However, seniors have a variety of health problems, e.g poorly fitting dentures, arthritis, loneliness, inability to shop, cook or feed themselves, loss of ability to taste and other problems, which might interfere with adequate intake of food and cause a need for supplements. One mineral which should be supplemented is calcium for both men and women. The recommendation is 1200 mg. for men and 1500 mg. for women. Most adults do not consume milk and milk products to get this amount daily. There is no proven advantage to using oyster shell calcium.
Seniors spend millions of dollars on supplements for various reasons.
When an adequate diet is not consumed, use of mineral and vitamin supplements is useful. The use of the word vitamin to describe these substances is considered a health fraud. Seniors would be wise to avoid all supplements that contain these substances. Many are sold in health food stores. The most economical and reliable places to shop for mineral and vitamin supplements are drug and discount stores.