Using supplements as insurance

Healthy people who eat a nutritious diet still may want to use supplements to make sure they’re getting adequate nutrition. Plenty of recent research supports their choice.

Protecting against disease
Taking supplements may reduce the likelihood of some types of cancer and other diseases. After analyzing data from a survey of 871 men and women, epidemiologists at Seattle’s Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center found that people taking a daily multivitamin for more than ten years were 50 percent less likely to develop colon cancer. In addition, selenium supplements seem to reduce the risk of prostate cancer, and vitamin C seems to lower the risk of cataracts.

Supplementing aging appetites
As you grow older, your appetite may decline and your sense of taste and smell may falter. If food no longer tastes as good as it once did, if you have to eat alone all the time and don’t enjoy cooking for one, or if dentures make chewing difficult, you may not be taking in all the foods that you need to get the nutrients you require. Dietary supplements to the rescue! If you’re so rushed that you literally never get to eat a full, balanced meal, you may benefit from supplements regardless of your age.