While the majority of Americans have some level of vitamin and mineral deficiency, it is especially important for seniors to pay attention to these nutrients to help prevent age related diseases. Without the proper nutrients, the human body can have various issues with vital organs, including the heart, lungs and bones.

Deficiency Leads to Age-Related Diseases

While severe deficiency of the vitamins and minerals required for life may be uncommon, modest deficiency is quite common and rarely taken seriously.  Studies show how modest deficiency can cause damage to the body that results in age-related diseases.

• Selenium and Vitamin K deficiency research published online in the FASEB journal examined how damage can accumulate over time. For example, modest selenium deficiency resulted in characteristics shared by age-related diseases including cancer, heart disease and loss of immune or brain function. Gerald Weissmann, M.D. and Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal state that "As this report shows, taking a multivitamin that contains selenium is a good way to prevent deficiencies that, over time, can cause harm in ways that we are just beginning to understand."
• Another study found that women who took a combination of B6 and B12 vitamins along with a folic acid supplement had lower risks of developing age-related macular degeneration. Epidemiologist and study author William G. Christen, Sc.D., of Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, expects that if these findings are successfully replicated in future studies, "the combination of these vitamins might become the first prevention method of early stages of age-related macular degeneration other than avoiding cigarette smoking."
• When proteins break down, they produce a product called homocysteine.  Many studies have linked high levels of this breakdown product with increased risks of heart disease and stroke.
• Another study shows that people who get higher than average amounts of folic acid from their diets or supplements have lower risks of colon cancer and breast cancer.

How can Multivitamins Help?

Proper nutrition and the daily use of a good multivitamin can provide many long-term benefits such as cardiovascular health, decreased risk of osteoporosis, and improved eye health and brain function, as well as the short-term benefits of increased energy, reduced stress and an enhanced immune system. The long and short of it is that a good multivitamin is the foundation of a long and healthy life.

Vitamins can help prevent disease by preventing the deficiency syndromes characteristic of the respective vitamin, and through the health benefits conferred by that specific vitamin. For example:

• Vitamin A is important for our vision and bone growth. It helps maintain the surface linings of the eyes and the respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts. When those linings break down, bacteria can enter the body and cause infection.
• Calcium is vital because the human body needs daily calcium intake to build and maintain strong bones and teeth. Generally, after age 35, more bone is lost than gained. Bone loss accelerates after menopause and this can lead to osteoporosis. You lose calcium daily from shedding skin, nails, hair, sweat, urine and feces. So, when you do not have enough calcium in your diet, your body breaks down your bone to obtain this mineral. A good liquid multivitamin will provide you with the amount of calcium you need, as well as many other essential vitamins and minerals.
• Folic acid, vitamin B6, and vitamin B12 play key roles in recycling homocysteine into methionine, one of the building blocks the body uses to build new proteins. Without enough of these elements, this recycling process becomes inefficient and homocysteine levels increase, increasing your risk of heart disease dramatically.

If you or your loved one are concerned that you’re not getting enough vitamins and minerals, consult your doctor. Through our nursing services at Compassionate Care Home Health Services, we can provide medication support.