Women 45-50

WendyRose74

What vitamins are you taking; if you're taking any? What do you recommend

I just need some good vitamins and or supplements to add to this stage in my life.

wmweeza

I take a multi, magnesium, and vit D. I should probably take calcium but I don't

leiflung

I take prenatal vitamins as I hear they're good for the peri-menopause as well.

SquirrelBrain

I take a MegaFood Women Over 40 Multi vitamin and mineral supplement daily when I’m eating in a calorie deficit. I like these because I never feel nauseous after taking them whereas I experienced this with some other brands.

AnnPT77

What are you trying to accomplish with vitamins? I think it's always preferable to get nutrients from food, if feasible.

I'm older (65), but take specific things for specific reasons. Right now:

* Vitamin D - Live in the North, have osteopenia, feel it's potentially useful to moderate extreme effects of Covid infection (should it occur).
* Calcium citrate - recommended by osteopenia specialist, in addition to my calcium-rich diet.
* Magnesium glycinate - I go on and off, speculating effects on my sleep interruption insomnia or occasional/mild IBS-C tendencies; may go back to magnesium citrate. Not sure it accomplishes anything, frankly. 🤷‍♀️
* Algae sourced Omega-3s - I'm vegetarian, otherwise I'd just eat the right amounts of fatty cold-water fish and call it good.
* Vitamin K2 - That's a current personal experiment, given the osteopenia (which has progressed lately) and some (entirely normal at my age) small calcifications here and there.
* Zinc gluconate - Honestly, I don't have a great reason. I go on/off it on whim. Possibly get enough from my diet, but little risk from getting a bit more.

I eat the occasional single brazil nut (which I love for yum) as a selenium supplement (and yum). I make it a point to get a bare minimum of 5 80g servings of veggies and fruits daily (ideally 10+), 100g protein and 50g fats, from food. I make it a point to pay attention to the micros in the foods, mix the colors routinely, and vary the choices over time. I prefer MUFA/PUFA fat sources over sat fats when I have choices. (I don't think sat fats are evil, but it's easy to get too many of those, too few MUFA/PUFA.) Same concept, as far as preferring O-3 sources to O-6. I try to eat multiple probiotic foods daily (live-culture yogurt, miso, raw sauerkraut/kim chi/fermented pickles, unpasteurized raw vinegar, etc.)

The key question is, what are you hoping to accomplish, and why? Is it just an insurance policy? Have you asked your doctor for blood tests for iron (various forms), D, B12, others? (If you're going to do that - which is a good plan - it's important to do that before supplementing, which can distort results.)

Speakeasy76

I'm 44, so close. I stopped taking my multi-vitamin, as I realized it was causing a lot of digestive issues (was taking Alive Women's). Since I've stopped, I've only noticed less digestive issues and no negative consequences.

The supplements I take are for specific reasons tailored to me and my diet:
Omega-3 with vitamin D--I don't eat a lot of fatty fish and try to get Omega 3's from flaxseed and chia seeds (was eating walnuts, but I'm sensitive to those).
Turmeric Curcumin for joint/osteoarthritis
Ashwagandha for anxiety
N Acetyl Cysteine
Just started taking a "Golden Milk" supplement powder (turmeric, aswhagandha, black pepper) before bed. It has seemed to help with sleep quality, less achiness while sleeping.

NVintage

I'll be 45 this summer! I try to get all my nutrients from food, but I do take Vit. D/calcium and C maybe 1-2 days per week and sometimes I'll take the Flintstones gummies that I buy for my daughter.

KNoceros

43. No additional vitamins in “normal” life but always hit 5+ portions of fruit / veg (sometimes more than 10), and I eat both red meat and fish

If I’m going somewhere where I know the diet is going to be restricted (travelling in wilderness areas or eating the vegetable-poor diet my husband’s winter employer gives their staff), then I take a standard multivitamin (B complex, C, iron, zinc etc) and try to make up for as much fibre as possible through breakfast choices.