Swallowing food supplements was yesterday: Today there is Vitamin C for colds or iron intravenously against fatigue. How effective are they Vital substance infusions?
Kirsten Hoffmeister
First of all: actually hardly anyone needs them. Our vitamin supply is generally well regulated through food, at least says the German Nutrition Society. Nevertheless, many people also take vital substances to prevent or combat deficiency symptoms and diseases. And in addition to powders, tablets and drops, high-dose infusions and injections are also becoming increasingly popular. The most important questions:
What difference does it make between swallowing a vitamin and getting it intravenously?
First: Intravenous administration works faster because the administered substance reaches the blood directly. Second, higher doses of an active ingredient can be administered via a syringe or a drip than via tablets and drops. Third: the so-called bioavailability is higher. If you take tablets or drops, they first have to migrate over the mucous membranes of the gastrointestinal tract until they reach the blood and then get into the cells. This usually takes between ten minutes and several hours. In addition, some of the active ingredient is lost in the intestine and liver, for example because, as with vitamin C, the transport places through the intestinal wall into the bloodstream are limited. The amount administered cannot then reach the blood completely. That is why you can achieve significantly higher blood levels, i.e. drug concentrations, with infusions.
Which vital substances are suitable for infusions and to whom are they recommended?
There are not yet many studies on vital substances that are administered in high doses and intravenously. Highly dosed doses of the trace element iron have been comparatively well researched. Women who are vegetarian or have very heavy menstrual bleeding often suffer from iron deficiency. Naturopathic doctors such as Prof. Peter Gündling, specialist in general medicine and naturopathy from Bad Camberg, swear by high doses of vitamin C, especially for colds. Good results have also been achieved with vitamin B12 injections. They help patients who suffer from the consequences of a vitamin B¹² deficiency and B. have to struggle with depressive moods. Vegans, people with gastritis or those who have had serious gastric surgery are particularly affected. However, studies show that injections into the muscle do not bring higher blood levels than tablets.
Can you really fight infections with high doses of vitamin C?
There is disagreement between conventional medicine and naturopathy. Peter Gündling has had very good experiences. "As a shock therapy, vitamin C can nip emerging colds in the bud or at least ensure that the disease is much weaker and shorter. Even a single infusion of 7,500 milligrams of vitamin C achieves pronounced stimulation of white blood cells, immunoglobulins and interferon – all three responsible for strengthening the immune system. " Persistent infections could be brought under control by intravenous at least four grams of vitamin C one to three times. Gündling also sees a benefit in infections such as shingles (herpes zoster), as well as in the treatment of cancer. "High vitamin C doses alleviate the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation, such as fatigue and depression. And they accelerate the wound healing process."
Professor Peter Nielsen from the Institute for Biochemistry and Molecular Cell Biology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf is more skeptical: "Although high-dose vitamin C therapy for cancer patients is considered to be relatively safe, there are no sufficiently well-founded studies with placebo controls to date, so the effectiveness has not yet been fully proven. "
There are initial indications that the infusions could reduce mortality in people with a severe corona course; Vitamin C may help to prevent the so-called cytokine storm, a life-threatening derailment of the immune system. Several studies are currently ongoing.
Iron tablets often make you feel sick. Why is the infusion still not unreservedly recommended?
Because it can lead to allergic reactions, which can also be severe in individual cases. Professor Nielsen, who heads the "Iron Metabolism" working group, therefore advises careful handling. "Intravenous iron therapy should only be given to patients who have a massive iron deficiency. These are mostly people who suffer from a chronic disease such as Crohn's disease or heart failure. Also for those who are on oral iron supplements with constipation, nausea or If you react to stomach pressure, infusions can be useful. " It is then important to have it carried out under medical supervision in order to be able to react quickly in the event of intolerance signals. The choice of iron supplement also plays an important role. "Modern active ingredients such as iron sucrose or iron-carboxymaltose are usually quite well tolerated and can be administered as an infusion," says expert Nielsen.
As an alternative to an infusion, iron can also be injected. Then the amounts are smaller, but the tolerance is usually good. Peter Gündling recommends iron deficiency patients with two iron injections of 100 to 200 milligrams per week for four to six weeks. Important afterwards: have your blood values checked.
What other injections are there?
In naturopathy, high doses of calcium and magnesium are injected and homeopathic autologous blood treatments are carried out, primarily to combat allergies and neurodermatitis. In contrast to iron and vitamin C, these are injected under the skin or into a muscle and can form a depot there. In this way, they should stimulate the body's own self-healing powers.
And then there are the so-called energy boosters or vitamin cocktails, which more and more medical practices and alternative practitioners are offering, intravenously administered mixtures of vital substances, also mixed with proteins and amino acids. They are said to help detoxify, lose weight and relax, and improve libido or potency. However, whether this is really true has not been proven. These syringes often fill the doctor's wallet in particular. Without a detailed examination, including a blood sample, you should definitely not be given it. "High-dose vitamins, minerals and trace elements are drugs that can not only have effects, but also side effects," says Professor Gündling. After vitamin C infusions, for example, rashes, nausea or chills have occurred. "A possible prescription must weigh carefully and first examine the patient thoroughly. "
When does the cash register pay?
Vital substance cocktails always have to be paid for by yourself. In exceptional cases, iron infusions and vitamin B¹² injections are covered by both private and statutory health insurances. And then when there is evidence of a medical need such as a serious deficiency symptom and this cannot be remedied through a balanced diet or nutritional supplements. A typical case would be, for example, if a patient has a clear iron deficiency, but reacts to iron supplements with permanent nausea. Intravenous vitamin C administration in the case of infections is almost never accepted, as the health insurers do not consider the effect to be sufficiently proven.
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