First off, thanks to everyone for their input.
We had already discussed that before implementing any supps he'd want to talk it over with his doctor first. I'll make sure to remind him of this.
Being 86 years old he already has had numerous discussions with his doc about the importance of excercise, and I know for a fact that he does some walking - though to what extent, I'm not sure. I'll talk with him about this a bit more.
None of the suggestions given to me on this site will be interpreted as doctor's advice, and that any advice under consideration will be discussed with his doctor prior to its implementation. Just wanted to get that out of the way. [thumb]
The more research I've done, the more supplements I've added to the list (shocking, huh). Because cost is an issue, I'm just going to keep this list to the 5 most benificial supplements for him.
1) Multi-vitamin - depending on the particular brand we decide on, there's a good possibility at least one of the vitamins it supplies will be sub-optimal for his requirements. If I can find a multi that specifically targets someone of his age while meeting all of his vitamin requirements, then great, but if not, further vitamin supplementation should be pretty cheap. From my own research, vitamins he's probably deficient in include Vit D, Vit A, Vit C, and Vit E.
These dosages will vary depending on contents of multi chosen.
Particular vitamins dosages
per day:
Vitamin A - <8,000 IU
Vitamin D - 600 IU
Vitamin E - <700 IU
(These estimates were taken from
http://health.nih.gov/result.asp/719)
Vitamin C - 45mg (
http://www.fao.org/D...9E/y2809e0c.htm)
Off the topic, I know, but while reading I found our government's take at an anti-aging website, National Institute on Aging
http://www.nia.nih.gov/. Thought I'd do a search on 'lipoic acid', and the only thing which came up, was a study conducted on dogs to determine the correlation between diet, exercise, and ability to learn. Nothing else. I know the government has strict limitations as to what they can and can't advise the public to take - even if it is good for you - but geez, I can't even find the suggested EPA and DHA intake!
2) Fish Oil
Dosage at 1g 1x/day
3) R-ALA
Dosage at 100mg 3x/day
4) ALCAR
Dosage at 500mg 2x/day
5) Melatonin
Dosage at 300mg 1x/just before bedtime
If he's still interested in any further supplementation I'll suggest an AGE component. Last thing I can think of, is to make sure he titrates.