Women over 50 prioritise graceful ageing. As the body changes, finding the best anti-aging supplements is essential to staying healthy and young.
These supplements can help women over 50 age confidently by providing nutrients that may be lacking in the diet.
This is the best guide to anti-aging supplements and vitamins for women over 50. It will clear up all your questions.
Yes, citrus fruits have Vitamin C, which helps the immune system and gives vitamins and nutrients. But we can add more anti-aging nutrients to our diets by taking direct and strong supplements of a few of these key vitamins.
Thus, I am going to discuss my absolute musts when it comes to vitamins and supplements beneficial for healthy ageing and what each does for our overall health.
If you are looking to introduce a range of new vitamins with myriad health and anti-ageing benefits to your daily routine, read on!
Vitamins For Gut Health
Poor gut health is extremely dangerous. If your gut is unhealthy, you’re more likely to develop digestive issues, food allergies, depression and anxiety, skin conditions, a weak immune system, sugar cravings, fatigue, and more.
These consequences are frustrating for everyone, but especially for women over 50. We have enough going on between menopause and major life changes. Stomachaches, exhaustion, and weight gain are unnecessary.
However, many women over 50 struggle with poor gut health or “leaky gut.” This is because, as we age, the bacterial balance in our gut is disturbed. Our guts are made up of “good” bacteria and “bad” bacteria. An imbalance between these two types of bacteria can harm gut health and cause some of the above symptoms.
I take gut health very seriously. Gut health impacts both physical and mental health. Studies have found links between gut health and brain function. Memory and cognition decline with age. As someone who has seen her father’s brain functions decline with age, I am determined to prevent this in myself as much as possible.
There are three main vitamins and supplements that I take to promote a healthy gut and immune system:
Probiotic
A probiotic is one of the best vitamins for women over 50. Oftentimes labeled as a vitamin or supplement, probiotics work wonders for gut health. Probiotics…
- Restore bacterial balance in the gut
- Improve digestion
- Improve brain function
- Boost the immune system (which weakens as we age!)
Probiotics can be found in food, but it can be hard to get enough probiotics from food sources as we age, since our bodies require more. I take a probiotic supplement every night.
PROBIOTIC Click here
Glutamine
Glutamine is another vitamin that helps ensure optimal gut and immune system health Glutamine is an amino acid that is naturally produced in our bodies. There are two kinds: l glutamine and d glutamine. However, l glutamine is the kind our bodies actually need.
As an amino acid, glutamine is considered a building block for proteins- but it does so much more than that! L glutamine…
- Provides fuel to immune and intestinal cells
- Prevents infection and inflammation in the gut
- Boosts the immune system
- Protects against leaky gut
Glutamine comes in pill or powder form, but I prefer the powder. I take one teaspoon every night before bed.
GLUTAMINE Click here
Digestive Enzyme
Digestive enzymes are proteins produced in our body that help break down food and turn it into fuel. However, as we get older, it’s harder for our bodies to produce enough of these enzymes. When we don’t have enough digestive enzymes, our guts suffer. I choose to take extra digestive enzymes in supplement form because they:
- Help my body fully absorb the nutrients in food
- Reduce inflammation (and even help ease arthritis symptoms)
- Improve digestion
- Ease heartburn
In my opinion, digestive enzymes are some of the best vitamins for women over 50 because they help boost gut health like nothing else can. I take one with every meal.
Anti-Ageing Vitamins
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is often touted as the anti-ageing vitamin. Responsible for healthy blood cell production, vitamin B12 also plays an essential role in DNA production and nerve cell function. Low levels of vitamin B12 can lead to inflammation, weakness and fatigue, impaired vision and can even lower our cognitive function and alter our moods. Keeping our B12 intake at healthy levels is a must! While found naturally in meat and fish, vitamin b12 supplements are readily available and very cheap! Supplement into your diet and be sure you are getting all you need.
Vitamin D
Our lifestyles recently may have seen a push towards the indoors, with outside activity seeming less and less attractive as the year has gone on. This has shielded us from our big and beautiful sun, our best source of vitamin D. While sun protection is a must, an overprotection to the sun can be detrimental.
Vitamin D is primarily responsible for keeping our bones healthy and strong. A vitamin D deficiency can lead to weaker bones, deteriorated bone structure and osteoporosis.
Vitamin D is also referred to as the happy hormone for its ability to spur on a release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. During the cold and darker months of winter when we are exposed to the sun a lot less, many people report an overall dip in positivity and happiness which is sometimes referred to as SAD (seasonal affective disorder). This dip has been attributed to lower vitamin D levels. To help keep your mind and body in tip-top shape, a vitamin D supplement is a must, especially if your sun exposure has been limited.
Vitamin C
This is perhaps the most readily available vitamin on this list, being found in a variety of foods you may eat on the daily. These include green leafy vegetables, tomatoes and of course citrus fruits like oranges and lemons. A vitamin C deficiency can lead to all sorts of complications in the body’s natural function, namely a lowered immune system and impaired healing. Vitamin C deficiency has also been attributed to weight gain and a slower metabolism, which as we age has a tendency to slow all on its own anyway. Not a great combination. Keeping our vitamin C levels up will ensure our bodies are able to more readily fight infection, stay strong and healthy and has the added bonus of regulating our metabolism, which can lead to greater weight loss potential.
Being a potent antioxidant, vitamin C also fights free radicals in the body, which are essentially unstable molecules that damage healthy cells. While not studied extensively enough, this poses vitamin C as a potential for staving off cancer.
