Doctors Say These Are the Best Multivitamins for Women Over 50 to Take

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We updated this article in June 2023 to add more information about each featured product, based on extensive research done by our team.

As we grow older, our nutritional needs change—meaning the right vitamins for women in their 20s can be different from the ones women in their 50s need. “As you age, you need to be more mindful of your nutritional requirements and get essential vitamins and minerals through diet—preferably—and supplementation,” says Gina Keatley, a certified dietitian-nutritionist practicing in New York City. Meaning, while it’s best to fill your nutritional needs by eating the right foods, you may need to add a multivitamin to the mix to help cover gaps in your diet.

That’s where the best multivitamins for women over 50 come into play. These vitamins are specifically formulated with nutrients that women in this age group are at higher risk of deficiency in and may have increased needs for. For one, bone and heart health are “of utmost importance” to focus on as you age, says Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., author of The Small Change Diet. In fact, heart disease is the leading cause of death for women (and men) in the U.S., and osteoporosis affects one in three women over 50 worldwide, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. As you enter menopause, the decline in estrogen can lead to bone loss, says women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D. “Supplementing with calcium and vitamin D becomes vital in the fight against bone thinning and osteoporosis,” she says.

Meet the Experts: Jennifer Wider, M.D., women’s health expert, Gloria A. Bachmann, M.D., associate dean for women’s health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey; Kathryn Boling, M.D., a primary care physician at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center; Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., author of The Small Change Diet; Gina Keatley, a certified dietitian-nutritionist practicing in New York City.

When it comes to buying multivitamins, though, it can be a challenge to figure out which ones are right for you—especially when you consider the fact that vitamins are not approved by the FDA. To help you find the top, quality ones on the market right now, we’ve gathered all the picks recommended by women’s health and nutrition experts below.

Women’s 50+ Multivitamins

One A Day Women’s 50+ Multivitamins are packed with nutrients you need to support your bone health, heart health, eye health, immune health, and even energy levels. Those include calcium, zinc, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, B12, C, D, and E. It’s also free of potential allergens like gluten, wheat, soy, and dairy. The best part is that you only need one tablet a day, and reviewers say they’re easy to swallow.

Centrum Minis Women 50+

Not everyone is comfortable swallowing large pills on a daily basis. Luckily, Centrum Minis allow you to get your daily dose of vitamins with a pill that’s 50% smaller than standard multivitamins. These vitamins are also non-GMO, gluten-free, and made without any artificial flavors or sweeteners. Reviewers love that they’re easy to swallow and don’t have a bad taste, with one writing, “I have a lot of difficulty in swallowing pills, but taking these one at a time with a large gulp of water, they go right down. So glad I found these minis.”

Multi For Her 50+

A pick recommended by Gans, Nature Made’s Multi For Her 50+ vitamins contains 22 key nutrients for daily nutritional support for women over 50, including those that help support bone health, immune health, and energy metabolism. “The dose is one pill per day, and it is third-party certified,” adds Gans. It’s also gluten-free and contains no artificial flavors. This pick comes in the form of softgels, but, if you prefer it, the same exact vitamins that come in tablet form.

Alive! Women’s 50+ Gummy Multivitamin

Want to take a multivitamin you’ll actually enjoy? These multivitamins come in a chewable gummy form that’ll go down easy. The mixed berry flavor makes them taste great, too. They’re packed with eight different B vitamins to help support your brain and cellular health and are gluten-free, vegetarian, and free of potential allergens like dairy, wheat, peanut, and egg.

Centrum Silver Women's Multivitamin

Centrum Silver Women’s Multivitamin is incredibly popular for a reason (it maintains a 4.8 rating from over 8,000 Amazon customers!). This pick contains important micronutrients like calcium, zinc, beta-carotene, and vitamins B, D3, C, and E, all designed to support your heart, brain, eye, and bone health. The vitamins are also non-GMO and gluten-free.

Personalized Vitamins

Everyone and their nutritional needs are unique, so it makes sense to have a multivitamin that’s specially tailored for you. That’s where Persona comes in. The process is so simple, too: Just answer a few questions about your health and your personal needs, and Persona creates a custom multivitamin for you.

Women’s Masters 50+ Multivitamin

This SmartyPants multivitamin—which is third-party tested—is packed with 17 essential nutrients, including omega-3 EPA/DHA from fish oil, lutein/zeaxanth for eye health, CoQ10 for heart health, vitamin D3 for immunity, and vitamin B12 for energy. They come in a berry-flavored gummy form, too, which reviewers say are “so easy to chew” and “taste great.”

Ritual Essential for Women Multivitamin 50+

This vegan, non-GMO vitamin is specially designed for post-menopausal women and includes crucial ingredients like vitamin D3, vitamin B12, and omega-3 DHA from microalgae. The vitamins are also sugar-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free, and created without stevia, sugar alcohols, and artificial colors, flavors, or sweeteners.

Mykind Organics Women 55+

Specifically formulated for the needs of women over 55 years old, this multivitamin is not only third-party tested, but it’s also certified USDA organic and non-GMO. The formula is whole-food-based, meaning it’s made from real fruits, vegetables, and herbs—with no artificial flavors, sweeteners, or preservatives—to provide a comprehensive range of vitamins and minerals.

