supplements

Supplements for Immune Support: What does the science say?

March 6, 2020 by Katherine Baker Leave a Comment

With coronavirus reaching pandemic status, there’s a lot of chatter about what individual actions are available to those looking to reduce their risk of disease. I’ve seen some great information about good hygiene and hand washing, and I’ve also seen a lot of misleading information about the disease, its spread, and how to prevent it. I thought this might be a good time to discuss supplements for immune support: are there are supplements that improve immune function and/or any supplements that reduce the risk of getting COVID-19? Let’s take a look at the science.

*Disclaimer: As always, this is general information intended for healthy adults. Your needs may vary based on medical status, lifestyle, or life-stage. Please never replace generalized health information you’ve read online with individualized clinical care.

And please, please use supplements only under the guidance of a health care professional. Many drugs have interactions with certain supplements. It is important to work with a health care provider to tailor what you take, if anything, to your individual needs

First of all, let’s chat about the immune system:

The immune system is your body’s defense system to prevent illness or infection, and includes the skin, bone marrow, the bloodstream, thalamus (a part of the brain), lymphatic nodes, the spleen, and mucosal tissue. Together, these organ systems work to protect the body against pathogens and toxins to keep you healthy.

How does nutrition impact the immune system?

There are several micronutrients that play various roles in supporting immune function.

Vitamins A, B6, C, and E, along with minerals copper, iron, selenium, zinc, and folic acid all play various roles in supporting proper immune function. There is evidence to suggest that deficiencies in these micronutrients may decrease immune function.

But notice that the research is based on nutrient deficiencies decreasing immune function; this does not necessarily mean that taking more or excess of these vitamins and minerals will improve immune function for those who are not deficient.

Eating too few calories can also impact the immune system. Underfueling leads to decreased white blood cells (immune cells that help fight disease) and decreased immune function.

Do supplements improve immune function?

There isn’t much evidence that suggests taking any particular supplement actually improves immune function in any way. In fact, measuring immune function and the body’s ability to ward off certain diseases is a pretty tricky thing to do.

Still, let’s take a dive into what data does exist on popular supplements and immune function.

Vitamin C: Emergen-C, etc

I wrote a whole post about vitamin C that you can read right here. TLDR: Basically, being vitamin C deficient may increase your likelihood of getting sick, but getting more than the recommended amount of vitamin C won’t prevent you from getting sick, or help you get rid of your symptoms earlier.

And as I’ve always said: one packet of Emergen-C is half the daily toxic dose of vitamin C, and can increase your risk of nausea, GI distress, and gallstones.

Vitamin D:

An ample amount of vitamin D is indeed necessary to support a healthy immune system. That said, much like most of the micronutrients listed in this post, there is not much evidence to suggest that large supplements will actually improve your immune function (unless you are deficient).

If you want to learn more about vitamin D, check out this post.

Elderberry syrup:

There is so much buzz surrounding elderberry supplements and syrups these days. There isn’t really much evidence to suggest it actually improves immune function. And studies that have tested elderberry syrup and illness show there aren’t major differences between those who take it and those who don’t in terms of likelihood of getting sick.

That said, there is a bit of research to suggest it may decrease the amount of time individuals (who are already sick) experience respiratory symptoms. So if you already have a cold, it may help relieve some of your symptoms, or help them go away sooner.

Still, I wouldn’t replace a trip to the doctor’s office with elderberry syrup if you think what you have may be something serious.

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Let’s Talk About Dietary Supplements (And what precautions to take when they are marketed to you all over social media)

June 26, 2019 by Katherine Baker 1 Comment

Hello to my wonderful friends from all corners of the internet! Today we are going to be chatting about dietary supplements. I get a lot of questions from friends, family members, and followers about supplements. Should you take a multivitamin? Which brand? Do supplements work? What about if I workout? Do diet pills work? Etc etc. I get it. There’s a lot of confusion out there.

And then, of course, I frequently see people on my Facebook feed, or influencers on my Instagram suggested page, selling all sorts of lovely supplements, making various promises that range from weight loss to improved brain function to increased muscle strength to better sleep. Suddenly it seems like many people feel well-qualified to give dietary advice and sell supplements!

There’s also this extremely bizarre-to-me trend of influencers ingesting all sorts of pre-workout powdery concoctions, bulking up frothy beverages with all sorts of mystical potions, and getting IV “vitamin cleanses,” and acting as if these activities are not only glamorous, but also totally normal ways to improve one’s health.

All of this adds to the noise and confusions about what – if any – supplements are the best for consumers to take. And with the multi-billion dollar supplement industry continuing to grow at a rapid pace, it seems like every day we’re infiltrated with advertisement for a new “essential” supplement to add to our daily routines.

If you know me at all, you know that the spread of illegitimate nutrition information and trends is one of my biggest peeves. So rather than continuing to suppress all my feelings, or end up thrashing out irrationally, I thought it was time to use my platform to shed some truth about nutrition-related issues. Including supplements.

So let’s get into it. The highs, lows, unknowns, and in between of dietary supplements.

Disclaimer: As always, this is general information intended for healthy adults who are not pregnant or breastfeeding. Your needs may vary based on medical status, lifestyle, or life-stage. Please never replace generalized health information you’ve read online with individualized clinical care.

No One Regulates Supplements Before They Hit Shelves

If there’s one thing you should be aware of as a consumer, it’s that no one regulates supplements before they hit the market. That’s right – no one – not the FDA, USDA, etc – regulates dietary or herbal supplements for quality, safety, or purity before you’re able to pick up a bottle at your local drug store.

The FDA does prohibit companies from marketing adulterated or misbranded supplements, meaning they have a legislation in place that prohibits tainted products from hitting store shelves, and outlaws manufacturers from selling products that aren’t as advertised. However, since there is no pre-sale testing required for a product to hit the market, a lot of stuff very easily slips through the cracks.

That means you could, quite literally, be spending your hard earned money on sugar pills, pills that don’t actually contain the amount of supplements advertised on the bottle, or contaminated supplements that contain all sorts of unwanted components, including prescription drugs and heavy metals. All of these have happened, and all of them are worrisome.

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5 popular health trends I don’t buy into

August 30, 2018 by Katherine Baker 6 Comments

1. Collagen-mushroom-potion-infused-bulletproof-caffeinated beverages

Seems like it’s mega on-trend to whip up $12 lattes filled with grass-fed collagen, 8 different mushroom powders, and 17 other expensive supplement potion/powders these days.

It’s not that I have anything against those drinks; in fact I can appreciate the creativity behind them and recognize that they may be filling if they’re brimming with fats and protein powders. I simply don’t really buy into the grandiose health-promoting claims of these concoctions.

First, let’s talk about collagen. I’ve been digging through clinics research about it and am planning a whole post devoted just to collagen. But to keep it short and sweet in this post, let’s just say that from what I’ve read so far, I’ve concluded that if you’re into collagen and your diet lacks protein, it can be a source of protein for you.

But I’m not yet convinced that after orally digesting collagen and your stomach acid has broken it down, that it can actually maintain its structural integrity as collagen and end up in your skin and hair and nails as such.

There is some mixed clinical research on collagen and joint health, and a couple of studies on collagen and beauty (some of which have been funded by collagen supplement companies), but at this point in my PubMed dive, I feel the research is a bit shaky.

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