You may eat many of the same foods today that you enjoyed ten or twenty years ago. You may even pay more attention to nutrition now than you did when you were younger. Yet what worked well for your body then may not provide everything it needs today.
Your body is constantly adapting. Hormonal changes, genetics, physical activity, digestion, and the demands of daily life all influence how nutrients are used. Some differences are part of your individual biology, while others develop over time or arise when your circumstances change.
Paying attention to these changes is an important part of staying well. Understanding what your body needs at different stages of life can help you make informed choices about food, lifestyle, and nutritional support that serve you today and in the years ahead.
Your Nutritional Needs Are Unique
Two people can eat similar diets and still have different nutritional needs. Choline is a good example. This essential nutrient supports cell membranes, liver function, and many other processes, yet the amount we need from food can depend partly on our genes and hormones.
One of choline’s important roles is helping the body make phosphatidylcholine, a substance found in cell membranes that also helps the liver package and transport fats. The body has two ways to produce it. One uses choline from food. The other relies on an enzyme called phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT), which converts another phospholipid into phosphatidylcholine.
Estrogen helps stimulate the PEMT pathway, allowing the liver to make more phosphatidylcholine without relying as heavily on dietary choline. This is one reason men may need more choline from food than premenopausal women. Genetics also matter. Certain genetic variations can make this alternative pathway less responsive to estrogen.
Researchers have seen these differences in action. When people were given diets very low in choline, some developed signs of liver or muscle dysfunction while others did not. Hormonal status and genetic differences helped explain why some participants were more susceptible.
Choline needs can also change throughout life. During pregnancy, more choline is needed to support a developing baby’s cells and brain. The recommended Adequate Intake increases from 425 mg daily for nonpregnant adult women to 450 mg during pregnancy and 550 mg during breastfeeding.
Later, as estrogen levels decline around menopause, the PEMT pathway may become less active. Some women may then need to rely more on dietary choline than they did earlier in life.
These differences are a reminder that nutritional needs are personal. Age and sex can provide useful guidance, but they don’t tell the whole story of what an individual body needs.
Maintaining Muscle as You Age
Protein needs can change as we get older, even when our activity levels and eating habits stay much the same. One reason is that aging muscles may become less responsive to the protein we eat, a change researchers call anabolic resistance.
Your muscles are constantly renewing themselves, breaking down older proteins and building new ones. The amino acids you get from food help stimulate this rebuilding process. As you age, however, the same amount of protein may produce a smaller muscle-building response than it did when you were younger.
To help maintain muscle mass and function, expert groups recommend approximately 1.0–1.2 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight daily for many healthy older adults, compared with the standard adult recommendation of 0.8 grams per kilogram. Your individual needs will depend on your health, activity level, and other circumstances. Adequate protein, together with regular muscle-strengthening activity, helps support the strength and mobility you rely on every day.
Digestion Makes a Difference
Getting enough nutrients from your food is only part of the picture. Your digestive system also needs to break down food and make those nutrients available for absorption. Vitamin B12 is a good example because the body must first separate it from the proteins in food before it can be absorbed.
Stomach acid and digestive enzymes help release B12 from food proteins. As we age, however, some people produce less stomach acid or develop conditions such as atrophic gastritis, making this process less efficient. As a result, someone may eat foods rich in B12 but still have difficulty absorbing enough of the vitamin.
B12 supplements offer an important distinction. The vitamin is generally supplied in a free, unbound form, so it doesn’t require that initial separation from food proteins. Other steps in absorption, including the role of intrinsic factor, are still necessary. This helps explain why vitamin B12 supplementation may be particularly beneficial for adults over age 50.
Life Changes, Nutritional Needs Change
Your nutritional needs can shift for reasons that have little to do with aging. Consider vitamin D. Your skin produces this vitamin when exposed to sunlight, but the amount depends on the season, where you live, your skin pigmentation, and how much time you spend outdoors. Someone who gets plenty of sunshine during summer may produce much less vitamin D during winter, even if their diet stays exactly the same.
Medications can also affect nutritional status. Certain diuretics increase the amount of magnesium lost through urine, while prolonged use of proton pump inhibitors can interfere with magnesium balance. Paying attention to medication use is therefore an important part of understanding your nutritional needs.
Physical demands matter, too. If you begin a resistance-training program, your body may need more protein and energy to support muscle adaptation. Recovering from an illness, injury, or surgery can also increase the demand for protein and other nutrients involved in tissue repair.
Supporting Your Nutritional Needs
Understanding what your body needs begins with paying attention to what you eat and how you feel. Reviewing your usual diet can help you recognize possible nutritional gaps, while changes in activity, digestion, medications, or stage of life may point to nutrients that deserve closer attention. When appropriate, laboratory testing and guidance from a knowledgeable healthcare professional can help you make informed decisions about your nutritional needs.
Dr. Jaffe’s Nature’s pHarmacy® approach emphasizes nourishing the body with nutrient-dense foods, supporting healthy digestion, and providing individualized nutritional support. When food alone doesn’t meet the body’s nutritional needs, carefully selected supplements can help fill the gaps. Dr. Jaffe discusses his own approach to supplementation in What Are Dr. Jaffe’s Top 5 Supplements?
As he explains in The Surprising Truth About Common Supplements, the quality, form, and bioavailability of nutrients deserve careful consideration. For example, PERQUE Choline Citrate™ provides 650 mg of choline per teaspoon in a concentrated liquid formulation to support brain and nervous system function, healthy cell membranes, and fat metabolism. When taken alongside PERQUE Mg Plus Guard™, PERQUE Choline Citrate™ is also part of PERQUE’s patented approach designed to support magnesium uptake into cells.
Good nutrition is an ongoing process of paying attention, learning, and making adjustments as needed. The goal is to provide your body with the resources it needs to function well, so you can continue doing the things that matter to you.