Do you want to strengthen your immune system, reduce your physical signs of aging or purify your blood to get rid of toxins? Intravenous (IV) vitamin or vitamin drops promise to help. Some claim they may even be beneficial for serious conditions like cancer, Parkinson’s disease, macular degeneration, fibromyalgia pain, and depression.
Celebrities promoted it on social media. The request led to alternative therapy parlors popping up around the world, including Australia. Patients can relax in comfortable leather armchairs while hooked up to IVs in the IV lounge, watch Netflix and have tea.
But do they work? Or are you just paying for very expensive urine? Let’s look at what the science says.
What is Vitamin IV?
Vitamin IV delivers vitamins and minerals directly into the bloodstream via a needle that goes directly into your vein. Fans of the therapy believe it allows you to get more nutrients by bypassing the digestion process.
Providers of these injections say they customize the vitamin and mineral formula based on the patient’s perceived needs.
Right now, for example, many Australian salons are offering ‘cocktails’ containing immune-boosting vitamins like vitamin C and zinc to help protect yourself from the flu. Other popular therapy sessions go by names like “Energy Cocktail” and “Shine”. A vitamin IV therapy session can take 30 to 90 minutes and will cost between 80 and 1000 Australian dollars.
Does Vitamin IV Work?
Intravenous therapy itself is not new and has been used in the medical profession for decades. In hospitals, it is commonly used to hydrate patients and administer essential nutrients if there is a problem with intestinal absorption or long-term difficulty in eating or drinking due to surgery. Deficiencies of a single nutrient such as vitamin B12 or iron are also often treated in hospital with medically supervised infusions.
But the “cocktails” that intravenous vitamin clinics create and administer are not backed by scientific evidence. No clinical studies have shown that vitamin injections of this type provide health benefits or are necessary for good health. In fact, very few studies have looked at their effectiveness.
There are an opinion on the use of the “Myers cocktail” (a solution of magnesium, calcium, vitamin C and a number of B vitamins). But it just contains a collection of anecdotal evidence from singular case studies.
Another essay examined the effectiveness of vitamin IV in reducing symptoms in 34 people with chronic pain, fibromyalgia. He found no significant difference between those who received the “Myers cocktail” once a week for eight weeks and those who did not. In fact, the authors noted a strong placebo effect. In other words, many people have reported that their symptoms improve when they only receive an injection of a “dummy” cocktail.
Another study which examined the use of IV vitamins in patients with fibromyalgia lacked a placebo group, involved only seven patients, and showed only short-term improvement in symptoms. The only other published to study reviewed the use of vitamin IV for asthma. But this study was of even poorer quality.
What are the risks of vitamin IV?
Even when it comes to vitamins and minerals, you can have too much of the good stuff. For example, if you consume more soluble fats vitamin A than you need it, your body stores it, risking to damage to major organs, such as the liver.
IV vitamin “cocktails” often contain significant levels of water-soluble vitamins C and B. These are processed by the kidneys and excreted in the urine when the body can no longer store any. This makes urine very expensive.
There is also a risk of infection with vitamin IV. Each time you have an IV line inserted, it creates a direct path into your bloodstream and bypasses your skin’s defense mechanism against bacteria.
People with certain conditions like kidney disease or kidney failure should not receive vitamin IV because they cannot quickly remove certain minerals from the body. For these people, add too much potassium could lead to a heart attack.
People with heart, kidney or blood pressure problems should also avoid vitamin IV as there is a risk of fluid overload without constant supervision. the consequences Fluid overload in these patients may include heart failure, delayed wound healing, and impaired bowel function.
What’s the bottom line?
For most of us, the amounts of vitamins and minerals necessary for good health can be obtained by eating a healthy diet consisting of a wide range of foods and food groups. Getting vitamins and minerals from your diet is much easier, cheaper and safer.
Unless you have a medically diagnosed reason for getting a vitamin infusion and it has been prescribed by your doctor, it is always best to get vitamins and minerals through food.
