Do supplements raise the immune system?

By browsing the transition of supplements, you will probably hand over bottles of tablets and gels that claim that they raise the immune system.

And if you’ve ever had a temptation to try them out, you are far from loneliness: recent studies suggest that millions of Americans used dietary supplements for these alleged benefits.

New study It was published last week in Jama Network Open and covered over 15,000 participants. It was found that about one in nine US residents used supplements to strengthen their immune systems between January 2017 and March 2020.

“He appears all the time,” said Dr. Michael Ben-Aderet, deputy medical director of hospital epidemiology at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, who was not involved in the study. “There is really a sense of people trying to optimize their health.”

Scientists have found that many people used supplements without a doctor’s recommendation. But doctors of an infectious disease, scientists and experts of supplements say that there is not much evidence that these products actually helped.

What does science say?

Supplements that claim that they support immunity often contain vitamins and minerals necessary for the immune system. Therefore, it is not unjustified to believe that these products can support you rely on common viral infections or reduce symptoms after getting ill.

In fact, Some nutrients Such as vitamins A, C, D and zinc are needed to protect against germs, and the shortcomings in them risk the disease, said Dr. Mahtab Jafari, professor of pharmaceutical sciences at the University of California in Irvine.

However, most people in the United States receive vitamins and minerals they need by Balanced dietsaid Dr. Ben-Aderet. He added that for these people there is no convincing evidence that supplements are useful.

There are thousands of supplements that claim that they support the immune system. Some contain only one vitamin or mineral, while others are full of ingredients. Experts say that vitamin D, vitamin C and zinc belong to the most -respondents and common ingredients, and the benefits are still not decisive.

Studies suggesting that vitamin D supplements treat viral infections such as colds or reduce their risk, are inconsistent. AND Review 2020 He stated that supplements do not protect against viruses in people with normal or high levels of vitamin D. 2021 review However, with the participation of almost 50,000 participants, it was found that vitamin D supplements slightly reduced the risk of acute respiratory infections. (But the review concerned the authors who received financing from supplements companies.)

The evidence is similarly unconvincing for vitamin C and zinc. AND Review 2013 from the Cochrane library The involvement of over 11,000 participants said that vitamin C supplements did not reduce the risk of catching a cool in the general population, although sometimes it shortened how long the disease lasted. And A 2024 Cochrane review The involvement of over 8,000 participants said that zinc supplements did nothing to prevent a cool, although this may have a shortened duration.

Plants such as black and echinacea are also used in the immune system supplements. But unlike vitamins and minerals, botany is not necessary for immune health, but even less reliable research on whether they support prevent or treat common viruses, said Dr. Jen Wall Forrester, senior director of prevention of infections at UC Health in Cincinnati.

“I would like to have a magical bullet,” she said, but the immunity is elaborate, and the supplements are unlikely to change the way it works.

Why don’t we know if they support?

It is complex to find the benefits of immune supplements, because there are several randomized clinical trials with a high -quality, golden standard of medical research, assessing their effectiveness, said Dr. Pieter Cohen, extraordinary professor at the Harvard Medical School, who studies dietary security.

And dietary supplements are not approved by the food and second administration before entering the market. This means that companies can sell products containing ingredients that have not been rigorously tested to offer benefits, said Dr. Cohen and generally do not have to prove FDA that their products contain what they claim.

AND 2022 study Analysis of 30 supplements sold to support the immune system showed that more than half had faulty labels, 13 were badly wasted, and nine contained the ingredients not listed on the label.

What is the resulting one?

“You must have a really robust dose of skepticism when you pull something out of the shelf,” said Dr. Ben-Aderet.

But if you want to try supplements, check the high quality seals of the approval by organizations US Pharmacopeia Or NSFwho test the quality of dietary supplements, said Dr. Jafari. Also scan FDA website She added that to check if the agency has ever issued a warning letter to a supplement company to mislead claims or impoverished production.

And talk to your doctor before accepting supplements. They can test your blood in terms of deficiencies, inform about side effects and unsafe doses, and inform whether some supplements may be dangerously interacted with the medications taken, said Dr. Wall Forrester.

If your doctor says that the supplement you want to try is generally protected, “you can just try”, Dr. Wall Forrester said: “But you can waste your money.”