11 Supplements Every 40+ Adult Should Consider

Imagine waking up at 50 with more energy, clear thinking, and steadier hormones than you ever had in your 30s. That's not just a fantasy. It's possible with the right habits. And aging isn't what slows you down. Nutrient gaps do. Chronic inflammation does. And a modern diet built on ultra-processed foods does as well. The people who age the slowest, like those living in the blue zones and elite athletes, share one thing in common. they strategically replenish what modern life drains. By the end of this episode, you'll know the top supplements nearly every functional medicine doctor recommends after 40. You'll also learn the science behind how each one supports your brain, heart, metabolism, and hormones. You'll also learn what celebrities who have aged well, like Jennifer Aniston and Tom Brady, have in common. Also, how some of the longest-living cultures in the world use supplements, and the one supplement most adults overlook, even though deficiency affects 75% of people. Welcome to the Dr. Josh Axe Show. You know, a couple years back in working with a patient, I remember really clearly, This is a woman, she was in her late 40s, and she said this to me. She said, Dr. Ax, you know, I feel older than my age. By the way, she's not the only person that said this to me. I've had so many people over the years say, especially when they get into their 40s, sometimes early 50s, they'll say, gosh, I'm in my 40s, but I feel so much older. All of a sudden, it just happened over the past year or two. And with this woman in particular, she was dealing with issues like stiff joints, brain fog, declining muscle mass. And then I started working with her and we did some blood work, more advanced blood work. And we noticed that she was deficient in several things. And then I put together a very targeted supplement plan for her. And in 90 days, she said, you know what? I literally feel now like I'm 15 to 20 years younger. She said, my energy's up. My sleep is completely perfect now. She said, I've lost all the weight I put on for the first time in years. I feel young and healthy again. I feel like my age should be or even younger. And there's so many people today that are living with feeling like they're looking older or feeling older than they should because of common nutritional deficiencies. And one thing I explained to her was for most people, it's not aging that's the problem. Listen, all of us, as we get older, you're going to feel a little bit older. But I know people, I'll share this with for my parents. Like I've got my dad, he's 75 years old. He water skis three days a week. He weightlifts. He's running around with the grandkids. My dad's 75 and looks like he's probably 55. And my mom is also very active as well. She's very healthy, bringing her kids to Disney World. And my parents, I believe, are going to be doing this in their 90s because we've been very proactive on focusing on what are your nutritional deficiencies? Let's address those. And one thing that most doctors absolutely skip out on is doing the right advanced blood work or just looking at patients going through their history, doing tongue diagnosis, or We're focusing on cellular health and making sure that each and every patient has the right nutrients. And we know from common data today, there are certain nutrients that almost everybody is lacking. Magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, those are among just a few of those. And listen to this study. According to researchers at Oregon State University, nearly 95% of Americans have at least one type of nutrition deficiency. but the vast majority of people have multiple nutritional deficiencies. And here's what one study found. 94% of people do not meet the daily requirements for vitamin D. So think about that. 94% of people are not getting enough vitamin D. 90% of people are deficient in potassium and choline. 86% vitamin E, 66% vitamin K, 52% magnesium, 40% calcium. These are just a few nutrients, but most people are not getting the required daily intake of nutrients. And here's how researchers summarize this problem. They said, many Americans are exceeding caloric needs, but not meeting micronutrient requirements. Micronutrients are vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, look at some of these celebrities who look so young for their age. Of course, you know, you got Jennifer Aniston, Jennifer Garner, Halle Berry, Tom Brady, Hugh Jackman. many of them use the exact supplements I'm going to be covering today. And after 40, this is important, after 40, your body starts to change in many ways. Now, of course, with women, we know going through those menopausal changes or perimenopause, the body starts to change hormonally. And what that does, it starts to, the body has a harder time moistening itself and cooling itself. That's why you get hot flashes because when estrogen and progesterone decline. And then for men, if testosterone goes down, that affects them in a big way too. And getting the right nutrients are key and the right macronutrients, not just micro but macro. If you are deficient in certain nutrients, your body can't create enough testosterone or enough estrogen. And so it's really key that we focus on getting the proper supplements and hormones. Most people in their 40s and beyond naturally