6 longevity nutrients to preserve your strength and help you age better with Professor Ailsa Welch

Date: 2025-08-26 17:00:18

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In today’s episode, I’m joined by Professor Ailsa Welch, one of the UK’s leading experts in nutritional epidemiology at the University of East Anglia. We talk about the silent but powerful changes that start in midlife, how ageing affects your muscles, bones and metabolism, and why looking after your health in your 40s, 50s and 60s is so important. From sarcopenia and osteoporosis to frailty, fracture risk and bone density loss, we explore how these conditions connect and what the latest science says about staying strong, energetic and resilient as you age.

Professor Ailsa Welch led the development of dietary assessment methods for the EPIC-Study (European Prospective Investigations into Cancer and Nutrition) between 1993 & 2007. She has more than 23,000 citations!

We discuss:
0:00 Six nutrients that help you age better
0:40 Magnesium for muscle and bone health
2:36 Foods high in magnesium
7:32 Alcohol and medicines that deplete magnesium
10:24 How much magnesium do you need per day
12:30 Should you take magnesium supplements
20:48 Vitamin C for healthy ageing
26:37 Vitamin C and inflammation
33:50 Do you need more vitamin C as you age?
36:31 Can you take too much vitamin C?
39:53 Vitamin C from food vs supplements
41:00 Best foods for vitamin C
45:18 Frozen vs fresh fruit and veg vitamin C content
51:32 Iron for muscle and energy
54:39 Best food sources of iron
57:56 Iron supplements and side effects
1:01:57 Vitamin E for healthy ageing
1:04:36 Best foods for vitamin E
1:05:56 Processed foods and vitamin E
1:06:16 Healthy fats for ageing and muscle
1:11:01 How fat intake affects muscle mass
1:15:03 Calcium for healthy ageing
1:16:27 Osteoporosis risk in women and men
1:20:24 What to do after 50 for bone strength
1:27:39 Alkaline diet and bone health
1:33:08 Acid balance and kidney health with age
1:36:24 Mitochondria and nutrients for energy
1:40:26 Vitamin and mineral deficiencies that cause fatigue

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