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Prevention for Seniors

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It's a medical fact that immunity tends to fade with age, and is significantly weaker after age 60 or so. In part, this is related to well-documented nutritional deficiencies among the elderly, caused by diminished appetite and digestive capacity. On average, seniors suffer clear deficiencies of B vitamins and vitamin D. And recent evidence suggests that they can also benefit from multivitamin supplements, vitamin E, and a nutritional factor called NAC.

Multivitamin Supplements
Multivitamin Supplements can boost immunity and reduce infections among persons 60 and older, according to two studies published in the 1990's. In one, seniors who took a low-dose, One-A-Day type supplement daily for a year increased their immune measures by 60%. The other study showed that in persons 65 and older, a moderate-dose daily multivitamin/mineral supplement enhanced immune function and cut rates of infection in half.

Vitamin E
Vitamin E has been shown to boost immunity in persons 65 and older, according to a Tufts University study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Seniors who took 200 mg per day for most of a year enjoyed a significant boost in key immune functions.

NAC
NAC (N-acetyl-cysteine) may reduce the risk of flu among people 65 and older. Italian researchers found that 29% of seniors who took 600 mg twice daily got the flu, compared with 51% of those taking an inactive placebo pill. Those who took NAC also enjoyed an improved immune response.

The body uses NAC to make glutathione, a key antioxidant and liver detoxifying enzyme. NAC is used by doctors to thin mucus membranes and prevent and treat chronic bronchial infections. Note: NAC may produce oxidative damage (i.e., act like a free radical) in healthy persons. It appears best suited to older persons, who generally have weaker immunity, as a daily supplement during cold and flu season.

What About DHEA?
Some animal experiments indicate that this "master hormone" (dehydroepiandrosterone) boosts immunity to viruses. But the only clinical trial of DHEA in people over 60 failed to show any enhancement of immunity or any flu-preventing benefit.