also absorb fewer nutrients. The gut microbiome typically isn't as healthy. Have higher levels of inflammation. That's a big one. We also, again, produce less hormones, lose muscle faster, and experience declining mitochondrial function. Your mitochondria are these engines and batteries that produce energy for your entire body. When your mitochondria decline, that impacts everything. So now your liver doesn't detoxify as well. Your testes or your ovaries don't produce enough hormones. Your thyroid is weak. Your digestion is weaker if your mitochondria are weak, and so that's one area in particular we really want to focus on boosting. You know, there was a research study done at UNC Chapel Hill, and according to the study, it found that only 12% of American adults are metabolically healthy past the age of 40. That means that 88% are dealing with a metabolic condition like insulin resistance. Meanwhile, more than 90% are deficient in essential vitamins, minerals, and fatty acids. So one of the biggest ways to fix that issue, supporting your metabolic health, is by getting the proper amount of nutrients. And one of the things that makes us metabolically unhealthy is every decade after 40, you lose about 8% of your muscle mass. unless you intervene by doing resistance training regularly, eating enough protein, and covering your nutrient bases. And your brain's volume also shrinks by about 5% per decade after the age of 40, which affects things like problem-solving, memory, certain nutrients we know now help your brain age more slowly. Certain antioxidants, even creatine, can help you do that as well. And then the biggest of all, as we talked about, vitamin D deficiency becomes more common with age. And once deficient, it increases your mortality risk by about 25%. And it makes you three times more likely to develop osteoporosis and your risk of cancer goes up by 50% if you're 65 and older. So vitamin D deficiency is a really, really big deal. Now, here's the thing to know. Supplements are not magic, but they are the raw materials the body needs to repair, rebuild, and stay young. And number one, you want to focus on getting your nutrients from the right foods. But in addition, there is great value in taking the right supplements. You know, one thing I see a lot of people doing today, though, when it comes to supplements is taking whatever fad supplements are out there that an influencer online talked about versus looking at the research and data or the history and saying, okay, here are the things I know I should be taking. And that's not happening a lot today. This is why there's great value in doing blood work or tongue diagnosis or really looking deeply at your symptoms and taking the right supplements for you But a lot of people are wasting their money not taking something not taking a nutrient they deficient Let me give an example of this If your main deficiency is vitamin B12 and vitamin D and magnesium but you taking a calcium supplement and, you know, an antioxidant drink, well, you're not doing yourself near as much good if you were taking exactly what you're deficient in. And this is happening all the time today. You know, here's something that Dr. Mark Hyman says, a friend of mine, Dr. Mark says, food today isn't as nutritious as it used to be. He said, modern agricultural methods, nutrient poor soils, and long transport times have made it harder for our food to deliver the vitamins and minerals we rely on for optimal health. That's why adding the right supplements to your diet can make all the difference. And he's right. And this is something I've talked about regularly here on the program is that our soil is so depleted. There are some foods, tomatoes and apples that may have in certain nutrients, 40%, 50% less nutrients than it did a hundred years ago. And that's a problem. So there's great value in taking the right supplements to help meet your nutritional deficiencies. Have you ever felt like you're doing everything right? eating clean, working out, taking all the right supplements, but your body just won't cooperate. Maybe you're tired, you're foggy, you're gaining weight, you can't sleep, and your doctor says your labs are normal. Here's the truth. Normal blood work does not mean your body is operating normally. It just means the levels in your blood work look okay. Not that your cells are actually using them the way they should. It's like using the wrong map and wondering why you're lost, or putting gas in the tank, but the engine still won't turn over. Because if your cells are inflamed, stressed, or in survival mode, nothing you do will work the way it should. Your body's been whispering for years. Now maybe it's screaming and you deserve someone who's actually listening. Go to mybloodwork.com and see what your blood work missed, what's really going on beneath the surface. Because you're not crazy, you're not lazy, that you're just stuck in a system that was never built to find the problem. It was built to diagnose disease, not restore your health. At MyBloodWork.com, we'll show you how to finally get your body and your life back. So what I want to do now is walk through the 11 most common supplements that you should consider taking. I'm not telling you to take all 11. I am telling you based on research, these are the ones that people are likely the most most