In a recent report by AARP, it was revealed that over 70% of people above the age of 40 have been taking supplements on a daily basis. 

And so understanding the necessity of choosing the right supplements becomes crucial at this stage of life. It is very important first to know the right supplements that will help you after the age of 40.

In this blog post, I will address all your doubts regarding why supplements are needed as you age and will provide insights into the six essential supplements that can significantly benefit your overall well-being.

Need For Supplements After 40

Before getting to know the list of supplements to take after 40, let me first address the most pressing question: Why do we need supplements after the age of 40? What changes happen in our body after 40 years of age?

Brain Health

After the age of 40, our brain undergoes significant changes. 

The volume of our brain starts to shrink. And the myelin sheath around our brain is also affected. 

That is the reason we feel that our brain is not functioning at the optimal level. 

Bone And Joint Health

After this age, changes occur in our bones and joints. 

You may notice increased crackling sounds in your joints, and a sense of bone weakness becomes more apparent.

Heart Health

Safeguarding our hearts becomes paramount after 40. The risk of heart attacks and heart disease significantly rises, emphasizing the importance of maintaining heart health.

Inflammation Levels

One other crucial change that happens in our body is in our body's inflammatory response.

Our body has an innate mechanism to fight off inflammation. 

This leads to an increase in inflammatory markers. This has been shown to lead to early aging as well as causing a lot of chronic diseases like heart disease, cancers, and other autoimmune conditions.

So, these are all the changes that are happening after the age of 40.

Because of this, we need to take the right supplements to fight off these changes. 

Obviously, supplements are not the only thing. This should be complemented with a healthy lifestyle, eating an anti-inflammatory diet, regular exercising, and stress management.

Along with this, if you take these supplements, they will have much more benefits and add value to your health.

6 Supplements You Should Take Daily After 40

Now, let's talk about the six supplements that are going to be game changer for your health. 

Curcumin

The first supplement in this list of supplements you should take daily is curcumin. 

Curcumin comes from turmeric which is an ancient ayurvedic medicine and a spice that has been used for more than 5,000 years for various health benefits. 

Research suggests that the benefits of turmeric come from the molecule called curcumin in it. 

What does curcumin do to your body? 

Curcumin is a powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant compound. 

It means that as we start aging, as discussed before, the inflammation levels of our body start increasing because our body's innate anti-inflammatory mechanism starts failing. 

Curcumin supports this anti-inflammatory mechanism of your body and thereby doesn't let inflammation molecules accumulate in your body. 

In fact, the research studies suggest that taking curcumin on a regular basis can significantly lower inflammation molecules like HSCP as well as ESR. 

Curcumin also activates certain kinds of proteins and chemicals in your body which also have anti-aging benefits. This way it protects your brain, your heart, and your joints as well as from any other chronic conditions. 

That being said, it is very important to take the right dose of curcumin.

The right dose is at least 1000 milligrams on a daily basis of curcumin which has shown to be giving you the benefits in your body.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids

The next supplement to take on a regular basis is omega-3 fatty acids which are high in especially EPA and DHA. 

Omega-3 fatty acids are really important for our body. 

• 70% of our brain is made with good fats which include these omega-3 fatty acids. 
• Our heart also needs this good fat so that it can lower the inflammation in your heart. 
• Omega-3 fatty acids especially DHA play a very important role in brain health. It has been shown that DHA can improve your cognitive abilities as well as your memory function. 
• Also DHA is found in the retina of your eyes. 
• As we age our eyesight also gets weaker and DHA can actually improve with your eyesight. 
• The next benefit of EPA and DHA especially is with your heart health. It is known that a high amount of EPA and DHA can protect our heart from any oxidative damage as well as improve our chronic heart disease. 

So that's the reason EPA and DHA are very important. 

Getting enough quantities of EPA and DHA through food is very difficult. The only way to achieve the optimum amount is if you're eating two or three times fish in a week. If you're not able to do that, then your body cannot get enough EPA and DHA.

Because of this, supplementation becomes very important. 

Again it is very important to find the right omega-3 supplement for your body.

You can check out a video where I talk about how to find the right fish oil supplement. The link will be in the description.

NAD+

The third supplement that is getting really popular these days is NAD+. 

NAD is a molecule that is found in each and every cell of your body. It plays an important role in DNA repair as well as supporting your mitochondrial health and thereby it supports the energy of your body. 

It has also been shown to have anti-aging benefits, again, by reducing inflammation in the body. 

NAD Supplements in the market

There are different forms of NAD supplementation which are available in the market.

• NR, the Nicotinamide Riboside 
• NMN, Nicotinamide Mono Nucleotide. 

Both of these supplementations are precursors to NAD. And it has been shown in various research studies that taking these supplementation regularly can improve your NAD levels. 

There are a couple of research studies that show that taking this NAD supplementation on a regular basis, especially for people above the age of 40 can 

• improve in lowering their inflammation levels.
• improve their energy levels
• improve the cognitive ability of their brain
• Help with the DNA damage that is happening as we age, thus having anti-aging benefits

So NAD is a great supplement to take on a regular basis. Research is very promising that taking NAD can be very helpful for your body.

Vitamin D with Vitamin K2

The fourth supplement to take is Vitamin D with Vitamin K2. 

As we age, the discs of our bones and joints start getting weaker and also they start deteriorating. To safeguard them it is very important to take an adequate amount ofVitamin D. 

