Dietary supplements for protecting the immune system

Recently, human beings has significantly elevated their intake of nutritional dietary supplements for the reason that onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. These supplements are often marketed to support immune function, aiming for disease prevention and overall health maintenance. A systematic review published in the Nutrients Journal shed light on this trend. It highlighted that sales of supplements targeting cold, flu, and immunity, as reported by the Nutrition Business Journal (NBJ), surged to nearly $6 billion by the end of 2020, a steep rise from $3.4 billion in 2019.
The study's authors scrutinized twenty-seven different ingredients within dietary supplements as part of their systematic review. Echinacea emerged as a potential preventive measure for upper respiratory tract infections, notably the common cold. Similarly, elderberry exhibited promise in reducing both the duration and severity of symptoms among individuals using it to address influenza-like symptoms. However, when it comes to vitamin A, reviews suggested that its effects on respiratory infections could vary depending on age and circumstances. Excessive intake might even heighten the risk of infection among otherwise healthy children. As for vitamin C, its preventive benefits seem contingent on factors like gender (more pronounced in males), environmental conditions, and specific stressors an individual might encounter. On the other hand, vitamin D appears to offer potential benefits when taken in daily doses over a short period, whereas vitamin E doesn't demonstrate any discernible advantages for preventing or treating respiratory infections. For further details, refer to the original article through the provided link.