Vitamins For Seniors

Some health experts believe that vitamins may be the single most effective way to lengthen life. In the largest biological study of human life and death, health organizations today reviewed the habits and histories of more than a million people over 40 years and found that death rates were significantly higher among those who did not take vitamins or health supplements.

Mortality rates dropped as vitamin intake was increased, and researchers concluded that vitamins warded off heart disease and stroke and helped prolong life. With this, experts say that vitamins are the closest thing to an anti-aging pill.

Vitamins Applicable for Seniors

Vitamins are powerful as a drug and should be prescribed and used as carefully as any other drug. However, dangers may come when excessive intake is manifested. Especially for seniors, high doses of certain vitamins may cause serious health problems such as kidney damage, liver destruction, heart problems, etc.

Keep in mind that as people get older, the signs of aging can hamper the growth of new cells, hence, the body is vulnerable to diseases. That is why certain vitamins are prescribed or advised to seniors for proper nourishment.

For instance, as you get old, you will loose the abundant production of elastin and collagen in the skin, hence, wrinkles appear. But with the help of vitamin C, an antioxidant, your body will be able to produce collagen and elastin, which maintains skin elasticity and strength.

Generally, vitamin supplements that are fit for seniors are those that help in maintaining normal cell growth and repair. This is because one of the major signs of aging is the weakening production of cell growth. That is why older people acquire white hair, wrinkled skin, and memory lapses.

Vitamins C and E, which are antioxidants, counteract the destructive matters known as free radicals’ Health experts say that the damages caused by these elements may promote cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Vitamin D is vital for healthy bones. As people grow older, they lose the bone density in their bodies. And when people lack calcium, bones tend to consume their mass faster than before. Hence, bones become fragile and weak. This is when osteoporosis sets in.

So what can these fitness concepts tell you? Why should older people take vitamins?

Think about the years of your future. A man or woman of 50 can look forward to a quarter-century of life. And the longer you live, the longer you can expect to live. Consider some statistics: The life expectancy for the average American male is 73 years; for the average female, 79 years. Yet a man who reaches 65 can expect to live another 16 years. If he makes it to 85, he can look forward to another 6 years. A 65-year-old woman has a life expectancy of 19 years; an 85-year-old woman, seven years.

Most senior of citizens are increasing in numbers even more rapidly than the youngsters between 50 and 75. And as the world heads for another century, youth may still be served.

But quality of life may be far more crucial than quantity. Living well, not simply surviving longer, is our ultimate goal. Today’s men and women over 50 can actually get healthier as they grow older. With the help of vitamins, people can easily combat the signs of aging. Health experts say that they have seen men and women in their seventies become more fit and vigorous than ever been before.

However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that vitamins can cure all that ails you. Experts have not yet discovered the fabled Fountain of Youth, nor did health practitioners ever set out to do so. There isn’t any vitamin supplement made to stretch your way to eternal youth.

But these vitamin supplements have helped many older people look and feel better than before. The kind of vigor that vitamins bring to people are totally unmatched by any forms of anti-aging items. And even though health experts can’t guarantee that regular intake of vitamin supplements will add years to your life, it does hold the rich promise of adding life to your years.