efficient and that have the most long-term benefits. Number one, omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, specifically DHA and EPA, are essential fatty acids your body cannot make on its own. You must get them from food or supplements. They're found in wild salmon, sardines, anchovies, macro, and other types of wild-caught fish, and things like algae oil for DHA. There's also benefits of ALA, which are found in walnuts, flax seeds, and chia seeds. So getting more omegas are so beneficial. They work by reducing inflammation and improving cell membrane fluidity. So remember, if you want to get healthy, we've got to get your cells healthy. All of your cells are made up of a lipid membrane, okay? That membrane on the outside allows certain things in, helps things pass out, and you want that very mobile and fluid. Well, when you eat bad fats, trans fats, hydrogenated oils, too much sugar, that stiffens up the membrane. So now it can't detox properly and it can't bring enough nutrients inside the cell. And so basically your cells become toxic. That's a big problem there. And so omega-3s help with that. They also support heart health. They stabilize your mood. They help your body in numerous ways, but again, it's so key that they reduce inflammation. Also, imagine omega-3s as the lubrication for your heart, your brain, your joints, your immune system. Without them, your cells become stiff, your nails become brittle, your hair becomes thin and brittle, you become inflamed. There was a study, and this was a systematic review, so looking at a lot of research and data. This was published in the Clinical Nutrition Research Journal, and they found that omega-3 supplementation lowered C-reactive protein known as CRP, which is the main blood test inflammation marker that is used today to test for inflammation. And on average, it reduced inflammation by 20 to 30% in adults, especially those adults with metabolic issues. So there's major benefits there. You know, here's real world examples. Jennifer Aniston has said she uses omega-3s for her skin, joints, and recovery training. Tom Brady has said he uses omega-3s. They're a foundational as part of his inflammation and recovery program. So when you look at people that are keeping themselves younger, omega-3s are one of those top two. The other big one for keeping your body younger that's critical as you age is a combination of vitamin D3 plus K2. The vast majority of adults are deficient in these vitamins. There was a major review, again, this was published in a medical journal, that found that when you take vitamin D and increase your vitamin D, a major review found that if you are deficient in vitamin D, your mortality risk goes up by 25%. Vitamin D is important for so many things. It's important for inflammation, not as important for inflammation as omega-3s, but still is important. It's incredibly important as an antioxidant. It's incredibly important as a hormone. It's important for your immune system. So it's important for a lot of things. In the blue zone communities, nearly all of those people that live to become centurions spend a lot of time outdoors and had much better levels of vitamin D. A friend of mine, Dr. Will Cole, who's been on the program, says this about vitamin D. No other vitamin can hold a candle to vitamin D when it comes to the importance and influence on your overall health. He said, since vitamin D is fat soluble, it acts more like a hormone than a vitamin by regulating hundreds of incredibly important pathways in your body. Besides your thyroid hormones, this vitamin is the only other thing every cell of your body needs in order to function properly. So we know that vitamin D is incredibly important for your hormonal health, for your immune health. Most people need to be taking about 5,000 IUs daily. And by the way, K2 supports absorption. They're taking it with fat, healthy fat, like a little bit of coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil or with your omega-3 supplement. That's a great one to take together as your omega-3 with your vitamin D because those fats help absorption of the vitamin D. Next up here, number three, and this might surprise some people, but it's creatine. You might be under the impression that creatine is just for bodybuilders or for putting on muscle, but it's also a great brain fuel, especially for those over 40. Many neurologists now recommend it for aging adults. Creatine boosts brain ATP by 5% to 15%. This helps reduce fatigue and supports cognition. And yes, it also boosts muscle mass. But think about this. It's amazing for your brain. Study after study has shown creatine is amazing for neurological health. You know, there are certain celebrities like Chris Helmsworth, you know, known as Thor in a lot of the Marvel movies. And his trainer has him taking creatine every single day, but not only for building muscle, also for longevity and for brain health. Now, creatine is naturally occurring in red meat. So if you eat a six ounce filet mignon steak, you're going to be getting about 500 milligrams of creatine. It's also found in large amounts in heart if you've ever taken a heart glandular supplement. But again, red meat is where you're going to find creatine But taking typically anywhere from one gram to five grams daily has major benefits for your health The number