Question

Sally is a 68-year-old woman who walks 3 times per week, and attends yoga class
2 times per week. She has read several nutrition articles suggesting that women older than 50 years of age take supplemental vitamin D, vitamin B12, choline, and thiamin. Sally asks for your advice in choosing the appropriate supplements.
Do you agree with the recommendations from the nutrition articles? If yes, please provide your suggestions for food sources and supplements of vitamin D, vitamin B12, choline, and thiamin. If you do not agree with the nutrition articles, please provide appropriate recommendations for Sally regarding vitamin intake.

Answer 1

Two of the supplements will be a necessity for Sally and the other two are not:

• Vitamin D - A Daily supplementation with 2,000 IU of vitamin D is necessary for adults over 50 years because aging is associated with a reduced capacity to synthesize vitamin D in the skin upon sun exposure. Foods that can be recommended to Sally as a source of vitamin D are  fishes like tuna, mackerel, and salmon. Other vitamin D food sources, such beef liver, cheese and egg yolks may not be recommended for an older adult due to the presence of cholesterol.
• Vitamin B12 - Vitamin B12 malabsorption and vitamin B12 deficiency are common in adults over 50 years. So, 100 to 400 μg/day of supplemental vitamin B12 can be recommended. Fish, poultry and meat are good sources of vitamin B12.
• Choline - At present, there is no evidence to support that a supplemental intake of choline is a necessity. So, choline rich foods alone can be taken as a precautionary measure that may add up to 425 mg/day as a woman. Food sources that can be recommended for older adults are Salmon, chickpeas, splitpeas, navy beans and turkey.
• Thiamin - At present, there is no evidence to support that a supplemental intake of thiamin is a necessity. So, choline rich foods alone can be taken as a precautionary measure that may add up to 1.5 mg of thiamin/day. Trout, bluefin tuna. legumes and peas nuts and seeds and wheat germ are good sources of thiamin.