Get the Nutrients You Need

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Some early studies suggest that vitamin E supplements may prevent age-related dementia. Another promising line of research involves vitamin E and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease). Vitamin E can be found in many nuts, whole grains and leafy greens, but unlike many other vitamins, vitamin E is not present in food alone at levels thought to be protective—and at the levels used in most studies.

Getting 400 IU of vitamin E means taking a high-E multivitamin or a vitamin E supplement along with a typical multivitamin. Because vitamin E can reduce the blood’s ability to clot, people who take blood thinners should talk with their health-care providers before taking vitamin E supplements.

SUPPLEMENTS: WHAT TO LOOK FOR

A multivitamin can’t in any way replace healthy eating. It gives you barely a scintilla of the vast array of healthful nutrients found in food. But it does offer a nutritional backup to fill in the holes that can plague even the most conscientious eaters. Research is pointing ever more strongly to the fact that several ingredients in a standard multivitamin—especially vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid and vitamin D—are essential players in preventing heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis and other chronic diseases. A year’s supply usually costs less than $40, or about a dime a day—it’s the best nutritional bang for your buck.

You don’t need a designer vitamin, a name-brand vitamin, or an “all-natural” formulation. A store-brand, RDA-level multivitamin is a perfectly fine place to start. Avoid getting too much preformed vitamin A, also called retinol, which can block the effects of vitamin D. When shopping for a multivitamin, look for one that gets all or most of its vitamin A content from beta carotene. Try to keep your intake of retinol from supplements to less than 2,000 IU per day. Too much zinc also can be a problem. It’s relatively easy to get too much zinc from supplements, and symptoms of zinc overload can begin appearing with just a little over 15 milligrams per day. These include a depressed immune system, poor wound healing and skin problems. High zinc intake also may promote the development or growth of prostate cancer. Despite the fact that most U.S. residents actually get less than the recommended daily amount of zinc, there’s little evidence that these lower levels cause health problems.

Extra vitamin D is definitely worth pursuing. Standard multivitamins offer 400 IU, less than half of what’s needed for optimal health. You can make up the other 400 to 600 IU by taking a separate vitamin D tablet or capsule. A few companies are making supplements that replace most of the preformed vitamin A with beta carotene and contain adequate doses of vitamin D. One example is the Basic One multivitamin formulated by Dr. Kenneth Cooper. It contains plenty of vitamin A (3,000 IU), all in the form of beta carotene and other carotenoids, along with 800 IU of vitamin D.

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