four supplement here is collagen or a bone broth supplement You know bone broth has been used for thousands of years for health, for immunity, for longevity. It naturally contains collagen when we're talking about bone broth, as well as minerals and other beneficial compounds. Chicken broth in particular might be the most beneficial because not only does it have collagen, it also has glucosamine, chondroitin and hyaluronic acid. These are key components of your gut lining for gut health. Also key components of your skin and your joints for longevity in those areas. After you hit 40 years old, your collagen production declines 1% per year. This leads to more wrinkles, joint pain, digestive issues, and slower recovery. And collagen is like a scaffolding for your body. It's like the glue that holds your body together and keeps it from sagging. And it's incredibly important for longevity and your overall health. And there's one particular nutrient also I do want to mention that's found in collagen and bone broth. It's the amino acid glycine. Glycine has amazing benefits for promoting sleep and liver detoxification. And in fact, in studies, it's been shown to be one of the only amino acids to extend your lifespan. So when we're talking about overall health and longevity, there's no protein more powerful than getting collagen-based protein in the amino acid glycine. So getting bone broth in particular is so incredibly beneficial. One thing I do every morning is I do a protein powder that's made from bone broth and from organs and glands. And I do this every morning, and it really is incredible for longevity, for joint health. So that's one pretty much everybody should consider taking as well. Just as a protein powder in a smoothie is a great way to take it. Number five here is magnesium. Magnesium supports over 300 reactions in the body. It's important for sleep, for mood, for balance, for muscle relaxation, even ATP and mitochondrial function. It's also called the mineral of resilience because low levels make you more reactive to stress. Yet deficiency is incredibly common. At least 50% of adults don't meet the recommended intake for magnesium, according to the National Institutes of Health. And you might ask, well, why is deficiency so common? Again, it's because the modern soil today is depleted, far less magnesium than it had 50 years ago. Ultra-processed foods strip it out, excess caffeine, stress, alcohol intake, deplete your body of magnesium. and then most people aren't getting enough of the foods that it's high in, like green leafy vegetables primarily, and then secondarily, nuts and seeds and legumes. We're not getting near enough of those, and those are the magnesium-rich foods. Now, research shows that adults with higher magnesium intake also have 31% lower inflammation markers like CRP. Low magnesium increases the risk also of depression by 22%, especially in adults over 40. And researchers from UCLA found that if you have low magnesium, you are at much greater risk of high blood pressure, diabetes, insomnia, anxiety, and numerous other medical issues. So it really is up there, magnesium with vitamin D and omega threes as the absolute most essential things you should be taking on a regular basis. Number six, and this one may or may not surprise you, but it's incredibly important, are probiotics. at least 70% of your immune system lives in your gut microbiome. And it plays a huge role in inflammation, digestion, even your metabolism and your mood. You know, 90% of your body's serotonin is made in your gut. Your gut is where all your nutrients are absorbed. So, you know, I had a patient many years ago and she came in taking loads of supplements. And even after doing blood work on her, she was still deficient in numerous nutrients. B12 was a big one for her. She was really depleted. And I went and put her on a high dose probiotic for 90 days. We went back, redid her blood work. And you know what? 90 days later, zero nutritional deficiencies. And here's the thing. She actually was taking less supplements after coming under my care. But the big thing was she wasn't absorbing any of her supplements and she was having so much bloating and digestive issues that her absorption was low. You know, there was a study out of Stanford that shows that if you take a probiotic supplement, your absorption of B vitamins oftentimes doubles, doubles. So again, you can be taking all these different supplements, but for some people, a probiotic is the single most important supplement because now you're absorbing everything better. And today, because of antibiotics, stress, excess sugar, low fiber diets, and lack of time outdoors, most people do not have enough good bacteria and enough diversity. And probiotics really matter as you age for several reasons. Number one, they help seal the gut barrier, reducing leaky gut, which is driven by inflammation. They also support healthy bowel movements, so detoxification and immune signaling. They also directly influence the gut-brain access for neurotransmitter production. And the science is really impressive. Higher probiotic consumption, and this could be from food, a lot of it, from yogurt and kefir and sauerkraut, has been linked to a 20% lower incidence of certain types of cancer like colon cancer and rectal cancer in one study. And this was done on 150,000 