Use of vitamins/minerals/protein bars in over 50's

[moana35]

I am early 50's and the conversation with colleagues today was vitamins, minerals, protein bars and shakes. Most of them take a whole array of vitamins, cod liver oil, collagen, iron, calcium etc. One lady takes 15 different vitamin type pills. They all seem to also have lots of different protein bars and shakes to keep them healthy. I only take a vitamin D tablet but nothing else they say they are trying to ward off cancer and dementia by taking all these different supplements? I also have a friend who goes to home bargains to stock up on her protein bars, and shakes and can get a months supply for less than £10!

I wonder if I should be taking more but I generally eat three good meals a day as well as running three times a week but should I be using supplements. I feel fit and healthy and don't feel I need anything extra.

Just wondering what fellow mumsnetters do as obviously my work colleagues is a small proportion of people really but more and more people over 50 seem to speak to take alot more tablets/powders/ vitamins than I do.

If you’re female then it’s now known that you need a lot more protein at this age than was previously thought. I’m sure there are healthier ways of getting the extra protein but it can be difficult to eat enough so protein supplements can help.

I don't consume any such. I don't notice or have conversations with others age 50+ about consuming those things.

I bang a whole pot of full fat Longley cottage cheese down me every day plus a good multi vit, omega 3 and vit D spray on top - whilst I still don’t feel amazing I’ve got much better nails and skin than I ever had

A lady at your age (and any men as well), should really be strength training regularly. The older we get, the more muscle mass we lose. More muscle mass will improve your mobility immeasurably as you age.

Running will of course be beneficial for general fitness and cardiovascular health and wellbeing, but will lead to a loss in muscle mass if not combined with strength training and a higher in protein diet.

If strength training, additional protein intake is essential anyway to support the recovery of muscles and encourage repair and growth.

Will you stop fgs..all the proteins and vitamins our parents took and look at them.. yeah none..they are good meals..lots of fruit and veg..made bread alot of them and had great lives ..now it's all fed to us to take this that and the other to make money from us

Protein bars are not healthy. As for shakes - it depends whether you make it yourself or whether it is industrially produced. As for vitamins and minerals - nothing wrong with a multivitamin tablet, you also need D3 in the winter. Weight bearing exercise, core exercises and a healthy, natural diet.

Vit D and a healthy diet and exercise here

strangely enough running may be enough - its body weight and impact after all. Although I do like a bit of yoga as well. You don’t need to be shifting big weights -actually the impact element of running is better than massive weights - here we have capitalism taking a basic idea and making it bigger and more expensive than it needs to be

and whilst older people do need a little more protein it’s not the vast quantities people seem to believe - again it’s a capitalist society that takes something simple and turns it into a marketing opportunity

Vitamin D, and an eye health supplement containing lutein to lower my risk of macular degeneration (recommended by my optician). I rely on a healthy diet for everything else. I snack on nuts for extra protein.

Good health is about what you don’t eat as much as what you do. If your colleagues are eating lots of UPF alongside all the supplements then I doubt if the supplements will do much to ward off cancer and dementia.

My dad had dementia and my mum died of cancer, my granny had crippling arthritis ….

I have defintely upped my protein intake through my diet, greek yogurt, spinach nuts etc. I also take b12 and iron supplements as I am veggie and my iron levels are often low. I have just started taking collagen as I do loads of running and it helps protect the joints. I also do lots of weight training to help with bone density.

There was a programme a few months ago on Channel 4 by Dr Chris van Tuleken and Joe Wicks , about all the UPFs in protein bars and shakes.

Sorry, I can't remember the programme name, but am sure it can be found on 4oD .

You definitely don’t need protein bars and shakes as they are UPF.

You need to keep a causal eye on protein just to make sure you’re getting enough but this can be done through diet.

Vitamin D is the only supplement you need really if you eat very healthily. Omega 3 is very important so unless you eat 2 portions of oily fish is supplement that.

After that it’s individual. Vegetarians will need B12. Women with heavy periods may need iron. But I’d suggest getting blood tests before supplementing and if you feel good then no need to bother.

You should be lifting weights - muscle mass decreases every year after 30 and is important for bone density. Strong muscles equal strong bones.

I personally take things like lions mane but that’s for concentration issues. And magnesium at night as my sleep is shit.

