Vitamins for a 46 yr old?

jessykab74

46 yr old, former smoker (quit 5 yrs ago), bad knee (need a replacement) so some days are a struggle after working out. Currently I take a Muti Vitamin, Biotin and Vitamin D in the Winter months. Any other suggestions for FDA approved vitamins? I have tried to research this but it gets overwhelming on what I should be taking and how much of it. I used to take Fish oil, turmeric and Calcium as well. I just question if all of that was necessary.

JohnBarth

It's my belief that unless one is measured to be insufficient in vitamin or mineral intake that a diet with a variety of foods often meets micronutrient needs.

cmriverside

I take Vitamin D. It really changed my life. I live in the top of the U.S. so I am not in the sun that much and I'm older and I needed it.

Three days a week I take a big brand name multivitamin/multi-mineral tablet that is (supposedly) for my age and gender. I don't know that I really need it, but it's kind of a little inexpensive insurance thing. I eat really well and with a very varied diet, that's one of my main things. Lots of whole fruit, vegetables of many kinds, grains, legumes, nuts, oil, dairy and I eat poultry, pork and red meat, eggs and seafood too. I'm not too worried about not hitting my needs.

AnnPT77

It's not a vitamin, but with a bad knee, depending on what it is, glucosamine/chondroitin or collagen might be something to try. (I have bad knees, but don't take it because I'm vegetarian; would try it anyway if my discomfort/limitation was more severe.) Evidence is somewhat limited/mixed, but there is some research evidence.

A good source for the science on supplements is here: https://examine.com/

They're research based, pretty up to date on the research (to which they link), and they don't sell supplements. (They sell research summaries & guides about supplements, but offer quite a bit of info for free on their web site.)

For some nutrients, it's important to test for the deficiency before starting to supplement, because the supplement can affect blood levels, and make blood test results an inaccurate guide. So, consider asking your doctor for a nutritional panel.

In general, I don't supplement something without a reason (like a doctor telling me to do so, with good reasons why), but will experiment with things sometimes if there's some research evidence it might help me in some way, and I'm confident it's not dangerous. I'd usually go at least 2-3 months, see if things improved with what I'd hoped might change.

I do think that getting nutrients via food is a better general strategy, if possible. I look at food as the natural-selection-validated route. Some supplements have been found less effective than dietary sources of similar nutrients, occasionally even found to have negative effects vs. food. Further, as someone with quite a few decades on my odometer (age 65), I've seen many essential and beneficial nutrients discovered by science in my lifetime. After the discovery, they're added to supplements. They were in food all along. In that sense, good nutrition via food seems like a bet-hedge, because I'd bet we're not done discovering useful nutrients.

Not knowing much about you, it's hard to make suggestions with any basis. What are your workouts? What's the nature of the post-workout struggle? Sometimes the issue is a non-ideal workout type or intensity, rather than anything dietary. If the issue is fatigue, and one is losing weight, too-low calories can also be a cause.

jessykab74

Thank you everyone for the great advice! I do think that I am going to go get some blood work done and see what my doctor suggests.

33gail33

B12 absorption tends to decrease with age, so you might want to look at that.

BrutusGluteusMaximus

My logic for taking a multi vit.+mineral supp is that while I'm cutting calories, eating smaller portions, etc., best play it safe by taking one daily. Also, our supermarket-sourced "fresh" foods, fruit & veg, are probably deficient anyway. And, if working-out, hard & often, there's another reason.