Vitamins and Vigor at 65 Plus

Abstract

Metabolic processes in aging are incompletely understood, but there is controversial evidence of alteration in the needs for and utilization of some vitamins in the elderly. Studies indicate a substantial incidence of vitamin deficiencies, often multiple, in the elderly poor and ill. This article reviews the requirements, food sources, and deficiency syndromes of vitamins important to man and suggests rational uses of supplementary vitamins in older persons.