NMN
NMN may not be one you are familiar with, and is relatively newly available to the market. Nnicotinamide mononucleotide or NWN (try saying that ten times fast) is a naturally occurring compound that is produced by all of us – however, our production of NMN is finite, meaning one day it will stop altogether. For this reason, supplementing NMN into your daily intake becomes necessary as we get older.
NMN production in the body assists with insulin regulation, metabolic rate and has recently been found to sway our circadian rhythm, which is responsible for regulating appetite (more specifically when we eat) and our sleep cycles. As a way of regulating our insulin production, NMN can stave off diabetes and obesity by helping to regulate our metabolic function.
Magnesium
Healthy magnesium levels in the body will help fight back the signs of age thanks to its ability to help the body synthesise collagen (the building block of proteins in the body) and its ability to promote DNA repair. Not to mention magnesium is essential for energy production, so keeping our levels balanced is essential for vitality.
Iron
There are many voices claiming low iron levels are of little consequence in menopausal and post-menopausal women. We simply do not need it! While our need for iron is lowered, we may need to top up our iron levels from time to time. I have experienced iron deficiency now that I am menopausal due to my very low iron intake. An iron deficiency can lead to fatigue, weakness, anaemia, headaches and inflammation. If any of these symptoms are plaguing you, I highly recommend seeking the advice of a medical professional.
Collagen
Collagen is the building block of proteins in the body, meaning it is responsible for keeping us all in one piece.
It is found in abundance in youthful skin….mature skin, not so much. High collagen production keeps the skin firm and tight, giving it the elasticity we all strive for. As we age our collagen production lowers naturally, so keeping it topped up with a daily supplement is vital for maintaining healthy skin function and restoring a natural, youthful glow. Wrinkles be gone!
Maca Powder
While this article is about the best vitamins for women over 50, I wanted to include a few supplements, as well. Maca powder is one of the supplements that I take on a daily basis. This Peruvian root has a wide variety of health benefits. It’s known as a hormone and mood balancing superfood. Here are some of my favourite benefits:
- Boosts energy
- Improves anxiety and depression
- Prevents free radical damage
- Balances estrogen levels
- Reduces hot flashes
- Improves brain function
I take maca on a daily basis, but I also take breaks. I take 0.5 teaspoon of maca daily for two weeks on followed by two weeks off. This helps keep my body regulated and prevent my hormones from becoming imbalanced.
It’s so important to know the best vitamins for women over 50. Our bodies are changing and if we don’t give them the vitamins and supplements they need, we’ll feel the consequences.
However, different things work for different people. The exact vitamin schedule that I take may not work for you. Instead, use it as a guideline and always consult your doctor before trying any new vitamin or supplement. When choosing vitamin brands, only buy from those that are reputable. This is to ensure that you both see results from the vitamins and stay safe.
Let me know in the comments below: Which vitamins do you take?
8 Responses
Thank you for sharing all this, I take almost all except NMN, magnesium, and iron, I’m not sure about taking iron because I get constipation with some of my medication already, and believe me I try a lot of things for that, but thank you.
I have been exercising for almost 7 years now, gyms, now I just exercise at home with your exercises, love them!! Thank you! I love everything you stand for.
God bless you
Isabell Smith ( Liz)
Thank you Shellea for all that information. You’re so helpful. I don.t take all the vitamines but already a whole part of it. I’ve been taking B12 and D3 for a while now and I feel much more energetic than whiteout. I would like to take a good collagen but I have to find out which one I can buy in Europe. On Amazon it isn’t available at the moment. Thanks for all the info and keep doing that. I love your workouts . Greetings from Belgium. Sabine
I love your information, thank you for sharing.
I just love love love everything you offer
I Do the exercise videos every day and I love all these healthy tidbits of info !!!
The supplement list is so helpful – I prefer pill to powder but want to get what you recommend … Can you please list it in both forms ?
Thank you !!!
I am so excited with all the information you share with us .
What a wonderful way to build better health for the New Year, I often wondered how and where to start, now I have a guide line
Thank you Judith Morgan
Thank you for summarised information! I have made genetic test and I have found mthfr mutation which means I cannot take any supplement with folic acid. Therefore with advice of geneticist I am taking optimised folate, for renovation of cell I am taking NADH, liposomal glutathion, for hormones balance – Dhea. For vitamins I take most of what you listed just I take B12 only twice a week for it can boost cancer cells and take organic B6 each second day. Iron I take periodically – each few months and control ferritin level once in a time. Also I take daily fish oil (together with prolonged action vitamin C).
With all supplements and vitamins it’s a bit tiring – you have to take all them during the day planning what to take in the morning and what goes in the afternoon, which ones you can take together and what should be taken separately 🙂 it’s a real work 🙂
I am 67 years old and started your routines 2 weeks ago, I am now on day 4 of the 14 day challenge and it’s fab. I am not an exercise person but find the 30 seconds routines fab and I am well able to cope with them.
Thank you x
Hi Schellea. Thanks very much for sharing this important information. I am taking vitamin D and B complex, and add lotes of citrus and food containing vitamin A on my diet. I am 58 years old and my Ophtalmologist always advised me to take some suplements because of my eyes problems (I had macular holes and was almost blind at 50). At that time I was renitent to take “medicines”. I am GP and Pharmacologist but not mentaly prepared to take suplements, thinking that I have a healthy diet so no need for suplements. Now I ” know and understand very well” why we over 50 need the suplements and I am focused on my mental and physical health. Thanks again for reminder us about how to take care of us to be healthy. Hugs from Mozambique.