participants. And probiotic consumption also decreases your risk of upper respiratory infections and overall boosts your immune system in both children and adults. And there's also a big tie into relieving anxiety according to 20 different clinical trials. So overall, probiotics are important, especially, listen, if you have any type of bloating, any type of gas, any type of regular stool, maybe it's constipation, diarrhea, any of those issues, probiotics should be at the very top of your list if you're 40 or older, really anybody, but 40 or older of what you should be taking. Now we're hitting on the top 11 here. Here's number seven. It's turmeric and curcumin. Curcumin is one of the most powerful natural anti-inflammatory compounds ever discovered. Clinical trials such as one in the journal Nutrients shows that curcumin can lower key inflammatory markers like CRP and IL-6 by 25 to 30%. It has comparable effects to NSAIDs without any of the long-term side effects like damage to your kidneys and gut lining in your liver. People have this choice all the time. Do I choose turmeric or do I choose something like Tylenol? Turmeric is the no-brainer every time. It's connected to longevity. It has very similar effects and it's not going to ruin your organs. One of the things that turmeric does, it sort of turns off this master switch in your body, calming something called NFKB, which is a master inflammation switch in your body by boosting your antioxidant defenses. Elite performer we've talked about, Tom Brady, swears by, in fact, he said it's the number one herb he's taken for his joint mobility recovery, and this is how he played football well into his mid-40s, is doing loads and loads and loads of turmeric and curcumin. Number eight supplement many people can benefit with, and this is not for everybody, but it's for a specific group of people, and it's Coenzyme Q10. CoQ10 is like your mitochondria spark plug, It helps ignite energy production inside your cells, and without enough of it, your cells misfire. This leads to fatigue, slower recovery, and less resilience as you age. Coenzyme Q10 is found naturally in some red meat. It's found in really high levels in heart glandular. Your levels drop by 30% to 40% by the time you hit 40 years old. So by the time you reach and then by the time you reach your mid you may have up to 60 less coenzyme Q10 compared to when you were 25 years old CoQ10 supplementation reduces fatigue significantly according to 13 major studies not one but 13 And here's the big thing. If you've ever taken a statin drug, which one in four American adults have, you need Coenzyme Q10 even more since statins deplete it by 50%. percent. The typical dosage should be around 200 milligrams or so of CoQ10 for mitochondrial function. And again, there are major, major benefits of this. So specifically, any type of heart health issue or mitochondrial issue, that's where you want to be taking CoQ10. Number nine is this, adrenal tonics and adaptogens. These are your natural armor for stress. It makes you more resilient. We're living in an environment today that is so high stress, all the blue light, All the devices keeps our body in a fight or flight state. We're so busy. We really want to tamp down cortisol as much as possible. And some of my favorites include, I love ashwagandha. Maybe my favorite. Ashwagandha has been shown to lower cortisol, lower stress, be very, very good for hypothyroidism. That's an amazing one. Rhodiola rosea, incredible for endurance, energy. It's really good for mitochondrial function as well. That would be up there. shisandra. This is a good one for anti-aging, especially if you are going through menopause. Ginseng, maybe the strongest, Panex ginseng, really good for men. Rishi mushroom, this is calming. This is one you can do every day of your life that has great benefits. Astragalus, this is like an adaptogen for your digestive and immune system. So loads and loads of benefits. They're in cordyceps, that mushroom, really good for the lungs. But considering adaptogenic herbs or an adaptogenic blend to support your adrenals is really beneficial. You know, There are studies on ashwagandha in particular that shows it can reduce cortisol by up to 27% in stressed adults and improve sleep within just six to eight weeks. There are studies on cordyceps and rhodiola, boosting ATP. And in Chinese medicine, they would recommend cordyceps all the time for fatigue and cellular energy. So these herbs can be greatly beneficial. And then in addition, I do want to mention other herbals just to consider for men and women. If you are a female, there are some herbals that can have great benefits for you. If you're going through menopause, black cohosh at the very top of the list. Okay, black cohosh. If you are maybe in your 30s or 40s and you're having hormone imbalance, Vitex is great. For men, I really like the combination of Panex ginseng with Cordyceps for testosterone. You can also do fenugreek is great there as well, but ginseng, cordyceps for men, and then just overall stress resilience, immunity, those sort of things, fighting cancer, reishi and astragalus is a great combo when we're talking about adaptogens as you age. Number 10 supplement you may consider, 40 plus, is a multivitamin. Now, listen, a multivitamin might not be a flashy supplement, but it's a safety