Tired waking up, dragging through the afternoon slump, wondering, "is this just normal aging"? If you are 60 plus, you are not alone – many have the same frustration. The truth is, your body’s nutritional needs have evolved so dramatically, so that whatever worked in your 40s and 50s is no longer working. Unbeknownst to you, many seniors are fighting vitamin deficiencies that attack energy levels, bone health, and immune health.
The good news is that knowing what vitamins after 60 are needed can radically help your health and well-being. It is simply a fact that as we age, we become less adept at absorbing nutrients from food, with less stomach acid, and our organs are different, especially our digestive organs, than when we were younger. Accordingly, even with the best diet, the vast majority of seniors require vitamin supplementation to achieve good health.
This complete guide to senior nutrition will give you all the information you could ever need about senior vitamins, what vitamins help with energy and what vitamins help you live longer, and what supplement combinations you should never combine. If you are concerned about fatigue, bone health, or just healthful aging as possible, then this article gives you evidence-based answers that provide training wheels for you to help yourself on your nutritional wellness journey.
What vitamins should I be taking at 60?
Understanding what vitamins are most important after 60 starts with understanding how much your body’s needs have changed. Your digestive system, kidney function, and cellular absorption work differently now and as a result certain vitamins have become absolutely essential to maintain health and longevity.
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 tops the list for seniors and is required at a dose of 2.4 micrograms per day. At 60 years and older your stomach produces less hydrochloric acid, which is needed to release B12 from food proteins, making it difficult to absorb B12 from food alone. This is true even if your diet is full of meats, fish and dairy. Vitamin B12 deficiency may present as fatigue, cognitive issues, and even nerve injury; supplementation is extremely important for most seniors.
Vitamin D
For seniors 60 and over Vitamin D is needed at an intake of 600-800 IU per day, but many health providers may recommend much higher amounts. Skin production of Vitamin D from sun exposure declines as you age and kidney function in activating Vitamin D also decreases. Vitamin D is important for bones, but it also plays an important role in immune function, muscle strength, and possibly mood.
Calcium
Adequate Calcium intake rises to 1200 mg for women aged 50 and older and men over 70 years and older. The body's ability to absorb Calcium declines with age, but the body still demands this mineral from bones. Without Adequate Calcium, Calcium will be taken from the bones putting you at risk for fractures and osteoporosis.
Magnesium
Magnesium helps in cellular energy metabolism in over 300 enzymatic reactions within the body. This mineral helps convert food into energy and maintains muscle function; which is even more important as you try to keep your independence and mobility after 60.
Folate and B-Complex vitamins together enable cellular health, support red blood cell production, and promote nerve function. The B vitamins are essential to maintaining optimal cognitive health and energy levels while advancing in age.
Why do older adults require more of these vitamins?
The answer comes from the biological changes that happen with aging. The lining of your intestines become selectively permeable, impracticably limiting nutrients to be absorbed. Decreased stomach acid production is also a consideration, doing so will limit the absorption of B12, as well as many other pathway nutrients. The natural decline of liver and kidney function impacts how your systems utilize and convert particular vitamins.
Gender-specific indications also matter, and are included in the conversation on elder nutrition challenges; Women who are post-menopausal generally need less iron than younger women, since they are not losing blood through menstruation. Both older men and women are advised to only check their iron levels, as too much iron can be dangerous! Women are often more concerned with calcium and vitamin D after 60 to reduce risk of osteoporosis, meanwhile men tend to be more concerned with vitamin B6 and folate to maintain heart health.
What vitamin gives seniors energy?
Are you battling fatigue constantly, certain vitamins have an effect on energy levels, and if you understand how those vitamins have an effect on your cells, it makes sense why they are needed to fight fatigue after 60!
Vitamin B12
Vitamin B12 is the vitamin for cellular energy! This vitamin is pivotal for mitochondrial health—your cells’ energy factories. If you don’t have enough B12, your mitochondria can’t convert the food you eat into ATP efficiently, the energy currency your body uses to do everything from think to move. B12 is also critically important for making healthy red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout your body. When you run low on B12, you may feel fatigued despite a full night’s sleep.
B-complex
B-complex vitamins work cooperatively to bring you energy. Thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), and pantothenic acid (B5) all take part in breaking down carbohydrates, fats, and proteins into usable energy. Think of B-complex vitamins as the spark plugs in your body’s engine: without them, even premium gasoline (good food) won’t keep you going.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is probably an odd choice for an energy vitamin, but studies are increasingly revealing its value for muscle strength and overall energy. Vitamin D deficiency is related to fatigue and muscle weakness in older adults. This vitamin helps your muscles work properly and may influence the way your body utilizes energy at a cellular level.
