Nutritional Supplements

So here’s the question: is there any benefit to drinking your nutrition in the form of nutritional supplements? They’re marketed to seniors to help boost their health. But do they work? It all comes down to why do we eat: we eat to consume calories, for energy, and to get the necessary vitamins and minerals that help run our body functions.

81 year old Ediee Gerson has never tried nutritional supplements. "Never crossed my mind," says Ediee. Yet she, and other active seniors, are a target for the marketing of nutritional supplements. The label of this brand claims it is complete balanced nutrition to help you can stay active, healthy and energetic. "Well, you can do so without supplements," believes Ediee.

The findings of a new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine agree. While the study verified that nutritional supplements can be helpful for older individuals who are sick and in the hospital, there’s really no benefit for healthy active seniors especially when you can eat a well balanced diet. Dr. Eileen Callahan of Mt. Sinai Medical Center says, "Initially they have been geared towards older more malnourished patients, who really couldn’t eat and drink and now it seems they are marketing it to everybody."

The research found protein and energy liquid supplements do improve nutritional status and may even reduce mortality and complications for undernourished elderly hospitalized patients. But these are people who can’t chew or who don’t have an appetite; that doesn’t apply to people living and eating on their own. Regardless of duration of use, the researchers found that supplementation did not improve survival rates for the at-home elderly.

And there is one problem: these supplements can potentially feed into the obesity problem millions of Americans--including seniors--are facing. Senior Arthur Allan says, "I want to lose weight I don’t want to gain weight." One bottle contains 250 calories and six grams of fat. It has roughly 25% of the recommended daily allowances for most important vitamins. You can get more in a daily multivitamin.

"If seniors eat a healthy diet, and they are out on the beach jogging, and you are able to eat normal regular food, you really don’t need it, if you don’t chronic medical problems, you don’t have a problem with taking in regular food you don’t need it, these are more for sick patients who are having trouble swallowing or they have different taste, they don’t like certain foods, and their family or care givers are having a hard time giving them the food," Dr. Callahan states. Arthur says he doesn’t need it. "I wouldn’t tell you my age but believe me I eat a healthy diet," exclaims Arthur.