Supplements By Age?

[Mellow]

As we age the levels of certain things in our bodies drop. Is the general thinking;

a) That's natural, we should let it happen
b) That's unnatural, we should supplement
c) That's natural, but happens too rapidly (modern diet, lifestyle), so we should supplement

If we should supplement, is there a standard protocol to use by age (20s, 30s, 40s, etc), or purely should go by testing? What would be the best way to establish a baseline for a given age?

 

[Hans]

I think a very important supplement to use (or food) no matter your age is gelatin. Our bodies cannot synthesize enough glycine or proline so everything that requires collagen goes backwards because of inadequate precursors.
Other than that, stay lean, because adipose tissue is a major source of aromatase and as your androgens drop your androgen to estrogen ratio increases.
Also, keep the gut healthy so that you absorb all your nutrients and then there are not much need for any supplement if your diet is good.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I think as we age, it is probably a good idea to supplement with very low levels of progesterone and DHEA. Got enough sunshine or D3. A little vitamin E, some aspirin. Magnesium and calcium if we need it.

I doubt there is a template for this that could be used because we are each a bit different.

 

[baccheion]

Aging occurs due to a decline in hormones not the other way around. Only exceptions may be declines in elevations related to growth (eg, really high HGH).

When the (mostly) last plates fuse and the PFC matures at 25, a good snapshot of adult hormone levels is present. DHEA's decline (said to be due to accumulated stress/cortisol/inflammation and absence of support from growth) typically starts at this age. Other hormones then follow, as it's a precursor. Cortisol (+ insulin) then runs unopposed and may be the reason for declining progesterone.

One step is to maintain nutrient sufficiency, especially of commonly insufficient magnesium and vitamin D3. Vitamin D3 opposes cortisol and skin/gut conversion/absorption declines with age. Then DHEA (said to be related to vitamin A and sleep quality; and maybe magnesium), maybe via supplementation. Eat the last meal 4 hours before bed to not miss the HGH spike.

Go by labs (and genetic testing) to personalize. There's NutrEval to check nutrient levels. A food sensitivity test may not be a bad idea, as louder sources of inflammation can then be minimize/eliminated.