Dietary Supplements Nutrition

Although Americans have long been consuming vitamin and mineral supplements, it was only in the 1980s and 1990s that a direct relationship between diet and health (and, therefore, the potential beneficial role for nutrient supplements beyond the minimum amounts required to avoid deficiency) became apparent. The elderly population is the most diverse and heterogeneous of any age group, and determining the nutritional needs of older adults is challenging because their physiology, medical conditions, lifestyles, and social situations are different from those of younger people.