As we age, we need more and better nutrition. This is mainly due to the fact that our immune system becomes more compromised, our ability to fight off sickness and disease is not as strong as it is in our early years. The vitamins and nutrients that we get in our diet does not provide the same effectiveness as they once did (another reason that we recommend Juice Plus+®). There are a few reasons for this, one of which is the increased medication intake as we age. Medications depress the immune system and the elderly take a lot more medicines than those who are younger. Therefore, we need more vitamins and nutrients to make up for the compromise. And here's one study showing this to be true for helping ward off depression --
Higher intakes of two B vitamins -- but not folate -- may help ward off depression among older people, particularly if they take supplements, according to a large population study.
The prospective study, which followed more than 3,000 people ages 65 and older, found that higher intakes of vitamins B-12 and B-6 were both associated with a slightly reduced risk of depression (P=0.01 and P=0.05, respectively) for up to 12 years of follow-up, reported Kimberly A. Skarupski, MD, of Rush University in Chicago, and colleagues.
"In the assessment and treatment of depressive symptoms in older adults, clinicians and other healthcare professionals should be mindful of the patient's nutritional status in general, and whether there are vitamin insufficiencies in these nutrients before treatment," they wrote in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Recent data show that 6% of older people are deficient in vitamin B-12, and 20% may have marginal depletion, according to background information supplied by the authors. Vitamin B insufficiency among individuals over 65 can be caused by reduced absorption and by medical conditions.
The prevalence of depression in later life ranges from 7% to 49%, they further noted. Depression among older people is associated with adverse health outcomes (including risk of mortality) and increased health costs. read more...
Comments: There is no doubt that we are deficient in some or many vitamins. In fact, I received a call from an individual whose doctor recommended that she take 40,000 IUs of vitamin D each day for some issues she was dealing with, at an age I'm guessing of somewhere in her late 40's. Now many reports suggest that 2-4,000 IUs per day is a good level to supplement, so you can see that her amount is quite high. Regardless, the results that she had reported to me were very enlightening. Her life seemed to undergo quite a major improvement.
However, although one or two vitamins can make a difference, we really need more whole food nutrition in our diets - raw, ripe fruits and vegetables. These plant-based foods are what contain not only vitamins, but a plethora of nutrients that all work together to support every aspect of our health, supporting the immune system and preventing sickness and disease. While a vitamin D supplement is one recommendation that I will support, an even better recommendation is for you to eat more fruits, vegetables, grapes, and berries each day. A variety of those foods will provide you with a plethora of antioxidants that will support your good health. Don't wait any longer, start adding more of those foods to your diet. In the meantime, add Juice Plus+® Fruit, Vegetable, and Berry Blend to your diet to get more nutrients from 7 fruits, 8 vegetables, and 9 grapes and berries.
Dr. J. Patrick Havey
The Health & Wellness Institute, PC
Official Juice Plus+® Independent Distributor
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