vitamins for immunity

vitamins

for immunity

Powerful protection for cold & flu season

Think of supplements supporting your immune system as a way to invest in a healthier future for yourself this winter (and beyond). Although there’s no way to guarantee that you will avoid every infectious illness, you can put a thumb on the scale in your favor by giving your immune defenses the best tools for the job.

Your immune system’s whole reason for being is to resist foreign invaders, and a stronger immune system will be even more adept at accomplishing this prime directive. There is a cornucopia of dietary supplements that can help your immune system get the upper hand, like these immunity superstars.

Multivitamin/Mineral

Just about every vitamin and mineral plays at least a minor role (and a few take center MULTI stage) in how well your immune system works. Making a high-quality multivitamin/ mineral supplement part of your daily routine is a great starting place, especially as you age. Think of it as covering your immunity bases.

Select a multi providing 100 to 300 percent of the daily recommended intake of key immune system building blocks, including the minerals copper, selenium, and zinc and the B-complex vitamins.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A’s nickname has always been the “anti-infective vitamin,” which probably tells you everything you need to know. Vitamin A’s infection-fighting skills start by helping maintain the physical barriers of your body— which means skin, lungs, and the linings of the mouth and throat.

If you take a daily multi, you likely get enough of this vitamin. But it’s worth a peek to ensure you are getting about 4,000 to 5,000 IU of vitamin A daily. You can also take beta carotene (or mixed carotenoids) in the amount of 15 to 50 milligrams (mg) daily, and the body will convert it to vitamin A.

Note: High doses of vitamin A are not recommended for expectant or nursing mothers; talk to your doctor.

Vitamin C

There’s a reason that vitamin C earned its place as the best-known cold-fighter. This vitamin really does pull out the big guns when it comes to keeping you healthier in the cold season.

Supplementing with 100 to 250 mg per day is a good starting point. The research is clear that vitamin C shortens the duration of the common cold, which means you can get back to healthy living in half the time.

Vitamin E

Vitamin E can promote better health in germy seasons, especially in older adults. As just one example, when older men (who in this case happened to be smokers) supplemented with 50 mg of vitamin E daily, they were less likely to develop pneumonia over the course of the five to eight years that their health was tracked. Vitamin E counteracts the natural decline in immune function that comes with advancing age.

There’s no better time than this upcoming wintrygerm season to stock up on immune boosters and kick your immune function into high gear. ●

SELECTED SOURCES “The effect of a multivitamin and mineral supplement on immune function in healthy older adults” by M.L. Fantacone et al., 2020; “Vitamin C and infections,” by H. Hemila, 2017, Nutrients • “Regulatory role of vitamin E in the immune system and inflammation” by E.D. Lewis et al., IUBMB Life, International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2019 • “Vitamin E administration may decrease the incidence of pneumonia in elderly males” by H. Hemila, Clinical Interventions in Aging, 2016