Iron
Iron is important for oxygen transport even after menopause. You need iron for red blood cells to transport oxygen from your lungs to every cell in your body. If oxygen isn’t getting delivered in a timely manner, it won’t matter how much sleep you are getting. You will be fatigued! However, seniors need to monitor iron intake carefully—too little will lead to anemia and tiredness, while too much can be toxic.
These vitamins help support energy through a number of factors. They help support the production of mitochondrial energy by being co-factors of enzymes that catabolize glucose and fatty acids into ATP. They help convert the macronutrients from your diet into cellular energy that your body will utilize. They promote healthy formation of red blood cells so that oxygen can be adequately delivered to your tissues.
Signs and symptoms of deficiency that may affect energy would be chronic fatigue that is not improved with sleep, muscle weakness, impaired cognition, pale skin, exertion with little shortness of breath, and generally just feeling “run down” all the time. Refer to our article about nutrition for aging adults for expanded details on optimizing energy levels.
Which two vitamins should not be taken together?
Understanding which combinations of vitamins are potentially dangerous, is just as important as learning which vitamins to take. Some vitamins will inhibit the absorption of others or can result from toxic interactions. In the end, one could do more harm than good.
Vitamin C with Vitamin B12 is a bad example.
A high dose of vitamin C could inhibit B12 absorption in your gut and worsen deficiency. When taking the two supplements, be sure to take them at least 2 hours apart from each other—Vitamin C in the morning and Vitamin B12 in the evening, for instance.
Vitamin E with Vitamin K is also an alarming combination.
They have a blunted vs. opposing effect on blood clotting. Vitamin K causes blood clotting whereas high-dose vitamin E (greater than 400 IU) will thin blood. Using them together could diminish the impact of vitamin K. This is a bigger issue if you’re using vitamin K for bone health or a like supplement while taking blood thinners.
Taking high-dose Vitamin A with Vitamin A Foods carries a toxicity risk.
Vitamin A, being fat-soluble, accumulates and doesn’t excrete like the water-soluble vitamins. Supplements alongside liver, fortified cereals, or other saturated vitamin A foods can backfire and cause toxicity that could damage your liver, cause bone complications and other severe issues.
Folic acid masking B12 deficiency is a more oblique option but still serious. When taking high doses of folic acid to correct anemia due to B12 deficiency, the neurological damage would still progress unnoticed. This is the main reason why health practitioners routinely recommend assessment of B12 status before initiating supplementation of folic acid.
Interactions with medications require consideration as well. In terms of blood thinners, you wouldn’t want to have Vitamin K with blood thinners like warfarin for example, because Vitamin K would counteract the mechanism of warfarin and cause a blood clot. If taking warfarin, make sure you have a consistent Vitamin K intake—not to the point of avoiding it totally. Should you decide to supplement with Vitamin K, check with your physician prior to stopping just for documentation.
Another example is Vitamin B6 with levodopa if treating Parkinson’s disease (which would lessen the effectiveness of the treatment). St. John’s Wort interacts with multiple medications (antidepressants, birth control, blood thinners). St. John’s Wort is possibly the most controversial supplement of the vitamin class types in regards to drug interactions.
For safety in regard to timing, include at least two hours difference in your timing. Vitamin A, D, E, K utilizes fat from meals in which one eats. Water-soluble vitamins (such as B-complex, C) can be taken on an empty stomach unless stomach upset occurs.
What are the top 3 most important vitamins?
For seniors over age 60, there are three vitamins that stand alone in importance for health, independence, and quality of life. These are the top nutrients that deal with the most prevalent and serious deficiencies in older adults.
Vitamin B12 is number one for its importance regarding the nervous system, energy metabolism, and red blood cell formation. Starting around age 60, there can be a decrease in absorption of B12 and eventually the two common types of B12 deficiency happen to about 30% of seniors. Most seniors with the two common types of B12 deficiency are diagnosed too late and often have serious complications unless they are found early. Vitamin B12 helps keep the myelin sheaths around your nerves intact, supports cognition, and helps energy levels remain stable. Unlike younger individuals, who tend to be able to take in enough B12 fortified food and animal protein, seniors frequently need B12 supplements and/or B12 injections because of poor absorption.
Vitamin D is the number two top nutrient for older adults. Vitamin D is critical for more than just bone health. Vitamin D has relevance for all the movement which will help prevent your older adult falling, bone health, supporting muscle function, and possibly even chronic illness. Most older adults of the seniors who live up in northern climates where they do not get a lot of sun, or older adults who stay indoors or don’t get enough time outdoors take some form of vitamin D supplementation. Remember, a lack of vitamin D can lead to osteoporosis, breaking a hip, and loss cognitive decline.
