• Nutrient Demand With Advancing Age

    Posted July 5, 2013: by Bill Sardi

    Sometimes it is better to present the big overall picture of the need for nutrients with advancing age.

    During childhood the demand for minerals is great. Calcium in needed for bone development, iron for red blood cells and copper for connective tissue. During the childbearing years women also require more minerals to donate to the offspring during pregnancy and lactation.

    Once childhood growth is achieved in males (~age 18) and when menstruation ceases in females, minerals begin to accumulate. This is known as the over-mineralization theory of aging – that humans rust and calcify with advancing age. Calcium-rich dairy and iron-rich red meat should be consumed in limited amounts with advancing age. Human populations that have water and grasslands to feed cattle (milk cows, steers) consume the most meat and dairy (calcium and iron) and have the highest rates of cancer and heart disease in the world (North America, Ireland, Scandinavia and New Zealand).

    Iron-fortified foods, such as breakfast cereals, should be avoided by fully-grown males and by menopausal females.

    The secretion of stomach acid declines with advancing age and when H. pylori infection cause acid-secreting cells being shut off by this nefarious bacterium. B vitamins, minerals, vitamin C, all depend upon stomach acid for absorption.

    The following chart presents an overall view of which nutrients to emphasize and de-emphasize with advancing age.

    NUTRIENT DEMAND WITH ADVANCING AGE

    Need To Limit Need To Increase
    Iron IP6 phytate (bran factor)
    Copper Zinc, resveratrol (copper controllers)
    Calcium Magnesium, Vitamin K2, Vitamin D3, IP6 phytate
    Omega-6 oils Omega-3 oils (flaxseed, fish)
    Thiamin (coffee, tea, alcohol, sugar inhibit absorption)
    Acidity (betaine hydrochloride)- for nutrient absorption; stomach acid secretion declines with advancing age.
    Sodium Potassium
    Refined sugar Vitamin C (refined sugar paralyzes white blood cells; vitamin C activates white blood cells)
    Vitamin D3

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