Vitamins for healthy aging: did you take yours? I did.

Fresh picked vegetables laid out in bowls on a porch. — "I eat home-cooked food almost all the time -- plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables -- so I can’t imagine that I’ve ever actually been vitamin deficient. But maybe these extra antioxidant-fighting vitamins have benefited me over the years."

In my Food and Nutrition post the other day, I mentioned that at a fancy social event in1964, I met a beautiful lady who had just returned from seeing her doctor in Italy. He was a specialist in skin care and had developed a recipe designed to keep people looking young. He prescribed certain vitamins for her with “antioxidant properties” to maintain her movie star complexion. It was supposed to be the “fountain of youth.”

After listening to her exciting story about the doctor and the prospect of finding her fountain of youth I went out the next day and bought the same vitamins: Vitamin E, Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, and a multivitamin. I’ve been taking them every day since -- that's about 60 years.

I'm not an expert on vitamins for healthy aging, or nutritional supplements: you should discuss vitamins and supplements with your doctor. It seems to me, though, that taking this combination of vitamins might provide a benefit. I think too, that if they were harmful, I would likely have found out long before now since I’ve been taking them every day for decades.

I eat home-cooked food almost all the time, with plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, so I can’t imagine that I’ve ever actually been vitamin deficient. But maybe by having these extra antioxidant fighting vitamins I’ve somehow benefited over the years. I really don’t know. I’m mentioning this because I’ve always thought taking vitamins was a good thing to do anyway.

I suppose it could be a carryover from my childhood when my mother used to give us cod liver oil! I still shudder every time I think about it, that stuff was awful. And sometimes a spoonful of molasses disguised in milk or something else, and that was just about as awful.

I take Vitamin E, Vitamin D3, Vitamin C, and a multivitamin. Plus fish oil and a protein supplement. Maybe they've helped me stay as amazingly healthy as I am.

In recent years, I’ve added a daily fish oil supplement to my list. Unlike my childhood medicine this is easy to take -- no taste, no smell, just swallow it. I read that fish oil is good for your heart and brain.

And, more recently I began taking a protein supplement. This came about as a result of visits to a friend who has been in a nursing home for several years. I noticed the nurses gave him a protein drink every day. I asked about this and they said elderly people often need protein supplements to help slow down loss of muscle, bone mass, and maintain strength. Since I’m also elderly I decided to start taking a protein supplement. Why not I thought, with my pushup program I need to gain muscle not lose it!

I have no idea if taking vitamins and supplements has had anything to do with my generally good health over the years. I’m healthier now than I ever thought I would be at this age so I suppose they may have helped.

Getting started with vitamins and supplements

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If you think you'd like to try some vitamins or supplements to enhance your own health, click here to see the broad range of offerings.

There are plenty of different brands and dosages. You should consult with your own doctor to develop a protocol that is tailored to your own health status and goals.