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Multivitamins for Women Over 50
A quick look at the best multivitamins for women over 50
- Overall winner: Thorne Women’s Multi 50+
- With green tea extract: MegaFood Multi for Women 55+
- With black cohosh: Garden of Life mykind Organics Women’s 40+
- Multi- compound: Pure Encapsulations Longevity Nutrients
- With antioxidants: Seeking Health Optimal Multivitamin
- With trimethylglycine: Designs for Health Complete Multi
- Best gummy: SmartyPants Masters Complete Women 50+ Gummy
- Best vegan: Ritual Essential for Women Multivitamin 50+
- For filling nutrient gaps: Care/of Multivitamin — The Foundation
- Best personalized: Persona Women’s Foundational Multivitamin
Nutrient needs change throughout a woman’s lifetime.
Women between the ages of 15 and 49 have higher needs for iron due to menstruation, while women ages 50 and over need less iron but more of certain nutrients, including vitamin B6 and calcium (1, 2, 3).
Plus, women over 50 are at a higher risk of deficiencies in certain nutrients, including vitamins B6, B12, and D (4, 5).
Although it’s possible to meet most nutrient needs through your diet, it may be difficult for women over 50 to get all of their necessary nutrients through food.
For example, many older adults’ ability to absorb B12 from food declines due to lower stomach acid secretion, thereby raising the risk of severe vitamin B12 deficiency. As such, adults over 50 are encouraged to supplement with vitamin B12 (6, 7).
For women over 50, a multivitamin may be necessary to meet the intake recommendations for vitamins, minerals, and other important nutrients. Notably, many excellent multivitamins are made specifically for women in this age bracket.
ishonest used the following criteria to rank the best of these multivitamins:
- strict standards regarding quality and purity from the manufacturer
- the high bioavailability of nutrients
- no unnecessary ingredients like fillers, artificial sweeteners, or colors
- trusted by healthcare professionals, including doctors and dietitians
Here are the 10 best multivitamins for women over 50.
ishonest’s picks of the best multivitamins for women over 50
Thorne Women’s Multi 50+
Price: $$
Thorne Women’s Multi 50+ is a balanced multivitamin that’s an excellent choice for women over 50 who need an extra nutrient boost.
This supplement is iron-free and contains highly absorbable forms of important nutrients for women, including magnesium; vitamins B12, B6, and D; and a small amount of calcium.
It also provides lutein, a carotenoid antioxidant that supports brain and eye function. Studies show that older adults who have higher lutein levels perform better on cognitive tasks than those who have lower levels (8).
Thorne follows current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMPs), which are standards set by the Food and Drug Administration to ensure supplement quality.
The company has also obtained an “A†rating from the Therapeutic Goods Association, a regulatory agency run by the Australian Department of Health.
MegaFood Multi for Women 55+
Price: $
MegaFood Multi for Women 55+ is formulated to support the health of women over 55.
It’s free of iron and contains absorbable forms of methylated folate, vitamins B12 and D, and several other vitamins and minerals.
This supplement also boasts 250 mg of green tea extract, which has potent antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties and may support healthy aging (9, 10).
MegaFood supplements are doctor-formulated, vegan, and certified gluten-free. The company follows cGMP guidelines and tests its products for more than 125 pesticides and herbicides.
Garden of Life mykind Organics Women’s 40+
Price: $
Garden of Life is a popular supplement brand that you can likely find at your local grocery store.
Garden of Life mykind Organics Women 40+ contains a variety of essential nutrients, including folate, magnesium, and vitamins B6, B12, and D3, which may be lacking in the diets of women over 50.
This multivitamin also contains black cohosh, an herb that has shown promise in decreasing certain symptoms of menopause, including hot flashes, when taken as a supplement (11, 12).
Garden of Life is certified organic, gluten-free, kosher, and vegan.
Pure Encapsulations Longevity Nutrients
Price: $$$
Pure Encapsulations is a high quality supplement brand that’s trusted by healthcare practitioners worldwide.
This iron-free supplement is a good source of magnesium, folate, and vitamins B6, B12, and D, as well as many other nutrients essential to women’s health as they age.
Pure Encapsulations Longevity Nutrients also contains a variety of other compounds, including lutein, lycopene, zeaxanthin, green tea extract, curcumin, red wine concentrate, and ginkgo biloba, which is meant to support your heart, eyes, and brain.
Pure Encapsulations exceeds standards set by United States Pharmacopeia, an organization that sets strict guidelines for the quality and purity of supplements (13).
The company’s products are vegetarian and free of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and gluten.
Seeking Health Optimal Multivitamin
Price: $$
Seeking Health Optimal Multivitamin is an iron-free multivitamin that’s perfect for women over 50.
It contains absorbable forms of vitamin B12, folate, magnesium, and a small amount of calcium, in addition to a concentrated dose of vitamin B6, which many older women may lack (5).
It’s also packed with compounds that may promote healthy aging, including carotenoid antioxidants, the flavonoid antioxidant quercetin, and N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), a precursor to glutathione, an antioxidant that protects against cellular damage (14).
Seeking Health is dedicated to providing high quality supplements. The company meets cGMP requirements and provides a certificate of analysis for all of its supplements upon request.
Plus, all Seeking Health supplements are backed by a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Designs for Health Complete Multi
Price: $$
Designs for Health Complete Multi is a good choice for women over 50 because it’s made without iron and contains nutrients that support women’s health, such as selenium, magnesium, folate, and vitamins B6, B12, and D.
It also boasts trimethylglycine (betaine), a molecule that may help reduce homocysteine when taken in high doses. Homocysteine is an amino acid that may increase your heart disease risk when levels become too high in your body (15, 16).
Homocysteine levels tend to be higher in postmenopausal women than in younger women (17).
