Senior Care Center1: The Most Important Vitamins For Senior Citizens

Senior Care Center based in the US is taking measures to educate their community on the most important vitamins that should be included in an elderly individual’s diet. Through their website and other online resources provided for free, the organization aims to educate and guide visitors on various topics related to senior care.

As part of this initiative, they recently published a blog post that looks into which vitamins (and in what quantities) are needed to sustain a healthy lifestyle as one gets older. The post can be found here: https://srcarecenter.com/health/the-4-most-important-vitamins-for-seniors/.

"Maintaining a healthy diet is one of those things that only gets more important as you age, though it also gets more difficult to build a balanced diet. The nutritional needs for an elderly person are not the same as they were when they were younger," says Casey Ryeback, a representative of Senior Care Center. They add that seniors will inevitably have to compensate in certain areas of their diet as their body becomes less efficient at absorbing some vitamins, minerals and nutrients. This is due to the physiological changes associated with aging, which will make it more difficult to strike a balanced diet.

Ryeback continues, "We know how difficult it can be for people to find this balance, which is why we decided to put together an article through which we can offer a greater degree of insight into the vitamins that our elders need as well as the best ways to get it to them. This article is backed up by our researchers, who recently studied this topic in detail in order to compile this information."

Through their blog post, Senior Care Center explains that eating a balanced diet is not enough to stay healthy at an advanced age. In addition to eating right, it can also be a good idea to take additional vitamin supplements. They narrow it down to four vitamins, which are difficult to obtain in other ways (and which most people neglect as part of their diet).

The first vitamin to include in an elder's diet, according to Senior Care Center’s blog post, is B12. This is a vitamin that plays an important role in body chemistry — specifically, in DNA synthesis inside of cells and in one's cells’ ability to metabolize fatty acids and amino acids. They note that this vitamin can not be obtained from any plant-based sources of B12, it is only found in animal products. For vegans or vegetarians, B12 supplements are a necessity, and this will become more apparent as they age.

The next vitamin listed on the blog post is Folate, also known as B9. Folate is an important compound for many crucial body functions, such as producing new cells, synthesizing DNA and RNA and even preventing DNA changes that are associated with cancer. Folate can reduce the risk of stroke by up to 10%, while deficiencies may also increase the risk of certain cancers, heart disease and even clinical depression. One easy way to include folate in the diet is to eat fortified breakfast cereals, in which folate is one of several added vitamins. Those interested in learning more about this are welcome to browse the site's blog. Get Access Here.

Senior Care Center also notes that one cannot underestimate the importance of Calcium. The post says, "As you get older, getting enough calcium becomes an essential need. Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to consume dairy products to get the calcium you need. They’re a very good source of it, but if you’re lactose intolerant or just don’t like milk and dairy, you can absorb your calcium from other food sources like dark green leafy vegetables."

Lastly, Senior Care Center reminds readers of the importance of Vitamin D. This vitamin is one of the easier ones to get, as it can be absorbed from sunlight through the skin, though many seniors still end up with slight deficiencies. This is partly due to the use of sunscreen. While it does prevent sunburn and reduces the risk of cancer, it can also block Vitamin D absorption. As with many aspects of life, a healthy balance is necessary for optimal health.

The Senior Care Center website contains resources on several topics of interest for those taking care of elder citizens. Among other goals, they make it their mission to help families find long-term care facilities for their elderly loved ones. Interested parties may reach out to Casey Ryeback for more information on this. They may also connect with the organization through their official Facebook account.