This is a question that can lead to some heated responses. There is so much influence by the pharmaceutical companies in what we see and hear that the answer to this question can become distorted.
A new study published in Nutrients casts some light on this issue, at least with older people. In this study, the researchers found that volunteers who were given a multivitamin, as well as zinc (10 mg per day) and Vitamin C (1,000 mg per day) over a 12-week period had their immune system improve when compared to a control group.
The volunteers taking the supplement had fewer days of sickness, less severe symptoms when they were sick, and they also recovered faster from their illness.
The researchers did this as a double blind randomized controlled study with 92 older volunteers who were between 55 and 75 years old. They looked at older adults because around a third of older Americans are deficient in at least one micronutrient. This deficiency can lead to a decline in their having a healthy functioning immune system, which can lead to higher levels of inflammation and reduced T-cell functioning.
Over the years, I’ve been taking many supplements based on what I’ve discovered in my research, which I’ve reported on in these blogs. It’s unusual for me to get sick and on those rare occasions when I do, my recovery is usually within a day.
During this time of COVID, I can report that I haven’t gotten sick since at least a year or so before the start of the pandemic. So, while I view me as an experiment of 1, I like to find studies like this one that are validating what I’m doing for myself. So…my answer to the question does it pay take vitamins, I would say absolutely yes!
(Reported Nutrients, Vol 12, Issue 8)
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