The optimal calcium requirements recommended by the National Institutes of Health Consensus Panel are 1,000 milligrams for men 65 and under, women under 50, and women older than 50 who receive hormone-replacement therapy. Women over 50 and men over 65 should aim for 1,500 milligrams a day. Women who are pregnant or nursing should get between 1,200 and 1,500 milligrams a day. Iron out nutritional wrinkles. A key ingredient in red blood cells, iron is a mineral we can't live without.
Red meat is a particularly good source of heme iron , the most easily absorbed form.
Cooked dried beans and other plant foods provide smaller amounts in what's called the nonheme form, a kind of dietary iron that isn't as easily absorbed, Dr. Mangels says. Accompany iron -rich plant foods like soybeans, other dried beans, and dark leafy vegetables with foods high in vitamin C like peppers, tomatoes, and citrus fruits, Dr. Mangels advises. But don't go overboard on iron . Turn to the yeast. Plus, when combined with B 6 and folic acid , Vitamin B 12 can help lower homocysteine levels in the blood and reduce your risk for heart disease, says Killian Robinson, M.D., a staff cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland.