The Truth About Vitamin Pills: Should Midlife Women Start Taking Supplements – And If So, Which Ones?

I utilized to proudly eschew wellness supplements. Doctors ever told maine that if you eat a patient diet, you’d only beryllium flushing money down nan loo. Studies showed that group who popped multivitamins didn’t unrecorded immoderate longer, pinch immoderate moreover dying a small younger – a 4% higher mortality consequence according to one conscionable past year. But now I’m unequivocally station youth, my supplement intake has crept up to 4 a day: vitamin D (by NHS decree), magnesium (for sleep, musculus relaxing, encephalon and stress; beautiful judge it’s helping), lion’s mane mushroom (cognition; nary thought if it’s working), biotin (hair health; ditto) and I’m considering crowbarring much successful if I tin spend them. Am I a full sucker, though? Do women really request to commencement taking supplements erstwhile they deed mediate age?

“There are plentifulness of reasons why we mightiness request supplements arsenic we age,” says Claire Pettitt, a master women’s wellness dietitian, who useful successful nan UK and Singapore. “It’s not drastic, arsenic if each of a abrupt we request a drip,” she says. “But arsenic we age, our assemblage doesn’t activity arsenic well, and location are immoderate nutrients, specified arsenic vitamin B12 and calcium, that we commencement to sorb overmuch little efficiently arsenic we get older.”

Hormonal changes are different valid logic to return supplements, she says, because waning oestrogen “impacts truthful galore parts of nan body, whether that’s our bony health, our metabolism, cardiovascular illness consequence aliases musculus mass, and location are various nutrients that will thief trim each of those illness risks.” That said: “There’s nary blanket. You’re entering perimenopause; you’re going to beryllium deficient successful each these things.”

Before considering immoderate supplements, it’s champion to return a cold, difficult look astatine eating habits. “We mightiness person mediocre dietary patterns, particularly successful mediate age, wherever we’re that sandwich generation and our clip is not our ain and we don’t ever put ourselves first,” says Pettitt. Social ideals astir assemblage size and fare often promote drastic measures, specified arsenic ditching meals for a buzzy greenish smoothie, aliases cutting retired dairy. “Sometimes fad diets extremity up meaning you don’t person a balanced diet.”

Another basal information to master, says Nichola Ludlam-Raine, a master dietitian and writer of How Not to Eat Ultra-Processed, is consuming an capable magnitude of protein: “About 1.6g per kilogram of perfect assemblage weight a day, spaced passim nan day.” (Ideal assemblage weight meaning what a personification would measurement pinch a BMI betwixt 18 and 25.) If you’re really active, up to 2g per kg is good, she says, “alongside guidance training, 2 to 3 times a week, for bony wellness and musculus wide preservation”.

Getting capable fibre is basal too, she says, “because if you look aft your gut, it will support almost each azygous bodily function, from immunity to mood”. It will besides thief your friends gut microbes digest and nutrient much nutrients – an in-house supplement factory, if you will.

‘The astir communal point a female would request to supplement is vitamin D, which is important to bony health,’ says Claire Pettitt. Photograph: Posed by model; Olga Pankova/Getty Images

How to spot deficiencies

Our bodies will usually show america if they’re not getting what they need. “I deliberation we suffer nan accomplishment of paying attraction to our body. We’re excessively busy,” says Pettitt. “It’s noticing erstwhile things change, for illustration if you’ve sewage fatigue, musculus weakness aliases hairsbreadth loss, which could each bespeak immoderate number of micronutrient deficiencies.”

Looking astatine your lifestyle, medications and dietary patterns tin besides supply clues. “If you’re vegan, you mightiness request a supplement pinch B12,” says Ludlam-Raine. “Or if you’re connected a proton pump inhibitor [to trim tummy acid] aliases metformin [for type 2 diabetes], they tin trim absorption.” It’s easy to inadvertently little calcium intake by switching to integrated plant-based milks. “These are not fortified pinch calcium and iodine,” says Ludlam-Raine. “Calcium is basal for bony health. Iodine is basal for thyroid function. So I would opportunity to menopausal women: spell for dairy, aliases possibly a fermented dairy for illustration kefir, aliases spell for a fortified beverage alternative.”

Women tin bleed much heavy during perimenopause, which could origin robust deficiency. Another mobility Pettitt would inquire is whether you person digestive wellness issues, “like coeliac illness aliases thing that impacts absorption of nutrients”.

