7 Helpful Multivitamins for Women Over 50—Because Bone Health and Heart Health Are of Utmost Importance

Your nutritional needs change over time, and with that, the right multivitamin for someone in their 20s is very different from the best multivitamin for women over 50. Also, there are so many vitamins for women To choose from!

“As you age, you need to be more aware of your nutritional needs and get essential vitamins and minerals through diet, preferably, and supplementation,” he says. Gina Keatley, a registered dietitian-nutritionist practicing in New York City. That is, while it’s best to meet your nutritional needs by eating the right foods, you may need to add a multivitamin to the mix to help fill in the gaps in your diet.

Bone and heart health are “paramount” to focus on as you age, says Keri Gans, MS, RD, author of The small change diet. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventionheart disease is the leading cause of death among women in the US, and the International Osteoporosis Foundation Dear that one in three women worldwide will develop the condition.

If you’re in the 50+ age group, experts say there are certain nutrients you want to make sure your multivitamin contains. Those include:

• B12. “Anyone who isn’t eating a lot of meat needs to supplement with B12,” he says. Dr. Kathryn Boling, a primary care physician at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. “As you age, your ability to absorb B12 declines.” B12 is “good for your brain,” notes Dr. Boling.
• Calcium. Calcium helps maintain strong bones, notes Dr. Boling, and is important in helping reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis. “If you don’t drink milk, eat dairy products, or have something that’s fortified with calcium, you’ll need to supplement,” says Dr. Boling. “Since women lose up to 1/5 of their bone in the first five to seven years after menopause, I tell all women that they need at least 1,200 milligrams of calcium per day,” she says. Gloria A. BachmannMD, associate dean for women’s health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine in New Jersey.
• Vitamin D. Estrogen helps protect your bones, and as you enter menopause, the decline in estrogen can lead to bone loss, says a women’s health expert jennifer widerMD “Calcium and vitamin D supplementation becomes vital in the fight against bone thinning and osteoporosis.”
• Magnesium. Magnesium also helps contribute to strong bones, says Gans. It can even prevent leg cramps, something perimenopausal women often struggle with, says Dr. Boling. “It’s miraculous” for leg cramps, she adds. F
• Fiber. “Fiber helps control blood sugar, can help control weight, and helps lower LDL (bad) cholesterol,” says Keatley. (Just don’t take your fiber with medications or other vitamins or you may wash them out of your body.
• Riboflavin (B2). “Good for your eyes, skin, hair, and nails, this little vitamin also helps convert carbohydrates into energy and can help prevent migraines,” says Keatley.
• Vitamin E This is a “powerful antioxidant that works inside the cell,” says Keatley.
• Folic acid. “It’s good for the heart and has been shown to lower homocysteine ​​levels, which has been linked to heart disease,” says Dr. Wider.

How We Chose the Best Multivitamin for Women Over 50

To choose the best multivitamins for women over 50, we analyzed the best-selling vitamins on the market and consulted several experts in nutrition and medicine. Those include:

• Women’s health expert jennifer widerDoctor in medicine
• Gloria A. BachmannMD, associate dean for women’s health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine in New Jersey
• Dr. Kathryn Bolingprimary care physician at Baltimore Mercy Medical Center
• Keri Gans, MS, RD, author of The small change diet
• Gina Keatleya registered dietitian-nutritionist practicing in New York City