Several research studies show that taking Vitamin D, especially after the age of 40, is very important because our bone starts getting weaker and Vitamin D can improve our bone density as well as can improve our joint health. 

However, it is very important to take Vitamin D and vitamin K2 together. 

The reason is that Vitamin D helps with Calcium deposition in our body and we want that Calcium to go into our bones. 

But unfortunately, after the age of 40, we can have this Calcium deposited in our arteries as well. As we know, this will increase the risk of heart disease after the age of 40. And we definitely do not want that

When combining it with Vitamin K2, can prevent the deposition of calcium in your arteries.

So, it is crucial to make sure that you are taking both Vitamin D and Vitamin K2 together because that will get all the calcium in your bones and not in your arteries.

Vitamin B12

The next supplement is vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is essential for our brain functioning as well as keeping our nerve cells in proper shape. 

It is also required for DNA synthesis so it plays a significant role in our body. 

As we age our body is not able to absorb B12 from the food because we are not producing enough stomach acid or our gut is not strong enough to absorb all the B12 from the food.

Because of this, supplementation of B12 becomes very important. 

Now again there are various kinds of supplements available for B2 in the market.

Most of them are cobalamine which is not very useful for the body. This is because your body cannot absorb it. 

To be absorbed by the body, you need to get methylated B12 which is the methyl cobalamine. This methylated B12 directly goes into your cells and your body can utilize them directly. 

So, it is very important to take only methylated B12 and it can definitely improve your brain, your heart as well as your mood also.

Resveratrol

The last supplement over here is Resveratrol. Resveratrol is a natural compound that is present in red wine berries as well as in grapes.

In recent days, Resveratrol has gained a lot of importance in terms of having anti-aging benefits and its role in protecting your heart. 

The reason is that resol is a very potent antioxidant compound. The role of an antioxidant compound is to fight off any kind of inflammation which is present in the body and also protect your body from any kind of oxidative damage. 

Oxidative damage is the number one reason for aging and for developing chronic diseases like heart diseases, and autoimmune conditions like Hashimoto’s or rheumatoid arthritis. 

So it is very important to use Resveratrol for it all because that can safeguard your joints, heart, brain as well as other parts of the body.

Now you are aware of the six essential supplements required on a daily basis after the age of 40. These supplements play a crucial role in maintaining the well-being of your brain, heart, and bones, while also effectively reducing inflammation in the body.

FAQ

1. How much of the thyroid supplements should I take after 40? 

Stepping into the 40 onwards age group comes with a package. During this time, thyroid levels and nutritional balance are sensitive, so improper dosage or high levels can be responsible for various problems. For different supplements, the dosage varies like for selenium it is 100-200 mcg per day, and for zinc, it is 80 to 11 mg per day. For accurate proportions, a doctor’s advice is important. Self-dosing is strictly prohibited as it negatively impacts metabolism, leading to different medical conditions. After checking TSH, T3, T4, vitamin D, Selenium, iron and zinc levels, you should consult a doctor for further development. 

2. Can thyroid supplements affect the functioning of other medications?

Yes, thyroid supplements can affect the functioning of heart, diabetes and bone health medications. Thyroid supplements react with medicines for heart diseases like digoxin, beta-blockers, and antiarrhythmics. If these supplements are not regulated timely and proportionate then they impact the absorption of diabetic medications like insulin and metformin. Additionally, if you take high doses of vitamin K and thyroid supplements together, it can lead to blood clotting. To maintain bone health, when thyroid supplements are taken with calcium medication, it can slowly affect the absorption of medications like raloxifene and bisphosphonates, medications for osteoporosis. So to avoid any negative interaction doctor consultation is a must activity where you can discuss your current medications for a proper solution. 

3. Why is it advisable to take thyroid supplements after 40?

It is advisable to take thyroid supplements after 40 because mostly at this age, your body goes through changes regarding additional boosters. The absorption capability of significant minerals like zinc, iron and magnesium from food decreases with age. With age, stomach acid level also drops, restricting healthy digestion. This also makes it hard for calcium, iron, and Vitamin B12 absorption, which have additional boosters. Hashimoto's, Graves’ hypothyroidism and hypothyroidism are common thyroid problems in individuals over 40 years. Some thyroid supplements, like zinc, Selenium, iodine, and Vitamin D supplements, are commonly used after medical guidance. 

4. How do thyroid supplements benefit individuals over 40? 

To cater to specific requirements, thyroid supplements are important. With age, especially after 40, the thyroid gland becomes vulnerable to autoimmune conditions that cause nutritional deficiency and slower metabolism. Selenium zinc thyroid supplements aid in converting T4 into T3, an active thyroid hormone that begins to decline in individuals over 40 years old. An adequate proportion of Vitamin B, D and zinc can help improve your metabolism and energy production. Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants please images old to control immune disorders.

5. Can I take multiple thyroid supplements altogether, or is it risky? 

Multiple thyroid deficiencies require multiple thyroid supplements. But it becomes risky if you consume multiple thyroid supplements like iodine and selenium with high dosages exceeding the safe limit of 400 µg per day, which can be responsible for unusual hair loss, nail brittleness, and nerve problems. Adequate minerals like iron, zinc, calcium, and magnesium, if taken together, are not effective for proper absorption. If high-dose iodine is taken with kelpweed supplements, it can lead to slow thyroid swelling as well.