Which supplements should I take in my 50s? A safer guide
“I’m 57 and mostly healthy. What supplements should someone my age be taking?
Vitamin C, calcium, iron, vitamin D – they can never hurt, right?”
That question shows up in my inbox a lot, and I get why: age feels like a clean sorting rule. But for all of you health-literate adults, it’s usually the wrong question.
A more useful version I invite you to ask is closer to:
“Given my nutrition, labs, medications, and current goals, which compounds, and how much, make sense for me—and which are more likely to add risk than benefit?”
That change in question is what links your supplement decisions to outcomes you want—more energy, better mood and a sharp brain.
Many individuals carry a background story about supplements that sounds like this:
“Vitamins and botanicals are natural. They might be a waste of money, but they’re not going to do any real damage.”
This picture leaves out several big pieces that matter in your 50s & 60s+ (and relevant really, at any age):
Drug interactions with long-term medications.
Blood thinners, blood pressure drugs, antiarrhythmics, diabetes meds, thyroid, and antidepressants can interact with “over-the-counter” supplements.
Kidney and liver load, especially with existing kidney disease or fatty liver.
The same organs that have to handle your prescriptions, alcohol, and environmental exposures are also processing the capsules, powders, and extract you add.
Stacking products without seeing the overlap.
A multivitamin + a separate D3 capsule + fortified foods can push vitamin D into a range your clinician didn’t intend; the same issues show up with vitamin A, Vitamin C, calcium, iron, and others.
“Natural ≠ safe”
Concentrated turmeric, green tea extract, Ashwagandha, and other botanicals show up in case reports of liver injury; “plant-based” and “traditional” do not equal risk-free.
Quality control and contamination.
Independent testing continues to find products that contain more or less than the stated dose, undisclosed active ingredients, and contaminants including heavy metals.
Once you see these as part of the supplement conversation, “What should a 57-year-old male/female take?” feels incomplete on its own.
One of the questions I get most often on the back of this is, “Okay, but what do you take, Kat?”
The helpful version of that answer depends on context.
Physical and mental workload, digestive function, food restrictions and preferences, what your “food eats,” even what’s in your water and environment all affect what makes sense for you.
Absorption of the same compound can vary between people, depending on gut health, transit time, etc.
Genetic differences in transport and metabolism.
Measured nutrient deficiency or imbalance—through labs or nutrient tracking—matters.
So do long-term medications & current health goals/challenges.
(There was a period when I owned 40+ products and took 20+ supplements a day. Now I have 2+ supplement-free days each week and a 4–6 product ceiling on the days I do supplement.)
What’s changed over the ~20 years I’ve been in health optimization—the compounds I stopped or moved to situational or infrequent use—is perhaps just as useful to you as what remained.
So instead of a “here’s what I take” list, I’ve grouped everything into four tiers based on how often I use them:
Tier 1 — 9 supplements (3–5 days a week)
Tier 2 — 6 supplements (1–3 days a week)
Tier 3 — 7 supplements (as needed, special situations, or a few times a year)
Tier 4 — 2 supplements (I own it but I’m not taking it right now)
For Tier 1, I’ll walk through:
Why and how I use each compound
How I’m reading the current evidence—what the data supports so far, and where I think it is thin or uncertain, and
Where a health-conscious adult might want to be mindful about trade-offs
—so you can see both reasons to consider them and reasons you might decide not to.
Over time, this approach builds a skill set—reading labels, matching doses to evidence, and noticing your own responses—that keeps you in the role of active steward of your physiology.
At the end, I’ll also outline 3 categories of supplements that I avoid 100% of the time —and why those types of supplements make it harder, not easier to:
Match supplements to midlife physiology &
Keep risk–benefit anchored to pharmacology, organ capacity, and outcome data.
Here’s how my current supplement shelf looks—starting with Tier 4 (what I’m no longer taking) and then working upward to the ones I use more often:
Tier 4: What I still own but am not using at the moment (2 supplements)
Creatine is parked indefinitely.
The multibiotic is a special-case backup.
