The coronavirus is such an uncertain disease that most of us are willing to do whatever we can to protect ourselves from getting the virus – or at least prevent a serious case. That’s why so many people have turned to vitamins and supplements as a natural way to boost their immune system in the fight against COVID. Unfortunately, this may just be wishful thinking. A new study published Feb. 12 JAMA Network Open just confirmed that certain common vitamins won’t stop your COVID symptoms after all. Read on to find out which vitamins researchers say aren’t really going to help you, and for vitamins you should be taking, these 3 vitamins can save you from severe COVID, Study Finds.
Researchers for this study collected 214 coronavirus patients who recovered from COVID at home. Some subjects were randomly given high doses of zinc, vitamin C, or both supplements for 10 days. The other patients received no supplements and only standard care, such as rest, hydration and fever-reducing medications. However, the study was stopped early because the researchers saw “no significant difference” in the reduction in symptoms of those who received one or two of the supplements compared to those who received neither supplement.
“Unfortunately, these two supplements fell short of their hype,” Erin Michos, MD, associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Miguel Cainzos-Achirica, MD, an associate director of preventive cardiology research at Houston Methodist, wrote in a statement accompanying the study. And for more ways you won’t be protected, if you see this on your mask, the FDA says you should toss it immediately.
Not only was there no evidence that these supplements help those infected with COVID – patients taking vitamin C and zinc reported unpleasant side effects. “More adverse effects (nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps) were reported in the supplement groups than in the usual care group,” Michos and Cainzo-Achirica wrote in their statement.
According to the researchers, zinc can cause a metallic taste, dry mouth and gastrointestinal intolerance when given in high doses. High doses of vitamin C can also cause gastrointestinal intolerance – which was seen explicitly in this study, as a higher proportion of patients who received the high dose of vitamin C reported nausea, diarrhea and stomach cramps. And for more responses to watch out for: If you have these vaccine side effects, don’t take another chance, says the CDC.
Both vitamin C and zinc are over-the-counter supplements that help boost the immune system, which is why some experts have suggested them as potential treatments in the fight against COVID, the authors noted. Even the former president Donald Trump reportedly received zinc to treat his coronavirus symptoms, according to a report from The New York Times
Overall, though, research into using these supplements to help with infection is still uncertain. According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), vitamin C supplements do not lower the risk of catching a cold for most people. However, people who take vitamin C regularly ‘may have slightly shorter colds or slightly milder symptoms when they have a cold’. As for zinc, the institute says the research has been conflicting and that this supplement can only be beneficial for the common cold “under certain circumstances.” And for more up-to-date information, sign up for our daily newsletter.
While vitamins C and zinc may be out of the picture in terms of COVID health, other vitamins are still being researched. In fact, a January study published in applied chemistry, the journal of the German Chemical Society, found that three common vitamins can help in more severe cases of COVID: vitamin D, vitamin K and vitamin A. Other research has found that people with lower vitamin K levels are more likely to be hospitalized with severe COVID, while a lack of vitamin D can cause someone to contract an infection at all.
This investigation had COVID adviser to the White House Anthony Fauci, MD, who praised the importance of maintaining adequate vitamin levels. “Being deficient in vitamin D does affect your susceptibility to infections. I wouldn’t mind taking vitamin D supplements, and I do,” Fauci said during an Instagram Live interview with actor Jennifer Garner in September 2020. And for more expert insight, Dr. Fauci that these are the COVID symptoms that are not going away.