It’s not exactly what you might call “cold season,” but that hasn’t stopped a cold from spreading around my college campus. It’s been a big concern for the track team, as we are heading into the championship season. Our coach is becoming frustrated by the number of absences at practice due to this nasty cold that continues to spread between teammates. He encourages taking cold medicine right after noticing the first symptoms.
As “luck” would have it, my roommate ended up being one of the first ones to catch a cold; instead of treating myself for symptoms, as my roommate had to do, I went into full-blown preventative mode. Naturally, I washed my hands more frequently than usual, and was also more careful when I washed my dishes in the communal sink. I’m not one to take medicine at the first sign of illness or pain; however, I wanted to make sure that I was doing everything possible to stay healthy for the team so I chose to take the “immune boosters” by which many people swear.
Two popular immune-boosting dietary supplements are Airborne and Emergen-C. You can read more about Airborne here. It currently comes in the form of chewable tablets, effervescent tablets (which make a fizzy drink when added to water), and portable powder pouches, all in citrus and berry flavors.
I opted for Emergen-C, solely because it was the first one that I came across in the grocery aisle. Emergen-C comes in the form of a flavored fizzy drink mix, which I found fun and reasonably tasty. (Mine was raspberry flavored). The box boasts 24 nutrients, electrolytes, antioxidants, and 7 B vitamins. Of course, the main feature is the 1,000 mg of vitamin C, which is a ridiculous %1667 of the “recommended” daily intake for a 2,000-calorie diet. It that dangerous? Not at all; your body flushes out extra vitamin C with ease. Is it necessary? Probably not; there’s no reason to take in much more than the recommended value, because your body simply spits it out.
The Emergen-C box states that their mix can “support your immune system,” but it also notes that the statement has not been evaluated by the FDA. So why do so many people swear by it? I definitely think that there’s a certain placebo effect going on; people feel better because they convince themselves that the immune booster works. If it keeps someone feeling better, I’m all for it.
I’m not necessarily convinced by the power of immune-boosting dietary supplements, but a week has passed, and I’ve stayed in the clear, so I’ll keep taking Emergen-C until championship season is over. Better to be safe than sorry!
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