Especially for grandpa: these supplements are useful for men and women in their prime.

Poets often compare human life to the span of a day, likening the golden years to the setting sun. The image of a large gold orb slipping down to meet the horizon is meant to be relaxing--just as old age is meant to be, with retirement the welt-deserved payoff for 40-plus years of work.

Retirement isn't the only thing age brings; it also comes with an increased risk of health complications and chronic disease. These risks can be reduced, however, with a sound diet and exercise program plus a few vitamins, minerals and specialty supplements thrown in to bolster bodies and minds. Read these two pages to learn about promising supplements for men aged 60 and beyond, pages 60-61 for those especially suited to women.

soy isoflavones

For men, soy isoflavones may decrease prostate cancer incidence and mortality. Phytoestrogens found in soy were associated with a lower risk of prostate cancer, according to a Swedish study of more than 2,600 elderly men that appeared in the March 2006 Cancer Causes and Control. What's more, for men who have been treated for prostate cancer, taking a soy-based dietary supplement slows the rise of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a prostate cancer marker, as noted in the December 2005 issue of European Urology.

buyer's guide: Add foods like soy, flaxseed, sunflower seeds, berries, peanuts and beans to your diet to benefit from the variety of phytoestrogens that exist in nature.

how much to take: Specific levels of isoflavones are not proven for reducing the risk of prostate cancer, but the Swedish researchers noted that the men who ate the highest amounts of phytoestrogen-rich foods had a 26 percent lower risk of prostate cancer than the men who ate the least.

CARLSON EASYSOY capsules have 500mg of soy isoflavone concentrate.