Calcium is number three, working in conjunction with vitamin D. Calcium helps ensure proper bone density along with vitamin D, give muscle strength along with vitamin D, and keeps your heart beating in a proper rhythm while working together with vitamin D. The decline of bone mass starts at 60 years of age. Specifically it accelerates in women post-menopause when the incidence of osteoporosis goes up, especially, if calcium is not supplemented from the diet. Inadequate calcium leads to a horrible quality of life, independence through the fracture of a hip, and leads to possible loss of independence.
Why are these three important, specifically after 60?
As the years go by, the absorption difficulties become worse and worse—your digestive system works less efficiently, your kidneys decline in function over time, and your skin handles the sunlight to make vitamin D less efficiently. The pitfalls of deficiency become worse in your years when they actually can become dangerous. A B12 deficiency that would lead to minor fatigue in a 40-year-old could lead to dangerous neurological issues in a 70-year-old. Low vitamin D that would result in bone loss in younger individuals can cause horrible fractures in the older population.
Food sources continue to be significant: Our B12 is mainly from meat, fish, eggs, and dairy; vitamin D is primarily found in fatty fish, fortified milk, and sunlight exposure; calcium is from milk, dark green leafy vegetables, and fortified foods.( Read more about essential nutrition for seniors .) But, the majority of seniors will need supplements to arrive at optimal levels. Which makes the top three vitamins to discuss with their provider B12, D, and calcium.
Is it normal to be tired all the time at 60?
While energy naturally rates decline with age, fatigued all the time is not typical and requires study. Chronic fatigue can be indicative of many things that are fixable and can be helped.
Common causes of fatigue after 60 are vitamin deficiencies, including B12, D, and iron.
Each of which limit the body’s ability to convert food to energy at the cellular level. Another frequent cause is unfortunately medications: many of the blood pressure medications, depression medications, and pain medications all list fatigue as one of the side effects. As metabolism changes, your body burns less at rest, which might affect energy levels if your diet hasn’t changed.
Sleeping problems are more common after age 60.
Many older adults have a tendency to sleep lightly and more fragmented, wake up a lot during the night, or have other sleep disorders like sleep apnea. Accumulated poor sleep quality leads to chronic sleep deprivation and chronic tiredness when sleeping in bed enough hours. Chronic health conditions, such as thyroid conditions, diabetes, heart disease, or anemia, all lead to significant fatigue, and all are more prevalent with age.
When is fatigue a red flag versus just aging?
If you are unable to do basic daily activities because of being too fatigued, or if you have a sudden onset of fatigue or it worsens dramatically, or if you have other signs or symptoms, like unexplained weight loss or continuous pain or suffering, or fatigue that does not improves after good rest and good sleep, then you should call your healthcare provider immediately.
Nutrition plays a huge role in energy levels.
Just a little bit of vitamin deficiency can result in big fatigue, and highly normal nutrition can provide the nutrients for your body to make energy. Significant lifestyle factors also matter a lot—sedentary lifestyle means fatigue increase, and regular exercise means energy levels increase. Dehydration, poor quality diet, too much alcohol, and chronic stress can also dramatically increase chronic tiredness. The Sum Up: A certain amount of energy decline is expected, but being tired all the time is not an "aging issue" and has recognizable, treatable causes.
What is the best vitamin for tiredness and fatigue?
Choosing the right vitamin for tiredness and fatigue depends on the cause of your tiredness. Since every deficiency has its cause and solution, assessing you individually is key.
Vitamin B12 is the best of the fatigue busting vitamins for older adults.
Because of its roles in energizing metabolism and the production of red blood cells, everyone with persistent tiredness needs B12. B12 deficiency is very prevalent in older adults and many people have a profound level of exhaustion they simply label: "it's me just getting older." Using B12 supplementation can lead to tangible levels of energy recovery, typically in a few weeks.
Iron treats fatigue related to low oxygen supply to your tissues.
If your fatigue is accompanied by pale whitish/cyanotic skin, shortness of breath or weakness, you might have iron deficiency anemia. However, do not supplement iron until you are tested; excessive iron supplementation is dangerous, and men and post-menopausal women do not regularly lose blood.
Magnesium maintains muscle function,
as well as hundreds of enzyme function that are mtDNA and energy production related. Many older adults have marginal magnesium deficiency, and appear to have muscle wasting, fatigue and muscle atrophy, and/or sleep issues. Very good forms of magnesium that are absorbed well and don’t upset the stomach are magnesium glycinate or citrate.
