A cabinet staple for any college student is a full stock of Emergen-C, the “immunity-boosting” gummies or drinks, ready to be consumed at any moment when you start to feel a little under the weather.

But how effective is it really to ingest these supplements? While it may feel like you are actively improving your chances of fighting off a cold, there is actually little evidence to back up vitamin supplement’s efficacy or necessity in preventative care.

Let’s examine the most popular supplement, Vitamin C. It has proven benefits such as shortening the duration of an illness, and Vitamin C deficiency can endanger your health, potentially causing scurvy or anemia. The recommended daily amount of Vitamin C for adults is 75-80 mg, which can be sourced from a balanced diet of fruits and vegetables as one medium-sized orange contains 70 mg. Thus, considering that there is no conclusive evidence of megadoses over 500 mg of vitamin C preventing colds, a 1000 mg Vitamin C packet is futile. 

With a bit of research, it is possible to find many articles supporting the benefits of every immune supplement, but scientific research tells a different story. Trial studies on Zinc lozenges, commonly taken to treat and prevent colds, yield no significant results concerning its effectiveness. In addition, Elderberry, which claims to be packed with immune supporting antioxidants, lacks sufficient evidence to prove that it can help with flu or cold symptoms as well. This pattern can be found in all the other “immune boosters” lining the store aisles.

In fact, the entire concept of immune-boosting may be flawed. It is extremely complicated to prove that a raised level of antibodies is in fact caused by a herb or vitamin as the immune system is extremely complex and not fully understood by scientists. Additionally, the immune system reacts differently to different microbes, raising the question of how a specific supplement can fix the cold or flu if there are so many different strains of each illness.

It is important to note that vitamin deficiency can indeed lead to many health problems, so the use of vitamin supplements can be helpful in some cases. However, if the motive for purchasing is cold/flu prevention or care, you are better off eating an orange. 

Despite the majority of immune support supplements lacking evidence of their efficacy, they are still immensely popular. In fact, the global immune health supplements market size is projected to grow from 20.18-31.50 billion USD in the years of 2021-2028. This is partly because the FDA is not authorized to review dietary supplements. At most, the FDA will send warning letters to fraudulent companies, which cannot force companies to comply. Since these supplements are classified as food products rather than medicine, they are allowed to be sold in stores with false claims. Especially with the introduction of COVID and the newfound emphasis in personal health, the issue is exacerbated. 

So while it has been established that the grounded root power of an exotic plant will not fix your immune system, there are plenty of ways to maintain a healthy one. Not smoking, eating an abundance of fruits and vegetables, sleeping, and regularly exercising are the general guidelines to keep a strong first line of defense. Although there may not be a magical way to cure the cold or flu, living a healthy lifestyle is the perfect place to start building up your immunity.