The need for a healthy diet is important for all people. However, senior citizens often feel that it is not as important for them. This cannot be further from the truth. A healthy senior diet can spell the difference between being bed-ridden and being able to run senior level marathons. Calcium, magnesium, protein, fiber, and vitamin C, are all crucial to the continued independent living of a senior citizen. All vitamins and minerals are important but these are crucial for several factors that many don’t take into consideration.

Appropriate levels of calcium and magnesium are of vital importance due to the health and strength of bones. In some cultures the native people eat high concentrations of these two minerals naturally. The end result is that many of them are alive and actively working quite hard well into their nineties. These people use machetes to clear brush and trim trees at nearly a hundred years of age without considering it to be out of the ordinary.

Proper exercise and nutrition are vital to longevity. While genetics do play a key role in the aging process nutrition and exercise can extend the lifespan of most individuals.

Alongside calcium and magnesium, protein is considered one of the most important substances any human being can ingest. Protein is the substance that muscles and organs are crafted from. Without ample amounts of it in the body repairs to damaged systems cannot be made and the muscles cannot grow.

On top of the need for protein, calcium, and magnesium there is a vital need for fiber to make certain waste materials leave the body on time. The need for vitamin C is crucial as well to help avert diseases. The senior that eats right will live right, and possibly much longer than they would have otherwise.