The best way to get all the nutrients your body needs isn’t by visiting your local drugstore, but through your diet.
A well balanced plan with lots of fluids that include fruits and vegetables, low-fat dairy, healthy oils, good proteins and whole grains is the way to go.
However, many older adults have a hard time sticking to a healthy diet. Your body doesn’t work quite as well as it used to, and strict nutrition can be both tough and limiting.
This is why supplements might be an option. You and your doctor can make a plan where supplements can fill in the gaps in your diet.
Men’s over 50 multivitamins are currently gaining widespread popularity and rightly so.
With an increased focus on men’s health it’s not surprising these are flying off the shelves in health stores and supermarkets.
But what is a multivitamin?
A multivitamin is a dietary supplement used to treat vitamin deficiencies due to poor diet, illness, digestive disorders, and other health related conditions.
It seems that regardless of how hard you try to follow a healthy diet, you simply cannot get all the nutrients your body needs.
Furthermore as a man ages his body’s need for vitamins increases, however, the body’s ability to absorb the vitamins decreases.
Below we take a look at five little known reasons men over 50 should take a multivitamin.
1. Reduces Risk of Colon Cancer
Scientists have discovered that a diet rich in magnesium may reduce men’s risk of developing colon cancer and inflammatory diseases such as diabetes.Most multivitamins contain the ingredient magnesium which is one of the most vital supplements for men.
Magnesium also plays a part in healing chronic pelvic pain syndrome/chronic prostatitis, which affects nearly 50% of the male population over 50 years old.
Athletes are also advised to take magnesium to assist in injury prevention, muscle repair, and to reduce inflammation.
2. Lowers Cholesterol
There are numerous health benefits from taking omega-3 including reducing cholesterol levels, regulating metabolism, preventing prostate conditions and supporting overall cardiovascular health.Omega-3 fatty acids are unable to be produced by the body, therefore they need to be obtained from supplements such as multivitamins.
The fatty acids contained within omega-3 calms down the inflammatory response within the body, thus assisting in the prevention of tissue damage in addition to other diseases related to inflammation.
The American Heart Association recommends eating fish (particularly fatty fish) like sardines, mackerel, trout, and herring at least twice a week, however, for those that are unable to eat fish an omega-3 supplement or multivitamin containing omega-3 is recommended.
3. Testosterone Support
Starting in their late thirties or early forties, a man’s testosterone level begins to decline. Studies have shown that it drops by 1 to 2 % per year after the age of 40.As men begin to age, their hormone levels start to decrease.
With this moderate decline, most men are not even aware that the change is happening until they reach their 50’s, when certain symptoms start becoming apparent such as reduced energy, reduced sex drive, erectile dysfunction and lower muscle-building capability.
According to the American Urological Association, approximately 2 out of 10 men aged 60+ years, have low testosterone levels. This marginally increases to 3 out of 10 men aged 70+ years.
When a male’s hormonal balance becomes unbalanced, a multivitamin can help to rectify this problem.
4. Antioxidant and Anti-inflammatory
Incorporating antioxidants into our diets can help the body to combat against free radicals which cause cell damage and thus premature ageing and disease.
Numerous men’s multivitamins contain the ingredient Turmeric, an active ingredient of which is curcumin, an antioxidant that demonstrates anti-inflammatory properties, offering benefits for male fertility, immune response, blood thinning, joint pain and osteoarthritis.
5. Promotes Prostate Health
Low levels of vitamin D can increase your risk of prostate cancer and can also lead to the spread of cancer. Here is where multivitamins can play a vital role.
Men over the age of 50 have a higher risk of vitamin D deficiency and this risk continues to increase with age.
Vitamin D has been found to slow the growth of prostate cancer cells in animal testing. It also regulates the growth of new blood vessels, which is vital for keeping cells in the body healthy.
As men age they lose some of their ability to absorb vitamin D from sunlight into the body.
In addition, Vitamin D needs to be initialized in the kidney before the body can process it. The functionality of which also decreases with age.
Finally, as men age and spend more time at home, they are spending less time outdoors which can lead to a vitamin D deficiency.
Researchers suggest 2 x 30 minute sessions of sun exposure a week in order to obtain a sufficient amount of vitamin D from sunlight.
Conclusion
As men reach over the age of 50, the wear and tear on the body can take its toll resulting in an increased need for vitamins. However, a good diet alone is unlikely to provide the sufficient levels of vitamins required by the body.
A multivitamin formulated specifically for men is a great option to help promote your heart health, sexual health, prostate health and hormonal balance.
A small price to pay for a multivitamin packed with multiple health benefits!