Serious deficiencies tin usually beryllium verified pinch a humor test. “See a dietitian, a doctor, get immoderate humor tests done to look for black-and-white evidence,” says Pettitt.

Which supplements work?

“The astir communal supplement a female would request is vitamin D, which is important to bony health, immunity, muscles and moreover your hormones,” says Pettitt. General proposal is to return it during autumn and winter, but if you person darker skin, deterioration precocious SPF aliases are covered up erstwhile you spell out, see taking it each year, says Ludlam-Raine. “A batch of my patients, particularly if nan BMI is supra 30, are deficient. Look to return a minimum of 10mcg (400IU) of vitamin D (vitamin D3 is much effective than D2) – a supermarket own-brand will do!”

Pettitt has had a flurry of questions astir magnesium from clients lately. “It has been utilized a batch successful nan past for musculus relaxation, if you get cramps. Muscle wellness is important successful our nervus stimulation, truthful it’s portion of our tense system. It’s important for that, encephalon health, and helps pinch slumber and stress.”

Ludlam-Raine bought immoderate for herself – a operation of 3 types commonly sold together. Sounds for illustration a no-brainer, though Pettitt says you mightiness not request it if you eat a wholegrain fare on pinch nuts, avocado and achromatic beans. “I often say: what’s your baseline?” says Pettitt. “Where are we astatine pinch our lifestyle? And tin you make these changes and spot if they make immoderate difference? If you want to effort it, effort it, but are you going to show your symptoms?”

If you don’t eat oily food astatine slightest erstwhile a week, your omega-3 mightiness request supplementing Photograph: Vicuschka/Getty Images

“The problem I often spot is group commencement each these supplements astatine nan aforesaid time,” says Pettitt. She recommends starting each 1 successful isolation for 4 to six weeks, ideally 3 months, “depending connected what you’re trying to change. You can’t needfully expect a alteration successful your intelligence wellness overnight pinch a supplement.”

If you don’t eat oily food astatine slightest erstwhile a week, your omega-3 mightiness request supplementing. “Omega-3 is simply a powerful anti-inflammatory,” says Pettitt. “It’s going to thief minimise your consequence of cardiovascular disease. It’s besides important for encephalon health, associated health, and each of these are changing arsenic we property and spell done menopause.” She says it doesn’t matter what benignant of supplement you take, “because evidently location are each these different ones, saying each nan different ones are rubbish. You want to get capable EPA and DHA [two of nan 3 types of fatty acerb that are known arsenic omega-3s], but take a marque that’s third-party tested.” This intends nan product’s ingredients person been independently verified.

Other claims you’ll spot connected costly supplements see “food grown” and “micronised”, some promising superior absorption, but Pettitt cautions that these position are ambiguous, pinch nary standardised definition, and tin beryllium misleading. “‘Food grown’ refers to supplements that declare to beryllium derived from full foods aliases fermented ingredients, arsenic opposed to synthetic aliases isolated nutrients, and truthful mightiness beryllium amended absorbed aliases much bioavailable to nan assemblage because they incorporate different people occurring cofactors, for illustration enzymes, phytonutrients, aliases different beneficial compounds,” she says. “However, this is not ever true, and immoderate supplements that are labelled ‘food grown’ are really highly processed, aliases whitethorn not beryllium much easy absorbed.” Similarly, micronised is often much of a trading word “than a scientifically validated claim. The extremity is to make nutrients much bioavailable, but whether this process improves absorption aliases effectiveness is often unclear aliases lacks robust evidence.”

Ludlam-Raine agrees: “For astir people, nan cardinal is taking nan correct nutrient successful nan correct dose for their needs. My proposal is ever to attraction first connected getting nutrients from nutrient wherever possible, and usage supplements erstwhile needed arsenic a top-up aliases information net. Paying much for ‘micronised’ aliases ‘food-grown’ versions isn’t usually necessary.”

Fibre powders and probiotics (live microbes) person go popular, arsenic wellness proposal progressively focuses connected nan gut, but Pettitt believes we should prioritise packing these into our diets. “Foods that person fibre bring truthful overmuch more. If you eat tons of fruits and vegetables, you’re getting each nan micronutrients, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, nan phytochemicals (plant chemicals) that bring use to our bodies. Most group should beryllium eating much fruits and vegetables.”

Ludlam-Raine does effort to return a probiotic erstwhile she remembers, but this is successful summation to eating people probiotic fermented foods. She believes that “in nan future, nan UK will person recommended servings a day, for illustration ‘five-a-day’ for ferments”. Kimchi, sauerkraut, miso, earthy yoghurts each count. “I deliberation kefir is almost nan astir acceptable and versatile. You tin person it for breakfast; arsenic a snack.”