—I keep it in case of short runs after external gut disruptions—antimicrobial herbs such as oregano oil—rather than as something I take continuously or rely on for gut health.
(Tier 4: 1 of 2) Creatine
What it’s for: Creatine monohydrate supports power output and muscle performance, with emerging but mixed data for cognitive support.
Potential benefits: Trials show higher gains in strength and lean mass vs. placebo, and small improvements in memory/processing speed.
What to be mindful of: Typical dose is 3–5 g/day; main issues are water-weight gain and GI upset at higher doses, and it’s generally avoided or monitored in people with kidney disease.
(Tier 4: 2 of 2) Multibiotic / probiotic
What it’s for: Multi-strain lactobacillus/bifidobacterium blends aimed at gut comfort, stool regularity, and support during or after antibiotics.
Potential benefits: Certain strain-specific products reduce antibiotic-associated diarrhea risk.
What to be aware of: Effects are strain- and condition-specific; guidelines generally avoid broad probiotic recommendations for IBS and reserve them for case-by-case, and use is cautious in immunocompromised people.
Tier 3: What I use in specific situations (7 supplements).
These come out during higher stress periods, travel, or stretches when my diet temporarily provides less B, B12, quercetin-rich foods (onions, leeks, apples), or omega-3 sources like chia.
But, because recent labs show these b12, b6 in a good range without ongoing supplementation, I now use Tier 3 compounds very occasionally—currently, anywhere between once every 2–6 months.
Magnesium lives here for a similar reason: my intake from food is close to 1 g/day and serum levels run high-normal, so these days extra magnesium is reserved for unusual circumstances instead of routine use.
(Tier 3: 1 of 7) Magnesium bisglycinate
What it’s for: Chelated magnesium form used for general magnesium repletion with good GI tolerance, often targeted at sleep, muscle relaxation, and stress.
Potential benefits: Modest improvements in insomnia scores and sleep quality in people with low magnesium or poor baseline sleep. Supports overall magnesium-dependent processes (glucose handling, blood pressure) when dietary intake is marginal.
What to be mindful of: Gentle forms can cause loose stools if dose is high or ramped too fast. Benefits depend on baseline magnesium status; results seem to be underwhelming in already replete individuals.
(Tier 3: 2 of 7) Magnesium L-threonate
What it’s for: Magnesium designed to cross the blood–brain barrier more effectively, positioned for cognitive support and, more recently, sleep.
Potential benefits: Studies report improvements in self-rated sleep quality and daytime functioning in adults with sleep complaints. Trials show modest gains in memory and executive function in healthy adults.
What to be mindful of: More expensive per mg of elemental magnesium than other forms. Human data are seem to be limited to short–medium duration trials; long-term cognitive or sleep outcome data are not available yet.
(Tier 3: 3 of 7) Vitamin B12
What it’s for: B12 supports red blood cell production, myelin integrity, and methylation pathways involved in homocysteine control and brain health.
Potential benefits: Cohort data link better B12 status with slower cognitive decline in older adults, especially when deficiency is corrected early.
What to be mindful of: Studies in deficient but otherwise healthy older adults show limited short-term cognitive benefit once frank deficiency is corrected. Very high serum B12 without supplementation can signal underlying disease; persistently high levels from supplements may mask that.
(Tier 3: 4 of 7) B-complex
What it’s for: Combined B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B9, B12 (± others) used for broad support of energy metabolism, stress resilience, homocysteine control, and to backfill dietary gaps.
Potential benefits: Healthy but stressed adults show reduced perceived stress and mental fatigue, plus small improvements in cognitive performance and exercise endurance.
What to be mindful of: High-dose formulas often pack in B6, niacin, and folate; long-term high intake can increase the risk of peripheral neuropathy (including from B6 alone), liver stress, and folate masking an underlying B12 deficiency.
(Tier 3: 5 of 7) Vitamin B6
What it’s for: Coenzyme in amino acid metabolism, neurotransmitter synthesis (GABA, serotonin, dopamine).
