Best Multivitamin for Women Over 70

  • By Performance Lab
  • 7 minute read
Best Multivitamin for Women Over 70

As you enter your golden years, making sure you get the nutrients you need becomes more critical than ever.

Because the body starts to use certain nutrients at a faster pace, doesn't endogenously produce enough of certain ones, or we don't actually absorb the nutrients from what we're eating, supplementing through both diet and a good multivitamin are crucial to maintaining your health and longevity.

But before you learn about what the essential nutrients are for women over 70, let's first understand why a high-quality multivitamin is important to your health.

I Have a Healthy Diet Already, Why Should I Take a Multivitamin?

The harsh reality is that as we age, our bodies just don't run as well as they did when we were 20, 30, even 50, which you're probably already quite aware of. Whether you have a healthy diet already or not, aging is something so beautiful, inevitable, and a completely natural part of life. Which is why diversity in your supplements is so important.

Often, there is a negative association that people make with aging. This can be for many reasons as aging can be hard on the body from dealing with various physical mental or emotional ailments. But the reality is, aging doesn't have to be something negative. Instead, embrace so you can truly live your purpose any age you are. Even right now reading this.

You can keep your mind and body in tip-top shape your entire life by ensuring you receive your body's nutritional needs to promote healthy aging - Using a dietary supplement wherever necessary to fill any gaps in your healthy diet cannot provide.

As you start into your golden year, your body's wheels and mechanics may need some extra grease in where you haven't needed 30 or even 40 years ago.

Here are the main health reasons you need to be taking a multivitamin daily.

  1. Stomach acid production declines—Stomach acid is needed to digest food, release enzymes that aid with digestion, and generally keep pathogens out of the GI tract. But optimal stomach acid is also necessary to absorb certain nutrients like calcium, zinc, magnesium, iron, folate, vitamin C, beta-carotene, and vitamin B12. So, without it, you risk not absorbing what you're taking in and subsequent deficiencies.
  2. Prescription medication impairs nutrient absorption—If you're on any prescription meds, the chances are that you may not actually be absorbing as much as you thought, or your body uses certain nutrients at a faster rate, thus increasing the demand for them.
  3. Nutrient bioavailability—Different types of food (and even supplements) contain different vitamins and minerals, and some are better absorbed and utilized than other forms, which means they're also better at raising concentrations of that nutrient in your body.
  4. Stress—Stress can be a big issue when it comes to depleting nutrients. Things like B vitamins are especially susceptible to depletion during periods of stress, not to mention they aren't stored in the body, so replenishing them regularly is important.

What To Look For In Over 70 Multivitamins

There are specific nutrients that are in higher demand as we age, so here is a list to help maintain the best health benefits within a complete multivitamin that you should be taking.

Vitamin D3 + K2

These are probably two of the most critical components of any good multivitamin for women (and even men) over 70. As we age and pass through menopause, the body stops producing large amounts of estrogen, which is vital for maintaining bone health.

Estrogen, among all its other functions, helps to promote osteoblast activity, which are cells that build bone. But with inadequate estrogen levels, bone-building activity is not as effective and leaves you at a higher risk for developing bone fractures or osteoporosis.

Vitamin D is involved in immunity, mood, inflammation, reproduction, glucose control, and other important elements to the body. When it comes to aging, vitamin D deficiency is common so taking adequate amounts plays an important role in keeping your bones strong and preventing injuries.

And like we mentioned, because the onset of menopause in older adults leaves women susceptible to declining bone strength, adequate vitamin D levels help to maintain sufficient concentrations of calcium and phosphate in the body.

Vitamin D regulates calcium absorption in the gut, stimulates osteoclast differentiation and calcium reabsorption of bone, and promotes mineralization of the collagen matrix 1, which all work together to keep bones strong.

A deficiency of vitamin D impairs the absorption of calcium and causes calcium mobilization from bone, thereby decreasing the strength of bones and increasing the risk of bone fractures and injuries, as well as developing osteoporosis 2.

Vitamin K2 also plays a critical role in bone health. It's involved in calcium metabolism and functions synergistically with vitamin D, which is because vitamin D is needed for the production of vitamin K-dependent proteins that contribute to bone health.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids (EFAs)

These are not just something important for women over 70, but actually most people. Omega-3 fatty acids, namely EPA and DHA, are critical to many functions in the body, but especially brain health.

Cognitive decline is one of the major conditions that creeps in as we age, so to prevent that risk, supplementing with high potency DHA is essential.

Omega-3 fatty acids play an important structural role in the brain, especially in cell membranes. Adequate intake of EFAs is particularly critical for two regions in the brain: the neuronal membrane, which is composed of about 50% fatty acids (FAs), and the myelin sheath, which make up about 70% FAs.

But there's more. EFAs are also crucial to the synthesis of neurotransmitters, which regulate mood, as well as playing a role in immunity. Studies show that supplementing with fatty acids can reduce the risk of impaired cognitive function, as well as a decrease in the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease 3.

