Vitamins & Supplements
Older adults may struggle to get adequate amounts of certain nutrients due to dietary choices, chronic health conditions, or other reasons. Nutrition programs can help to address this by providing education about the best sources for nutrients and, if needed, how to talk to their health care provider about vitamins and dietary supplements.
Quick Guides
- Food Sources of Nutrients — Quick reference sheets from USDA
- Calcium and Vitamin D— Ohio Department of Aging one-pager
- Vitamin B12 and You— Ohio Department of Aging one-pager
- Thinking About Taking A Dietary Supplement? (YouTube)— One-minute video from NIH
Guides
- Oral Nutrition Supplements — Tips for offering, funding, and reporting meals that include these supplements
Resources
- Botanical Dietary Supplements— General information from NIH
- Dietary Supplements— NIH overview of supplements and federal regulations
- Dietary Supplement Fact Sheets— NIH's A-to-Z collection
- OPSS Scorecard— Operation Supplement Safety checklist to screen your dietary supplement for safety
- Spotlight on Collagen— Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
- Supplement Your Knowledge— FDA education initiative materials
- Use and Safety of Dietary Supplements— Frequently asked questions from NIH
- Vitamin Supplements: Hype or Help for Healthy Eating— American Heart Association article