The Best Vitamins for 50 Year Old Men

Aging requires you to pay attention to specific vitamins to keep you healthy. As a man, certain vitamins can be especially beneficial for improving blood flow and reducing bone loss. Eating a variety of foods from all food groups helps you get all of the vitamins you need naturally, but in some cases your doctor may suggest taking a vitamin supplement to ensure you get everything you need.

While osteoporosis, or brittle bones, is more prevalent in women, men have a greater risk of developing the disorder with age. Vitamin D keeps your bones strong by allowing your body to absorb calcium. Additionally, vitamin D regulates your immune system, keeps your neuromuscular system working and reduces inflammation. As a 50-year-old man, you need 600 IU or 15 mcg of daily vitamin D, the Office of Dietary Supplements reports. Vitamin D supplements come in two forms: D2 or D3. Either type is absorbed equally in your system, but D3 gives you a greater prevention against fractures.

Vitamin E is an antioxidant that fights damaging free radicals that feed on healthy cells. While there are several different types of vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol has the highest amount of biological activity in humans. Taking a vitamin E supplement may help to reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease, which is a predominant disorder in older men. Additionally, boosting your vitamin E intake keeps your eyes healthy by minimizing your risk of cataracts, which leads to protein oxidation in the lens of your eye. Make sure that your vitamin E supplement provides 15 mg or 22.5 IU of alpha-tocopherol, which is the recommended dietary allowance, or RDA, according to the Linus Pauling Institute.

A study by researchers at the Reproductive Partners Medical Group in California and published in the "Fertility and Sterility" journal in 2010 looked into benefits of vitamin C and other nutrients on erectile dysfunction. Nitrous oxide buildup in the groin area is one possible cause of erectile dysfunction. Vitamin C works by opening up pathways to release nitrous oxide, reducing problems with erectile dysfunction. Additionally, vitamin C keeps veins and arteries healthy and dilated, improving overall blood flow, including getting blood to your penis. Adult men need 90 mg of daily vitamin C, says the University of Maryland Medical Center.

Taking a daily multivitamin may be one of the quickest ways to get all of the vitamins and minerals you need in your 50s. If you consume fewer than 1,600 calories per day, follow a vegetarian diet, have intestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome or have a history of surgery on your digestive tract, ingesting a daily multivitamin may be a good option for you, explains the Mayo Clinic. Select a multivitamin specifically designed for men, since you need different amounts of nutrients than women do. In addition, make sure your multivitamin doesn't provide a mega-dose of any particular nutrient. For example, multivitamins that have more than 100 percent of the RDA of a particular vitamin may fall short in providing the RDA of another vitamin.