Not true about running and I love running. This comes from Physio advice. Plus running doesn’t work your arms.

Running will not build enough muscle at this age. There’s disagreement on how heavy we need to lift versus injury risk. But strength training with weights is important.

Running doesn’t work your arms but the latest research does suggest that running is enough for your leg muscles and that impact rather than weight matters

and has the added benefit over simple weights that you balance all the key muscles associated with keeping you upright

I take quite a few vitamins and supplements a multi, vit d, b complex, ginko bilboa, omega 3, iron, magnesium at night and creatine. I focus on protein and gut health so a wide variety of fruit, veg, seeds etc. no protein bars as I’d rather eat some chicken, cheeses, Greek yogurt. I also strength train and am the healthiest I’ve ever been. Oh and I don’t drink alcohol, don’t miss it either

Running alone is not enough to build muscle. Ask any doctor/Physio or anyone in the fitness industry. It’s a well known fact.

Running is great for you but everybody should be doing some sort of weight training at this age. Otherwise you will lose muscle mass and that will impact bone density.

And why would you ignore your arms/back/shoulders and all the other muscles that running doesn’t affect?

I upped protein via my diet, most shakes are high in calories and the bars - crap which taste like cardboard.

I take Vitamin D and magnesium as it helps with sleep.

Unless you have an absolute crap diet, you are able to get the normal doses for vitamins and minerals via food. Vegans/vegetarians will need extra and if you are still on your period you may need iron.

I agree with exercise, I am finally feeling I am able to exercise after loosing nearly 20kg. I absolutely hate running so will go back to yoga, pilates and grumbling look at weights.

There is lots of evidence that long term vitamin supplementation when not treating a deficiency shows no benefits and in some studies is linked to poorer health outcomes and poorer survival. There is some evidence that vitamin D can be protective particularly in people with certain cancers (for example, I have melanoma and I take a high dose vitamin D tablet daily).

But outside of these scenarios, the best medicine really is good quality real food, protein, fruit, vegetables, but not too much of it. The healthiest people I know are not living on protein bars, they’re living on fresh proper whole food.

Protein shakes and vitamins are the ultimate UPFs in my view. There is no concrete evidence that popping pills of vitamins is in any way beneficial, at best it could possibly be good for you.

if you eat a healthy balanced diet you don’t need to pop UPF pills that are only manufactured and marketed to make a profit for a big corporation.

The exception is vitamin D which we are advised to take during the dark winter months in the UK.

I take high does vitamin D - blood tests showed I was low on it - and krill oil capsules for Omega 3, as I find them easier to digest than other fish oils.

I keep a vague eye on protein, and am eating more Greek yogurt and peanut butter to keep levels up.

I avoid protein bars etc as UPFs.

I take D3+K2, magnesium, vit C, omega 3, turmeric, zinc, iron, B complex, creatine, collagen and Purition every day. I run a couple of times a week, do 4 exercise classes a week plus yoga regularly. In my late fifties and feel pretty good, definitely better than I did a year or two ago. I’m also on HRT. I try and eat well but am not really a foodie. It’s all about staying where I am as I get older and not aging. I don’t particularly want to live longer but I want to be as fit and healthy as I can until I die.

I take glucosamine, vitamin D, a garlic capsule, kelp and recently started with marine collagen.

I have food intolerances (and possibly undiagnosed coeliac disease). I also tend to be anaemic. And I'm perimenopausal. I take a probiotic, an Ashwagandha supplement (cured my anxiety) and a Woman 50+ multivitamin and mineral supplement. I've also just bought a collagen supplement, because I've just read that apart from being good for your skin and nails, it's good for your gut lining, and mine could probably do with some help!

I take a multivitamin which includes vitamin D and iron. Both every other day, rather than daily.

And I take magnesium before I go to bed on the days I don't take iron (as I have digestive issues, I try not to bombard my GI system with both on the same day).

I have taken creatine but I think it contributed towards my GI issues. I also added protein powder to my porridge but I also stopped that because I thought it might be contributing to my GI Issues. And it's probably pure UPF and I'd be better eating more eggs/yogurt.

I run and do pilates and a weekly strength class but it's usually body weight only. But I follow a video with some upper body exercises using weights every 2-3 days.