net and the one that prevents the most deficiencies. That helps explain why one in three Americans now take a daily multivitamin. Now, here's the thing I do want to say. There are some studies showing multivitamins are helpful. There's others showing they're really not that helpful. I think part of it comes down to what multivitamin are you taking? If you're taking a really low-quality multivitamin you picked up at a drugstore, you're not going to be absorbing it that well. Okay, so that's not going to benefit you near as much as getting a food-based multivitamin or a food-based methylated B-complex or doing food-based supplements and having good healthy digestion. The healthier digestive tract is, the better you're going to absorb the nutrients in your food-based multivitamin. But again, make sure it is a high absorption-based multivitamin. And typically, you get what you pay for. Get something much higher quality if you're getting a multi. Number 11 is this. A superfood powder could have greens, could have reds in it, but get more superfoods. You know, this is another insurance policy supplement. Many of us are not getting enough berries and vegetables, and this can help. You know, I do a superfood powder every single day that has beet juice powder, that has spirulina and chlorella, that has, you know, a lot of adaptogens in it like ashwagandha, you know, black currant, goji berries, pomegranate extract. You know, reishi and cordyceps, but doing a superfood powder with a lot of these different superfoods in it is a great thing to do. I do it every single morning as part of my superfood smoothie. And every morning I do one scoop of a protein powder that's bone broth and organ based. And then I do a superfood powder there as well. And this is something that's been key to my own personal longevity. And I'll say this again. I just went through 11 supplements, maybe a few more if we count all the herbs I mentioned. So you don't have to take every one of these supplements, but think about the ones that are going to make the biggest difference for you. Now, when we compare the way that ancient cultures and people during the Bible ate, you know, we talked about this in the Biblio diet Jordan and I did when I wrote that book. It's amazing. You know, they're eating, you know, food that's fresh that they just had that day. It's very nutrient-dense food. But when we compare that to modern diets, it's obvious why supplements are widely needed today. ancient people regularly consumed organ meats, bone broth, fermented foods, fresh plants and herbs from their local garden, and foods loaded with minerals and collagen and healthy fats and enzymes and probiotics. Now, this might not have been true for people that were in poverty and didn't have good sanitation either and some of the issues there. And so maybe they didn't live as long. But when you look at people, again, Blue Zones is a great example. This are people where they have the longest life today. This is what they're eating and what they're doing on a regular basis. And I really love looking at Japan as an example. You know, Japan now, there's a recent study that said now there are essentially 100,000 centurions in Japan that are alive today. Think about that. In that little island of Japan, there are 100,000 people that are over 100 years old living in Japan. That's amazing. And I remember going on a mission trip over to Asia and seeing people in their 80s and 90s and a few over 100 who were active in the streets. They were healthy. They were walking around and just being my mind was just blown by this at the time and just how healthy they are for so long. Now, let's talk about what the picture looks like today in America. 60 percent of the average American calories now come from ultra processed foods. 75 percent of Americans don't eat enough fruit and more than 80 percent of Americans don't eat enough vegetables. half of American adults now have at least one preventable chronic disease tied to poor nutrition. And this is why even with a healthy modern diet, most adults over 40 have nutrient gaps that supplements can help fill. And aging accelerates when nutrient deficiencies go unaddressed. For most people over 40, supplements are not optional, but foundational for good health. And again, listen, I want to be clear on this. Supplements never replace a healthy diet. You need to focus on a healthy diet, but adding in the right ones for you can make a really, really big difference. And by the way, next week, I'm going to be launching a series on nutrient deficiencies so you can tell which nutrients you're deficient in based on your symptoms. And if you're not able to work with a practitioner who will run tests and tell you which nutrients you are deficient in, that series is going to be a free resource that will help you figure out what you're missing. Be sure to hit the notification bell on YouTube or follow the show on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so you don't miss it. I want to say thanks so much for tuning in here to the Dr. Josh Axe Show, where each and every week we're diving deep into the science and principles behind how you can heal physically, mentally, spiritually, and take your health and your life to the next level. Make sure to subscribe, like, and share, and I'll see you on the next episode. Thank you.