Collagen is, says Pettitt, “a really trendy one. Most of its grounds is astir associated and bony health, which is important successful perimenopause, and arsenic we age.” It’s progressively touted arsenic a brain-health boost too, but she says there’s not arsenic overmuch grounds for that yet. “You could astir apt effort it and spot if it makes immoderate difference.” Ludlam-Raine is turning 40 adjacent day and has started taking it for her tegument health. It surely won’t do her immoderate harm. “It is specified a safe supplement and a spot of a macromolecule boost.”

Ludlam-Raine often useful pinch group who person had bariatric room for obesity, of which hairsbreadth thinning tin beryllium a side-effect – but hairsbreadth nonaccomplishment tin besides beryllium caused by dropping oestrogen levels successful perimenopause. “Biotin is simply a really celebrated supplement for this,” she says. She only recommends it successful cases wherever a biotin deficiency has been identified done a humor test, “which is what nan grounds supports for hairsbreadth health, but I would propose group attraction connected a food-first approach: eggs, salmon, nuts, seeds, saccharine potatoes, legumes, mushrooms and avocados, etc”. But arsenic it’s h2o soluble and we don’t shop it successful nan body, she is not against group trying nan supplement, “just successful lawsuit it whitethorn help”, arsenic agelong arsenic they retrieve to extremity taking it 3 days earlier humor tests, arsenic it tin skew immoderate results.

As for my lion’s mane mushroom capsules, Ludlam-Raine says that, while nan fungus has been shown to amended cognition and nervus regeneration successful immoderate animal trials: “We don’t person large-scale quality studies.” But arsenic agelong arsenic you’re getting a bully diet, a supplement won’t origin immoderate harm. “If it makes you consciousness good, past do it. But don’t do them arsenic a first line. You can’t comparison mushrooms to HRT, if that’s been recommended, which we cognize tin thief pinch encephalon fog.”

“Creatine is having a infinitesimal extracurricular of nan gym,” says Ludlam-Raine, wherever it’s known for providing a substance boost for hard-working muscles. It’s 1 of nan most-studied supplements – and benefits to encephalon wellness and cognitive processing are a increasing section of interest. Unless you person a kidney information (in which case, talk to your expert first), she says: “Taking 3 to 5 grams a time is safe, truthful I almost think, why not springiness it a spell for 4 weeks and spot really it goes?” It’s still worthy trying moreover if you’re not technically deficient, she believes, “because we do usage up creatine stores, particularly if you’re moving out. The investigation is now rather important that shows erstwhile you supplement, moreover if you’ve sewage a healthy, balanced diet, you whitethorn reap these different benefits.”

All mode of vitamins and micronutrients now travel successful highly palatable gummy form, which connected nan 1 manus mightiness mean you’re much apt to return them regularly. But, says Ludlam-Raine, “the sugars successful chewables tin adhd up. Check nan ingredients and really galore you are taking, because it mightiness beryllium for illustration eating half a packet of consequence pastilles.”

Warnings and cautions

It’s easy to deliberation “the much nan merrier” pinch each these wonder-nutrients, but contempt nan unregulated mega-doses being sold, you tin person excessively overmuch of various supplements, including iron, vitamin A, vitamin D and magnesium. Make judge you don’t return much than you need.

“Pharmacists are specified an underutilised resource,” says Ludlam-Raine. “If you person pre-existing aesculapian conditions aliases you’re taking different prescribed medications aliases supplements, ever double-check pinch a pharmacist, because location mightiness beryllium immoderate benignant of interaction.”

Pettitt cautions against reasoning of a supplement arsenic an easy short cut. “It’s often seen arsenic thing that we tin return power of now, whereas changing your lifestyle, changing your occupation because it’s excessively stressful, getting a divorcement because you’re not happy successful your marriage, those are really large things that return clip to change. And actually, it’s overmuch easier to say: right, I’m going to bargain this supplement, and it’s going to thief maine slumber and I’m going to beryllium little stressed.”

Ludlam-Raine thinks group who are emotion chronically nether par are susceptible to “marketing complete evidence. I deliberation it’s a lawsuit of remembering nan pillars of health: your diet, your beingness activity, your stress, slumber and besides societal connection, and conscionable remembering that you request to get nan basics correct earlier moreover considering a supplement.”