Health & Wellbeing – Nutrition
Are supplements worth it? Your body requires a good mix of vitamins and minerals to keep you functioning and healthy when you are older. However, you are more susceptible to deficiencies in certain vitamins and minerals during your old age.
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n some cases, supplements can be very helpful in fueling your body with the right nutrients, if your normal diet is lacking. Supplements can also boost your nutrition even if you have a well-balanced diet.
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Not all older adults need to take supplements or vitamin tablets to improve their nutritional intake, it definitely depends on how you are managing your own diet. There are some instances where an older person can fall behind in their nutrition levels, explains Margaret Hays, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Spokesperson for Dietitians Australia. “Supplements wouldn’t be for everybody. Some people eat really well and some people eat really poorly. It would be that old thing of somewhere in between would be fine, but if at the other end of the spectrum you would definitely need to be looking at nutritional support,” says Ms Hays. “You have to take it case by case. A lot of people wouldn’t have access to a dietitian, but their General Practitioner (GP) should
be trying to screen all that and make suggestions.”
Finding the right foods Before taking any supplement or vitamin tablets, you should check with your doctor about whether they are right for you. Additionally, a supplement may interfere or react with other medication you are taking. For instance, iron and zinc supplements should not be taken at the same time.
Not all older adults need to take supplements or vitamin tablets to improve their nutritional intake, it depends on how you are managing your diet. 44
Your Retirement Living – 8th edition
If you have issues absorbing nutrients or with eating, like dysphagia, supplements may be beneficial. However, you should never substitute supplements for actual food. All the nutrients and vitamins, fats and carbohydrates your body needs can be found in the day to day food you eat. It’s about finding the right foods that meet that criteria and eating enough of it. Ms Hays adds that there may be instances where an older person would be aware of when they need to take supplements, for example, for more fibre or because they aren’t meeting their protein requirements. In cases like iron levels, it is quite common for people, including older people, to have low levels of iron, so iron supplements are a great way to reduce the risk of issues like anemia that could result in a fall.