Designs for Health products are produced in compliance with cGMP guidelines and adhere to strict quality control standards.
SmartyPants Masters Complete Women 50+ Gummy
Price: $
If you prefer gummies to pills, SmartyPants Masters Complete Women 50+ may be a good fit. This gummy supplement is specifically formulated to meet the needs of women over 50.
This gummy is iron-free and provides a variety of nutrients, such as folate and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, and D. It also contains a small amount of the essential omega-3 fats docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), as well as lutein and zeaxanthin.
Like most other gummy vitamins, this product contains a fair amount of added sugar, with just 4 gummies packing 6 grams (1.5 teaspoons).
For optimal health, it’s best to keep added sugar intake to a minimum. To prevent cavities, be sure to rinse your mouth after taking any sweetened gummy vitamin.
Ritual Essential for Women Multivitamin 50+
Price: $
If you’re looking for a vegan multivitamin, Ritual Essential for Women Multivitamin 50+ is an excellent choice.
It’s formulated for postmenopausal women, containing vitamins D3, E, K, and B12; folate; magnesium; boron; and the omega-3 fatty acid DHA.
Boron is important for bone metabolism and may help improve bone health in women over 50, who are at higher risk for osteoporosis (18).
As a vegan supplement, Ritual Essential for Women Multivitamin 50+ derives its DHA from microalgae and its vitamin D3 from lichen.
This multivitamin has a delayed-release capsule and is free of gluten, major allergens, GMOs, and artificial colorings and synthetic fillers. Ritual also makes its ingredients traceable, providing source information for each supplement in its multivitamin.
Care/of Multivitamin — The Foundation
Price: $
Care/of Multivitamin contains vitamins and minerals that fill the most common nutrient gaps in standard American diets without having an overabundance of nutrients that you likely already get enough of from food.
Not only does Care/of Multivitamin focus on nutrients most commonly missing from modern diets, but the brand also chooses nutrients in forms that are easily digestible and absorbable, including methylated B vitamins and chelated minerals.
While this iron-free supplement is not specifically formulated for women, it’s a good choice for women over 50 looking to fill nutrient gaps in their diet. It provides nutrients that women over 50 are more likely to be deficient in, like 1,000 IU of vitamin D3 and 2.4 mcg of vitamin B12.
Care/of Multivitamin is vegetarian, non-GMO, gluten-free, and free of many major allergens.
Care/of doesn’t offer their supplements for a one-time purchase. Rather, you need to sign up for a monthly subscription and pause delivery when you no longer want their products.
Persona Women’s Foundational Multivitamin
Price: $$$
Persona Women’s Foundational Multivitamin is a comprehensive multivitamin formulated for women of all ages that provides 19 vitamins and minerals, including vitamins A, C, D, B6, and B12; folate; and iron; as well as the omega-3 fatty acids DHA and EPA.
This multivitamin includes biologically active nutrients that Persona claims are easier for your body to absorb, like methylated vitamin B12.
Persona is a personalized nutrition supplements company. You can take a quiz on their website to get their recommendations on the most important supplements your body needs based on your diet, health history, and lifestyle.
You cannot purchase Persona Women’s Foundational Multivitamin on its own, but it is included in the Women’s 50+ Multivitamin Pack.
In addition to the multivitamin, this packet includes an omega-3 fatty acid supplement, ashwagandha, a probiotic, and a blend of biotin, pantothenic acid, zinc, copper, marine collagen, sodium hyaluronate, and flaxseed lignans to support healthy hair, skin, and nails.
You can purchase the Women’s 50+ Multivitamin Pack without taking the quiz if you prefer.
Things to consider when selecting a multivitamin for women over 50
When searching for a multivitamin, it’s important to consider your specific health needs.
Just because multivitamins often contain most of your necessary vitamins and minerals doesn’t mean that they all contain the ones you need most.
For example, women over 50 are more likely to be deficient in vitamins B6, B12, and D.
Even though a supplement may provide a good amount of a nutrient, you may need more to meet your overall needs.
For example, some of the supplements on this list don’t provide 100% of the recommended intake for vitamin D for women over 50, which is 600 IU for women ages 50–69 and 800 IU for women 70 and over (19).
Women who have suboptimal vitamin D levels or a vitamin D deficiency may need much higher doses to reach and maintain optimal levels. Women over 50 should have their vitamin D levels tested to determine an appropriate, effective dose.
Likewise, women who are deficient in vitamin B12 may require high-dose vitamin B12 injections to reach optimal levels (20).
Moreover, although some women over 50 may need to supplement with calcium, such as those who don’t eat enough foods containing this mineral, calcium supplements aren’t right for all women.
Some research suggests that calcium supplements may increase your risk of heart disease, as excess calcium may damage the heart and vascular system. However, calcium from foods doesn’t raise this risk (21, 22).
For this reason, it’s best to consult a healthcare professional before taking high-dose calcium supplements. Focus on fulfilling your calcium needs by eating calcium-rich foods like sardines, low fat yogurt, nuts, cheese, and dark leafy greens.
When shopping for a supplement, always choose high quality products from trusted brands, such as the ones listed above.
In addition to supplementing to fill nutrient gaps, following a balanced, nutrient-dense diet, getting enough physical activity, managing underlying health conditions, reducing stress, and getting plenty of rest are all essential for your overall health and well-being.
The bottom line
As women age, their nutrient needs change. A woman’s ability to absorb certain nutrients may decline, and her risk of deficiency in several nutrients, such as vitamins B6, B12, and D, increases.
To choose the right multivitamin, it’s important to understand your specific needs so that you can choose one that provides the right amounts and forms of vitamins, minerals, and other compounds to promote optimal health.
If you have questions about multivitamins, ask a knowledgeable healthcare professional like a registered dietitian for advice.
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