Women’s Multi 50+

Gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free, this comprehensive daily multivitamin from Thorne Research is packed with highly absorbable forms of nutrients, including calcium, magnesium, and vitamins A, B12, B6, and D—all for the promotion of bone health, skin health, and healthy immune function. It also contains lutein, which supports eye health. The daily dosage is 3 capsules per day, but if you need extra nutrient support, you can take an additional 3 pills daily.

Benefits of taking multivitamins for women over 50

Generally, taking a multivitamin can supplement one’s diet and help fill in nutritional gaps, says Gans. As you age, however, there are more health issues that you might deal with. So, a multivitamin specifically formulated for women over 50 can help ensure you’re getting the vitamins and minerals that your body requires, says Dr. Bachmann.

Vitamins for women over 50 contain nutrients that women in this age group are at higher risk of deficiency in or may have increased needs for. For instance, because women in this age group are at greater risk of osteoporosis, it may be a good idea to supplement with more vitamin D and calcium, which help support bone health.

However, there is one nutrient of which your body might generally need less as you age and reach post-menopause: iron. “Without a monthly menses, [your] need for replacing lost red blood cells is no longer present, and therefore, their need for supplemental iron may not be necessary,” Dr. Bachmann explains. Still, it’s important to consider your individual needs. For instance, women who are anemic may still benefit from a multivitamin that contains iron. As always, talk with your doctor for individualized recommendations.

How to choose the best multivitamin for women over 50

If you’re in the 50+ age group, experts say there are certain nutrients you want to make sure your multivitamin contains. Those include:

• B12. “Anybody who is not eating a lot of meat needs to be supplementing with B12,” says Kathryn Boling, M.D., a primary care physician at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center. “As you get older, your ability to absorb B12 drops.” B12 is “good for your brain,” Dr. Boling notes.

• Calcium. Calcium helps support strong bones, Dr. Boling notes, and it’s important to help lower the risk of developing osteoporosis. “If you don’t drink milk, consume dairy products, or have anything that’s calcium-fortified, you will need to supplement,” Dr. Boling says. “Since women lose up to 1/5 of their bone [mass] in their first five to seven years after menopause, I tell all women that at least 1,200 milligrams of calcium is necessary on a daily basis,” says Gloria A. Bachmann, M.D., associate dean for women’s health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey.

• Vitamin D. Estrogen helps protect your bones, and as you enter menopause, the decline in estrogen can lead to bone loss, says women’s health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D. “Supplementing with calcium and vitamin D becomes vital in the fight against bone thinning and osteoporosis.”

• Magnesium. Magnesium also helps contribute to strong bones, Gans says. It can even prevent leg cramps, something that perimenopausal women tend to struggle with, Dr. Boling says. “It’s miraculous” for leg cramps, she adds.

• Fiber. “Fiber helps to keep blood sugar in check, can help with weight management, and helps lower LDL—bad—cholesterol,” Keatley says. (Just don’t take your fiber with medications or other vitamins, as it may carry them out of your body.)

• Riboflavin (B2). “Good for eyes, skin, hair, and nails, this little vitamin also helps convert carbohydrates to energy and may help prevent migraines,” Keatley says.

• Vitamin E. This is a “powerful antioxidant that works inside your cell,” Keatley says.

• Folic Acid. “It’s good for the heart and proven to lower levels of homocysteine, which has been tied to heart disease,” Dr. Wider says.

Furthermore, you’ll want to consider factors like pill size and dosage. For instance, if you have trouble swallowing big pills, you might want to opt for vitamins that come in small-size pills or even in chewable gummy form. “Ideally, look for a vitamin with a recommended dose of one pill per day, versus multiple pills, as it is more likely to be taken,” adds Gans.

Gans also recommends checking that the multivitamins are third-party certified “to ensure that what the label states is actually in the bottle,” she says. Additionally, Dr. Boling suggests buying from a company that does a lot of business. “The vitamin industry is largely unregulated,” she points out. “A company that makes a lot of vitamins has a lot to lose if they don’t do what they claim to do.”

When is the best time to take multivitamins?

Typically, the best time to take multivitamins is whenever you remember to take it, says Gans. “But since a multivitamin includes fat-soluble vitamins, it would be best to take it with a meal that includes some fat, so the vitamins are more absorbed,” she says.

Dr. Bachmann also notes that there are some multivitamins that are supposed to be taken twice daily, “so one is taken in the morning and one is taken in the evening,” she says. Additionally, “there are a few vitamins and supplements that actually may be beneficial when taken at night,” she says. “For example, Vitamin B6 may actually enhance our sleep duration and quality when taken in the evening.”

How we chose the best multivitamin for women over 50

To choose the best multivitamins for women over 50, we analyzed the best-selling vitamins on the market and consulted several experts in nutrition and medicine, including: Jennifer Wider, M.D., women’s health expert, Gloria A. Bachmann, M.D., associate dean for women’s health at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey; Kathryn Boling, M.D., a primary care physician at Baltimore's Mercy Medical Center; Keri Gans, M.S., R.D., author of The Small Change Diet; and Gina Keatley, a certified dietitian-nutritionist practicing in New York City.

Why trust us

For more than 70 years, Prevention has been a leading provider of trustworthy health information, empowering readers with practical strategies to improve their physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Our editors interview medical experts to help guide our health-focused product selections. Prevention also examines hundreds of reviews—and often conducts personal testing done by our staff—to help you make informed decisions.

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