CoQ10 (Coenzyme Q10) is a critical part of the mitochondrial energy cycle.
It may not be considered a vitamin, but your body makes less CoQ10 as you get older, and CoQ10 deficiency contributes to fatigue. If you are prescribed a statin medication, the statin further depletes your CoQ10 levels, thereby contributing to fatigue. CoQ10 supplementation (any form) may mitigate fatigue to some level.
B-complex vitamins are the most all-inclusive energy metabolism vitamins
that combine all eight B vitamins that are best described as working as a synergistic complex to metabolize food into cellular energy. Taking a quality B-complex can relieve deficiencies in multiple B vitamins at the same time.
How to select a supplement is determined by individual testing.
Your healthcare provider can test you for B12, vitamin D, iron and other nutrients through blood testing. Knowing what you need helps with supplementation versus educated guess. Understand the absorption issues–sublingual B12, liquid vitamin D and chelated minerals are absorbed better than tablets for many older adults.
Natural food sources should be the primary/base line.
For B12 look to animal foods, and red meat and dark leafy greens for iron, nuts and preserved whole grains sources for magnesium, and whole grains and vegetables for B vitamins. Absorption issues can prevent obtaining optimal levels past the age of 60.
How to get healthy again after age 60?
Recovering your health and overall wellness over age 60 is wrought from a multidimensional approach incorporating nutrition, physical activity, preventative healthcare, and psychological wellness. Vitamins will be an important piece but will fall among the pages in the wellness book.
The nutritional part and balanced vitamin consumption find their anchors in whole foods.
Consuming a significant variety of whole-food, nutrient density along with its vitamin, mineral and other compounds. Supplement smartly, but not indiscriminately. Caution: seniors are most likely to be deficient in Vitamin D, B12, and Calcium. Please keep in mind, these vitamins and any others the doctor recommends from a blood test.
The physical activity recommendations for seniors is to engage in a minimum of 150 minutes per week of moderate physical aerobic activity, such as brisk walking, swimming and/or biking. Plus, two days of resistance training to preserve muscle mass (the natural decline of muscle mass happens while you age). Balance exercises should be included to decrease the risks of falls, and flexibility exercises to preserve your mobility and independence. It is never too late to start: even small amounts of activity are extremely beneficial.
Preventive health care and screens become tremendously valuable after age 60. Make routine checkups, yearly screenings (colonoscopy, mammograms, bone density scans), appropriate vaccinations, such as flu shots and pneumonia shots, maintain routine dental and vision care, as well.
The health of your psychological wellness and social connectedness do play huge roles in your physical health. Social connectedness can occur through individual community activities, volunteering, and/or the regular contact of friends and family. Timely and appropriate treatment for depression or anxiety is the best approach since mental health can actually show up as physiological manifestations, like fatigue.
The dietary aspects of healthy aging recommend the Mediterranean diet as it has benefits of longevity and disease prevention. A Mediterranean style diet involves lots of dark leafy greens, whole grains, vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, olive oil and small amounts of fish and poultry. Contrary to popular belief thoughts, a slightly increase in protein needs after 60 can help with retaining muscle mass - about 1.0-1.2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day. Hydration is very important, especially since older adults will lose some thirst response- drink 6-8 glasses of water per day.
Potential nutritionally powerful foods after 60 include fatty fish (omega 3’s), leafy greens with calcium (and other vegetables) (calcium and phytonutrients), berries (antioxidants), nuts (healthy fats and protein), whole grains (fiber and B vitamins), and yogurt (protein and probiotics).
Supplement safety and guidelines involve working with a health care provider who has your entire medical history. Look for high quality reputable supply and third-party testing if possible. Research and learn potential interactions between supplements and medications that you may take and bring a list of all supplements and medicines to the medical appointment. Implement habit change around practicing small, consistent habits and thinking about progress, not perfection.
Key Takeaways
Knowing which vitamins to take after age 60 will help you become proactive with maintaining your health and energy levels during your golden years. Vitamins at a the primary role of health after age 60 is Vitamin B12 (for nervous system and energy), and Vitamin D (for bones and immune system) and calcium (for bones). For energy- Vitamins (Vitamin B complex, iron, magnesium) can be beneficial in overcoming chronic fatigue that many seniors live with.
Professional input is important. Always, always check with your health care provider before starting supplementation and get blood testing to see what any deficiencies are. This will educate you on what you should have-not generalities of what you should take.
Safety and interactions are very important. Vitamin C and B12 and Vitamin E with Vitamin K should not be consumed together. Be cautious with supplements interacting with medications especially blood thinners and medications for Parkinson’s disease. Space supplements out and do not take more than the daily dose, unless a health care provider specifies.