Unboxed: 10 nonpill immune system-supporting supplements
Powders, packets, sprays and shots herald the new age of supplements sans tablets and capsules. Here’s the latest to hit the booming immunity supplements sector.
December 15, 2020
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SRP: $99.00 30 servings of powder Resilience—in particular a balanced stress response—is the key aspect motivating this formulation. The 23 ingredients include antioxidant vitamins and minerals, as well as others for innate and adaptive immunity. We like the high-quality methylcobalamin B12, a host of top-shelf branded ingredients like ResistAid larch arabinogalactans that has three published human clinicals, Wellmune beta-glucan baker’s yeast that has a ton of research showing it primes the immune response, and more. Overall, a solid formulation that will improve smoothies, and a great website showcasing the company’s mission and intentions.
SRP: $17.99 10 single-serve 1 fl oz packets These ready-to-drink shots taste yummy (zesty orange) and go down easy. Each pouch contains 500mg of vitamin C plus vitamin A, manganese and zinc to support immune health. It contains seven vitamins and minerals, plus echinacea, schisandra and vitex. It’s sweetened with no-calorie alternative sweeteners sucralose and ace-K, though it does use sodium benzoate as a preservative.
SRP: $44.99 32 individual packets Liposomal vitamin C was once hard to come by, but the word has gotten out. Linus Pauling would be tickled had he known about the ability to enrobe water-soluble nutrients in a fatty blob to ensure fast and astonishingly effective uptake by the body. Aurora makes it easy because it comes in individual packets for on-the-go consumption. It’s flavored with stevia, and might be better tossed into a glass of water or a water bottle than a straight-up shot.
SRP: $15.28 90 servings Olive leaf contains a notable polyphenol called oleuropein, which acts as both an antioxidant and an immune protectant. Long known as an antiviral, olive leaf extract was tested in one notable eight-week study on 29 adult men. Researchers found it improves the response of white blood cells, thereby promoting immune balance. This is a great delivery format—just spray five times to the back of the throat.
SRP: $51.00 14 servings of powder This is pretty much a meal replacement powder—with benefits. It’s got pea and rice protein as its base, tosses in prebiotic fiber, and then also contains all the traditional nonbotanical immunity ingredients like vitamins A, C, E and D as well as selenium and zinc. But then it contains two bioactives found in its namesake HTB— Himalayan tartary buckwheat. This novel plant contains immune-rejuvenation compounds quercetin and 2-HOBA. The concept of immune rejuvenation—not boosting, not supporting—has arrived. This is a novel concept brought to the supplements world by industry legend and company president Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D.
SRP: $44.97 32 tablespoon servings The thing with vitamin C is the body does not absorb nearly enough of it—maybe 40 percent. One study found intravenous vitamin C was absorbed into the bloodstream a whopping 70 times higher than oral doses. That’s why I.V. vitamin C treatment—which is close to 100% absorbed since it gets mainlined straight into the bloodstream—has been found to be effective against significant disease states. That’s why I.V. C is being studied in China for viral loads. But liposomal vitamin C has similar bioavailable properties as intravenous, and this supplement has a sumptuous citrus vanilla taste—a truly yummy way to get your vitamin C.
SRP: $15.99 2 fl oz/38 servings Silver has been used throughout the world for millennia to keep liquids fresh and unspoiled. It was a frontline treatment a century ago in America until antibiotics came on the scene. Colloidal silver has experienced a renaissance of late, with these sprays containing a nano-sized pure, metallic silver suspended in water. Research has shown colloidal silver to be an effective immune support backed by clinical data. Properly prepared pharma-grade colloidal silver is readily absorbed and considered safe in mammals, reptiles and plants.
SRP: $16.00 70 servings Zinc is emerging as the most favored mineral in COVID times. This convenient, easy-to-use spray makes getting zinc a matter of a simple spray pump in a tincture-size bottle. Zinc Up is an ionic form of zinc, which allows zinc to bond readily with water, making it possible for the body to absorb it. It’s got a decent taste, nothing metallic or zincy about its flavor profile. Each pump provides 1 mg of zinc, with a serving equaling five pumps. Maybe take three to five servings a day.
SRP: $65.00 12 shots This is not cheap, but you get what you pay for. The ultra-high-end nature of Quicksilver’s liposomal delivery format makes sure your body gets all the good things that are coming to it. In this case, that means vitamins A (7.5 mg), C (2,000 mg), D (10,000 IU) and K (1,050 mcg MK7 and K2) along with the ElderCraft branded European black elderberry extract. The instructions say to take one shot daily for 10 days, then up to four shots per week. For intensive use, take a shot twice a day for five days and then up to four shots per week. To enhance the body’s uptake, swish it around your mouth for 30 seconds before swallowing.
SRP: $39.99 30 servings of powder This powder has 10 ingredients, and these are classic immune-supportive ones. It’s got vitamins C and D, zinc, echinacea and elderberry. Then brain and energy support mushrooms lion’s mane, reishi, shiitake and turkey tail. Finally, a bit of a yerba mate-charged energy boost to make consumers feel like a million bucks.
SRP: $39.99 30 servings of powder This powder has 10 ingredients, and these are classic immune-supportive ones. It’s got vitamins C and D, zinc, echinacea and elderberry. Then brain and energy support mushrooms lion’s mane, reishi, shiitake and turkey tail. Finally, a bit of a yerba mate-charged energy boost to make consumers feel like a million bucks.
Immune-support supplements—from letter vitamins to bodacious botanicals—always see an uptick in sales during the so-called cold and flu season. (Or is it really the vitamin D-deficiency season? A discussion for another day.) During particularly egregious health scares, like the H1N1 virus of 2009, there’s a decided pop in sales.
And this year’s COVID-19 pandemic? As Dr. Anthony Fauci, America’s doctor and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, might say: Fuggedaboutit.
Nutrition Business Journal estimates 2020 sales of cold, flu and immunity sales to grow more than 50% in 2020, to just north of $5 billion in sales. It also predicts this sales spike—from about $3.5 billion in 2019—to continue, with sales continuing its upward trajectory for 2021 and beyond.
Immune-support supplements, in short, are the new normal.
Brands are slapping “immunity” on product labels, with a formulation tweak, as fast as they were including “CBD” in supplements during 2019.
The top individual ingredients, according to Nutrition Business Journal, are multivitamins, followed by vitamin C and combination herbs, then homeopathics, probiotics and elderberry. (“Other” makes up 20%.)
The trend away from tablets and capsules continues in the immunity space. Yes, of course consumers can still pop pills. But for those looking for different, easier, better or just different ways to consume health-promoting supplements, supplements makers are delivering the goods. Here’s 10 new additions that add extra talking points with your customers.
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