Take Supplements to Save Big on Health Care

Americans could save $24 billion in health care costs while improving their health over the next five years by taking a few key dietary supplements, reports a study commissioned by the Dietary Supplement Education Alliance (DSEA).

The study found that if seniors 65 years and older took calcium with vitamin D daily, they could potentially avoid about 776,000 hospitalizations from hip fractures and save about $16.1 billion. Additionally, if that same group of people also took 1800 mg of omega-3 fatty acids a day, another 374,301 hospitalizations for coronary heart disease may be cut, saving another $3.2 million.

Taking 6-10 mg of lutein with zeaxanthin each day would not only help more than 190,000 people with age-related macular degeneration maintain their independence, but it would also save $3.6 million in assisted-living expenses.

Lastly, if more than a quarter of the 44 million American women of childbearing age took a daily dose of 400 mcg of folic, they could prevent 600 cases of neural tube defects, which could potentially save $1.4 billion.