women over 50 and over 65 share common goals, but they also have different and highly specific demands.
Common needs of men and women over 50 and over 65:
- General antioxidant defense
- Brain activity and cognitive function, understood as clarity and efficiency of the mind
- Visual function
- Heart and vascular health
- Immune function.
Specific needs of men over 50 and over 65:
- Prostate health and virility
- Liver health.
Specific needs of women over 50 and over 65:
- Bone health
- Proper collagen synthesis - necessary for the support of tissues such as skin
- Particular demands of menopause
- Urinary health.
Supplements for general antioxidant defense
These are products rich in nutrients or nutritional factors or phytocomplexes with antioxidant power, ie able to counteract - through different physiological mechanisms - the action of free radicals. We are talking above all about vitamins, provitamins and nutraceutical herbal products.
Among the various, the most involved are: vitamin C or ascorbic acid, vitamin E or alpha tocopherol, provitamins A such as carotenoids (for example lutein, zeaxanthin, lycopene, beta-carotene, etc.), zinc, selenium, coenzyme Q10 (coQ10), anthocyanins (flavonoids, secondary polyphenols) and / or natural extracts that contain them. Among the latter we mention: grape seed, ginger, hawthorn, bilberry.
Supplements for cognitive function and brain activity
They support cognitive function and brain activity - mental clarity and efficiency - especially some water-soluble vitamins and certain minerals.
The vitamins involved are those of group B, therefore: thiamine (vit B1), riboflavin (vit B2), niacin (vit PP), pantothenic acid (vit B5), pyridoxine (vit B6), biotin (vit H), folic acid and cobalamin (vit B12).
In the minerals in question instead, they are: zinc, iron, magnesium and iodine. Excellent association with phosphatidylserine, a membrane phospholipid constituting the central nervous system.
Supplements for the visual function
Some nutritional factors help defend visual function from the aging process. Among these we recognize: fat-soluble vitamin A (retinol), antioxidants such as lutein (provitamin A) and zinc. Also in this case, the association with phosphatidylserine, a constituent of ocular cell membranes, may be useful. The addition of bilberry, rich in antioxidants and particularly suitable for the visual function, is desirable.
Heart and cardiovascular health supplements
Among the nutritional principles most involved in the maintenance of heart and vascular health, on the other hand, I assume more importance: vit B1 (thiamine), Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and natural hawthorn extract.
Supplements for the trophism of the immune system
The immune system is a rather complex topic, as most of the essential vitamins and minerals are involved. Nonetheless, research has identified some nutrients that are more involved than others; these are: ascorbic acid (vit C), calciferol (vit D), alpha tocopherol (vit E), zinc and selenium. Adding ginger drug may help.
Supplements for prostate health and virility
There are really numerous supplements that aim to optimize male virility; however, the only useful data concern the health of the prostate which, over time, tends to hypertrophy, compromising erectile function. To keep the prostate healthy, in addition to respecting some dietary and lifestyle criteria, it can be very useful to take supplements based on zinc and selenium (antioxidants) and natural nettle extract.
Liver health supplements
The liver is an organ that performs most of the metabolic functions of the whole organism. Preserving its functionality, especially compromised in men over a certain age, is really important - but not always easy.
A healthy and balanced diet is recommended, to maintain a normal weight, to reduce the chemical load (no drugs, alcohol, few drugs, etc.), to practice physical activity but, if this were not enough, it is possible to resort to supplements that contain drugs of milk thistle or artichoke - with a strong purifying power for liver cells.
Supplements for menopause and bones
There are plenty of women's supplements for menopause, some more specific than others. On the other hand, not everyone should be used in the same way. If entering menopause is not particularly complicated, it should be sufficient to promote normal hormonal activity, simply by increasing the levels of pyridoxine or vitamin B6.
It is different if, specifically, we also want to guarantee bone health. The entry into menopause is in fact a critical moment for the density of the skeleton which, at times, can be compromised. This is why the best female supplements to take at this delicate moment also contain vit D (calciferol), vit K2 and structural minerals such as calcium and magnesium.
Urinary health supplements
Among the typical female problems there is also a greater urinary sensitivity. To prevent heartburn and discomfort, it seems very useful to take supplements containing natural cranberry extracts.
Supplements for female beauty
Women are apparently more susceptible to the signs of aging than men. Many tissues in the body are rich in collagen, a group of proteins that gives structure and solidity. These include skin and connective tissue (including adipose tissue) which, over the years, synthesize less collagen and tend to lose tone. To combat this process it is therefore of fundamental importance, in addition to avoiding inappropriate sun exposure and following a diet rich in antioxidants, to nourish the body with vit C (ascorbic acid, necessary for the synthesis of collagen), biotin (vit H) and zinc.