B Vitamins + Iron

Ensuring your multivitamin contains the B-complex vitamins is important, especially as we get older.

That's because the absorption of specific B vitamins decreases as we age, specifically B12, B6, and folate, which depend on adequate stomach acid for absorption.

And one of the tricky things about aging is that it's not the only production of things like collagen that slow down, but stomach acid, as well.

So, if you're not producing adequate amounts of HCl, you can't properly absorb critical vitamins; iron is also included here because it requires stomach acid to absorb, too.

The B vitamins and iron are both critical to energy production, along with nerve function, cognitive function, heart health, and blood pressure 4. Iron, specifically, is a critical component of heme, which is essential for the production of hemoglobin, the molecule that transports oxygen around the body.

Zinc

No matter your age, zinc is important, but it becomes that much more critical once you surpass your 60s. It plays a vital role in several areas that help to maintain health and well-being as you age, things like 5, 6:

  • Immune function
  • Degenerative diseases of the nervous system, atherosclerosis, immunosenescence, cancer, diabetes, and age-related macular degenerative disease

As we age, the immune system can take quite the hit, so it becomes increasingly important to protect it against illness and infection. Zinc is important because it regulates both the adaptive and innate immune responses, as well as decreasing levels of inflammation.

What's more, zinc also has a role in the function of the thymus—the little-known gland that plays a significant role in the function of the immune system. Deficiency of zinc has been linked to health conditions like cerebral aging, depression, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's 7.

Zinc is also needed for the function of over 300 enzymes in the body, used either directly in catalysis, as a cofactor, or for structural stabilization 8. So, without proper zinc levels, the function of nearly every system in the body is compromised.

Magnesium

Magnesium is an important mineral for nearly everyone, but it gains special significance as you age because of its role in bone health.

On a physiological level, bone is continually being remodeled by coordinated interactions between osteoclasts, the cells involved in bone resorption (breakdown), and osteoblasts, which are involved in bone formation and mineralization 9.

When there is an imbalance between deposition and resorption, bones weaken and the risk of fractures and osteoporosis increases.

However, magnesium comes into the picture because over 60% of magnesium is stored on bone either on the surface of hydroxyapatite or in the shell around the crystal, which serves as an important reservoir of exchangeable magnesium. A larger fraction of bone magnesium is an integral part of the apatite crystal 9.

But apart from playing a major structural role in bone, magnesium is also essential to osteoblasts and osteoclasts, as well as several other physiological functions, including ATP production, enzyme function, cell membrane stabilization, and more.

The Best Multi For Women Over 70

The Best Multi For Women Over 70

Let's be honest—there are a lot of supplements specifically targeted at women over 50, over 60, and even over 70. But if you're investing your money into a good multivitamin, chances are you need nothing super-specific.

Performance Lab NutriGenesis Multi for Women is created with women in mind, no matter your age. It's the highest quality vegan vitamin and mineral supplement on the market designed to restore nutrients that may be missing from your diet using whole foods to support healthy cell performance body-wide.

NutriGenesis® is ultramodern nutrition technology unique to Performance Lab. All of our vitamins and minerals are bio-engineered with cofactors that boost absorption and maximize benefits.

NutriGenesis® Multi supplies 100%+ daily value of more than 17 essential nutrients specifically tailored for women, all encapsulated in NutriCaps®--prebiotic-infused and vegan-friendly for digestive comfort and peace of mind.

References

  1. C Aranow. Vitamin D and the immune system. J Investig Med. 2011; 59(6): 881-886.
  2. JA Sunyecz. The use of calcium and vitamin D in the management of osteoporosis. Ther Clin Risk Manag. 2008; 4(4): 827-836.
  3. CY Chang, DS Ke, JY Chen. Essential fatty acids and human brain. Acta Neurol Taiwan. 2009 Dec; 18(4): 231-41.
  4. E Calvaresi, J Bryan. B Vitamins, Cognition, and Aging: A Review. The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 2001 Nov; 56(6): 327–339.
  5. V Kumar, A Kumar, SK Singh, SK Tripathi, D Kumar, et al. Zinc Deficiency and Its Effect on the Brain: An Update. Int J Mol Genet and Gene Ther. 2016; 1.1.
  6. I Wessels, M Maywald, L Rink. Zinc as a Gatekeeper of Immune Function. Nutrients. 2017; 9(12): 1286.
  7. AJ Cabrera. Zinc, aging, and immunosenescence: an overview. Pathobiol Aging Age Relat Dis. 2015; 5: 25592.
  8. H Haase, L Rink. The immune system and the impact of zinc during aging. Immun Ageing. 2009; 6: 9.
  9. S Castiglioni, A Cazzaniga, W Albisetti, JA Maier. Magnesium and osteoporosis: current state of knowledge and future research directions. Nutrients. 2013; 5(8): 3022-3033.