Potential benefits: Correcting low B6 can improve homocysteine and support normal nerve function; low-dose use is sometimes layered with other Bs.
What to be mindful of: Peripheral neuropathy is a risk with long-term high-dose B6, sometimes at doses lower than older safety limits; some regulators are now tightening upper limits. B6 is in many products (multis, stress formulas, magnesium blends), so total daily intake can add up.
(Tier 3: 6 of 7) Vegan omega-3 (algal EPA/DHA)
What it’s for: Plant-based source of preformed EPA/DHA.
Potential benefits: Higher-dose EPA/DHA mixes can reduce triglycerides and, in some trials, improve aspects of attention and reaction time.
What to be mindful of:
Note; many algal products provide only 150–250 mg DHA per capsule.
Benefits seem to taper once omega-3 index is in a healthy range; going very high adds cost and additional concerns when combined with anticoagulants.
(Tier 3: 7 of 7) Quercetin
What it’s for: Flavonoid antioxidant used for cardiometabolic, vascular, and general anti-inflammatory support; sometimes used with bromelain.
Potential benefits: Studies show reductions in systolic blood pressure in adults with hypertension. Some studies report lower inflammatory markers and improved total antioxidant capacity in higher-risk groups (e.g., post-MI patients).
What to be mindful of: Oral bioavailability is potentially variable. Long-term high-dose safety data in otherwise healthy adults seem to be limited.
Tier 2: What I use ~1-3 days per week (6 Supplements).
These are periodic “top-ups” for areas where diet fluctuates and/or where research supports mindful moderate use.
Frequency depends on what I am eating, how much sun exposure I am getting, and what recent labs look like. In other words, these are helpful additions, but they are not fixed into a daily pattern.
(Tier 2: 1 of 6) Biotin
How I use it: Around 1 per week or less, as a low-level backup. True biotin deficiency is uncommon on a mixed diet, but adequate biotin status helps support healthy glucose handling and lipid metabolism at the enzymatic level.
What it’s for: Coenzyme in carboxylase reactions that support glucose and fatty acid metabolism; Needed for nervous system function and some gene regulation steps.
Potential benefits: Supports enzymes that are rate-limiting in gluconeogenesis, fatty acid synthesis, and amino acid catabolism. Multinutrient formulas that include high-dose biotin report better hair density and patient-rated hair/skin scores, but the specific contribution of biotin is hard to isolate.
What to be mindful of: High-dose biotin can interfere with a wide range of lab tests (thyroid, troponin, others), causing false highs or lows.
(Tier 2: 2 of 6) Glutathione-SR (sustained-release glutathione)
What it’s for: Antioxidant support, oxidative stress modulation. SR formats aim to improve plasma exposure versus standard oral.
Potential benefits: Studies suggest that 250–1,000 mg/day oral glutathione can raise blood and red-cell glutathione and shift some oxidative stress markers in a favorable direction.
What to be mindful of: Long-term safety data at higher doses seem relatively sparse.
(Tier 2: 3 of 6)Vitamin K2
What it’s for: Activates vitamin K–dependent proteins (e.g., matrix Gla protein, osteocalcin) that help direct calcium into bone and away from arteries; MK-7 is the most common supplemental form.
Potential benefits: Observational data link higher K2 intake with lower coronary calcification and reduced cardiovascular events, and some trials suggest better bone outcomes when K2 is combined with vitamin D and calcium.
What to be mindful of: K2 can counteract vitamin K–blocking blood thinners (including warfarin) and change anticoagulation control, so use with prescriber oversight and monitoring.
(Tier 2: 4 of 6) Vitamin D3
What it’s for: Regulates calcium and bone metabolism, immune function, and many gene networks; supplementation is mainly about correcting low 25(OH)D.
Potential benefits: In deficient people, repletion improves bone mineral parameters and reduces osteomalacia risk; dosing is best guided by blood levels. Large trials show neutral or modest effects on falls, fractures, and other outcomes; benefits seem concentrated in those who start out genuinely low.
