Dietary Supplements in Older Adults

Abstract

IntroductionThis chapter focuses on the rationale and evidence base for the use of dietary supplements for both maintaining health and decreasing the risks of some common chronic diseases. This review also updates the information in a review of data through 2009 on nutritional supplements for older adults [ 1 ] by summarizing evidence published in 2009-2013 from systematic reviews and meta-analyses of randomized clinical trials with disease endpoints. The chapter concludes with recommendations for assessing dietary supplement use in older persons and suggestions for counseling them. We have categorized these supplements according to their active ingredient(s), and we pay particular attention to