Recently published in AARP Magazine were the results of a study conducted by the Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston.

This study examined the nutritional intake of the average person age 50 through 75. What they found was a bit disturbing.

As the subjects of this study aged, their intake of food - quantity wise- lessened. By the time they reached the age of 75, on average, they were eating almost 40% less than they had when they were 50. Additionally, they noted that with each passing birthday the human stomach produced less hydrochloric acid, which is needed to digest food and properly absorb adequate amounts of certain key nutrients. By age 50, this dwindling supply of acid caused a vitamin inadequacy in at least 1 in 4: By age 75, it affected about 40 percent.

The reduced production of hyaluronic acid coupled with the consumption of less food resulted in a nutritional inadequacy in over 46% of the study participants. Jeffrey Blumberg, Ph.D. of Tufts noted, ’Just because you feel you’re aging doesn’t mean it´s because you’re aging. Fact is, you may be coming up short in the vitamins department – just like millions of others who have passed the half-century mark.’