What to be mindful of: High chronic doses without monitoring can push calcium up and increase kidney stone or vascular calcification risk.
(Tier 2: 5 of 6) Alpha lipoic acid (ALA)
What it’s for: Alpha-lipoic acid is a sulfur-containing compound that cells produce in small amounts, where it helps key mitochondrial enzymes turn nutrients into energy and regenerate other antioxidants such as glutathione and vitamin C. We get it in modest amounts from food—organ meats, red meat, and to a lesser extent spinach, broccoli, tomatoes, and yeast—but typical dietary intake is much lower than the doses used in supplements.
Potential benefits:
Trials in diabetes, impaired fasting glucose, and subclinical hypothyroidism show better endothelial function and vascular tone after short courses of ALA, likely via reduced oxidative stress.
Review-level data suggest small improvements in insulin sensitivity, glycemic control, triglycerides, and inflammatory markers in some metabolic populations.
What to be mindful of: Because ALA can influence glucose handling, people on glucose-lowering drugs or with a history of hypoglycemia may want to watch for additive effects
(Tier 2: 6 of 6) Vitamin E
How I take it or why: 2-3 days per week, typically on days when I am not eating nuts or using olive oil. Observational data link higher dietary vitamin E intake with lower cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality—but that is a food-pattern finding (nuts, seeds, oils, vegetables), not a supplement-derived one.
A moderate supplement that tops up a low intake may approximate the blood levels seen in vitamin-E-rich diets, but we do not have strong trial evidence that supplemental top-ups reproduce the same outcomes. Higher-dose antioxidant supplementation can introduce trade-offs—an issue that also comes up when people apply a “more is better” mindset to melatonin and similar compounds.
The European Food Safety Authority sets a supplement upper limit of 300 mg/day (~450 IU) based on bleeding risk;
the U.S. upper limit remains 1,000 mg/day (~1,500 IU natural-form),
—though some data suggest harm may begin below that threshold.
What it’s for: Vitamin E (α-tocopherol) is a lipid-phase antioxidant that helps limit free-radical-driven lipid peroxidation in cell membranes and lipoproteins.
Potential benefits:
Vitamin E interrupts lipid peroxidation chain reactions in membranes and LDL particles, and low-dose supplementation has been shown to reduce ex vivo LDL oxidation
In a recent study, vitamin E showed improvements in liver histology and liver function in non-diabetic MASH / NASH
What to be mindful of:
High-dose: A 2005 meta-analyses and large RCTs (including HOPE-TOO and SELECT) report that high-dose vitamin E (often 400 IU/day) does not reduce major cardiovascular events or total mortality and, in some cohorts, is associated with higher risk of heart failure or prostate cancer.
Vitamin E can antagonize vitamin K–dependent clotting; high doses may increase hemorrhagic stroke or bleeding risk.
Tier 1: Core Rotation—What I use 3-5 days per week (9 supplements—in no particular order)
They map to two recurring categories :
connective tissue support that fits my training volume and joint priorities, and
a short list of nutrients and compounds I’m unlikely to get from food because I deliberately do not eat the primary food sources.
(Tier 1: 1 of 9) Astaxanthin
How I use it: I use astaxanthin around 3–5 days per week with a fat-containing meal because I seldom eat astaxanthin-rich foods like salmon, trout, or shellfish, so this fills that specific carotenoid gap, while my other carotenoid intake comes mainly from beta-carotene and alpha-carotene (carrots and sweet potatoes), lycopene (tomato products like sauce or paste), and lutein plus zeaxanthin (dark leafy greens like spinach, kale, and romaine).
What it’s for: Astaxanthin is a carotenoid antioxidant derived mainly from microalgae. It embeds in cell membranes and lipoproteins and is typically used for eye health, skin support, vascular health, and exercise-recovery support.
Potential benefits: Human trials show modest improvements in oxidative stress markers and reduced LDL oxidation. In some exercise studies, astaxanthin has been linked with better endurance performance or reduced perceived fatigue.
What to be mindful of: Most human data come from short to medium-length trials; long-term high-dose safety is less established.
