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The 3 Supplements You Might Actually Need After 50
When it comes to vitamins and minerals, multiple pills aren’t necessary
By Jeanette Beebe Updated November 14, 2025 AARP
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Published July 21, 2021
Updated November 14, 2025
person reads label on vitamin bottle
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Taking a dietary supplement or two (or five) every day isn’t exactly uncommon. More than 74 percent of adults 60 and older reported taking at least one supplement in the past month — be it a multivitamin or a chocolate-flavored calcium chew, according to data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. About 25 percent took at least four.
Research from AARP found that share to be even higher: 78 percent of adults 50 and older who participated in a 2021 survey said they took vitamins or supplements. Among adults 65 and older, the percentage shot up to 83.
Trade that pill for food
Or, if you must, have both.
One of the best ways to get all of your essential vitamins and minerals is the old-fashioned way: through a healthy, balanced diet (proteins, veggies, fiber and fluids).
Here’s where you can find calcium, vitamin D and vitamin B12:
Calcium: tofu, broccoli, collard greens, kale and various dairy products
Vitamin D: yogurt, milk, fatty fish, beef liver, mushrooms
Vitamin B12: poultry, meat, clams, dairy, eggs.
Calcium
As we age, our bodies typically don’t absorb vitamins and minerals as well as they used to. If you don’t get enough calcium from dairy, leafy greens and other calcium-rich foods (women over 50 and men over 70 often don’t, according to the National Institutes of Health), your body sources it from your bones, making them weaker.
Vitamin D
Calcium works best when it’s taken alongside vitamin D, which assists in its absorption from the gut. Vitamin D, like calcium, is crucial for bone health. It supports the immune and nervous systems and may benefit the heart.
Preliminary research presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2025 found that adults with heart disease who had experienced a heart attack and ensured vitamin D levels greater than 40 ng/mL but not above 80 ng/mL for nearly four years had a 52 percent lower risk of heart attack compared to participants whose vitamin D levels were not managed.
Vitamin B12
Remember how aging makes it harder for the body to use calcium? And to make vitamin D?
When it comes to vitamin B12, older adults are again at a disadvantage. That’s because aging impacts the body’s ability to absorb this essential nutrient, which plays an important role in regulating blood, nerve and genetic health, according to the NIH.
Older adults who are vegetarian or vegan, who take the antidiabetic medication metformin or who take gastric acid inhibitors to treat certain digestion problems are even more likely to be B12-deficient. Just like with vitamin D, people with Crohn’s or celiac disease are more likely to have a B12 deficiency.
If you do have a vitamin B12 deficiency — and it’s estimated that 3 to 43 percent of older adults do — you will be more likely to develop anemia. A B12 deficiency can also lead to neuropathy or nerve damage (which may feel like tingling or numbness in your hands or feet), balance issues, depression, confusion, poor memory and dementia-like symptoms.
How much do you need? The NIH recommends that adults get, on average, 2.4 mcg per day of vitamin B12. When it comes to food, you can get what you need from fish, meat, poultry, eggs, milk, clams and beef liver, as well as from some fortified cereals. Many multivitamin supplements contain this key nutrient, or you can take it on its own.
There’s no need to worry if your supplement contains a higher dose than what’s recommended. Unlike calcium and vitamin D, “vitamin B12 has not been shown to cause any harm, even at high doses,” the NIH maintains. Just be sure to talk to your doctor about any medications you are on that could interact with a vitamin B12 supplement.
