Best Supplements For Women Over 50

What’s that coming over the hill? is it a monster, is it menopause?! (To the tune of Monster by The Automatic…. apologies that it will now be in your head all day!)

You look over your shoulder to find your 50s approaching like a wrecking ball. It slams into your body with ageing, menopause and its many menopausal symptoms, to wreck you inside and out. Your physical, mental and emotional well being is a thing of the past and you might start to reminisce about from time to time. Ah! The good old days!

Well, the good old days do not have to be a thing of the past. You can still entice them and enjoy amazing health despite the 50 shades of menopause symptoms, by fortifying your health with the help of supplements. Supplements are your new best friends. You might want to get well acquainted with them as they are going to be the little soldiers marching in to defend you from the pitfalls of your 50s.

There are hundreds of supplements available in the market. So it might be an overwhelming task to decide which ones to go for. Every individual is different, with different needs and wants. Supplements that could work wonders for one person could be unsuitable for someone else. As you cross the threshold of 50, the needs of your body change, along with its ability to extract nutrients from the food you introduce. This happens because your body starts producing lower amounts of stomach acid. Your body also synthesises less vitamin D and the need for iron goes down right alongside it.

Here is a list of supplements and their uses. You can choose the ones that you feel are appropriate for your needs.

Multivitamin and mineral supplements

Your mother might have warned you to eat all your veggies and fruits and to top it all off with a glass of milk, in order to get all of your nutrients. While that is really sound advice that hopefully you have followed all of your life, as you bump into 50, it is just not enough.

Research conducted on this subject showed that 50% of women between the ages of 19 and 65 years of age fail to meet the EU’s nutrient reference value for magnesium, iodine, calcium, Vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin B2, folate, copper, iron and selenium. Therefore a supplement including these nutrients is the best bet for women over 50.

Vitamin D3

Vitamin D3 has a number of benefits including its effectiveness to help your body absorb calcium. It is of vital importance to keep your bones healthy, in maintaining your immunity, to protect you from mood swings (which is one of the prominent symptoms of menopause), and for circulatory health. For women battling menopause in their 50s, a dose of 50mcg is needed, due to the body’s ever declining ability to synthesise Vitamin D directly from the sunlight, plus the metabolic reactions that trigger active vitamin D become lazy as you get older. Some research has also shown that 100 mcg might be needed to maintain your health, but that is the upper limit of the amount of D3 supplements you should take, so averaging at 50 is your best option. While plants provide Vitamin d2, it is better to go for supplements providing the much more beneficial form of vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 supplements are also available in an oral spray that can be directly absorbed by the skin in your mouth.

Vitamin K2

Vitamin K1 can be derived from your food by eating broccoli, and dark green leafy vegetables. Vitamin K2, on the other hand, can be found in less than 10 percent of foods such as egg yolk, yoghurt, cheese, and other fermented food. K1 is used for clotting while K2 is used to perform other functions related to your tissues. One of the symptoms of menopause is becoming vulnerable to contracting osteoporosis.

K2 helps transport calcium to your bones, maintains their health and keeps osteoporosis at bay. It also stops your arteries from calcifying and hardening more than is necessary. Therefore, vitamin K2 supplements can help keep your menopausal self up and about.

Omega 3 fish oil

The cell membranes of your body increase their flexibility with the help of EPA and DHA which are supplied by Omega 3 fish oil. It is also immensely beneficial for your circulation, as it encourages healthy blood flow and avoids harmful blood clots. It keeps the brain healthy by aiding the electrical and chemical messages to pass on more easily from one cell to the next. Your 50s can cause a lot of mental health issues. Omega 3 fish oil protects you from such hazards by keeping you safe from anxiety and depression by regulating serotonin (also known as the happy hormone) levels in your body that is responsible to uplift your mood and produce melatonin, which further aids in getting a good night’s rest.

Insomnia, one of the many menopause symptoms can also be successfully aided with omega 3 fish oil as it is known to help keep your blood pressure steady and under control which is great news for a number of women over 50 who have to deal with BP issues. A variety of fish like salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring, are a rich source of omega 3 fish oil. However, if you are a vegetarian, or do not include fish in your meals, taking omega 3 supplements of 1 gm long chain omega 3 fish oil every day, is the easiest way to make sure your body gets all the nutrients it needs in its growing age.

Magnesium

Magnesium is the most important and lacking mineral in your body, as a very limited amount can be derived from your diet. The recommended amount of magnesium intake should be around 375mg, while most women find it hard to get even 229mg from their diet alone. This is a huge discrepancy given the various benefits you derive from it. Magnesium helps relax your muscles and aid the movement of ions through your cells. It further helps reduce your blood pressure, and keep your heart healthy enough to prevent a stroke, heart attack and fluctuating heart rhythms. Keeping your magnesium levels up helps protect you against most diseases and ailments out there at any given age. So this should be reason enough to make sure make sure you’re providing your body with enough magnesium.

Diet is of course one of the best ways to provide all of the nutrients your body needs, along with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It can help curb the onslaught of ageing and menopause symptoms. But that might not be enough for the growing needs of your body. so now that you know the best vitamins your body needs, you can make the most informed choices to slide your way through your 50s with ease. Enjoy the ride!