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The cold and flu season, and in fact the "immunity breakdown" in full - certainly more than one person has experienced it first-hand. Worsening well-being, decreased efficiency and vitality, or even the need to interrupt the training cycle and a certain regression or, at best, stagnation in sports form. The market is full of products that are supposed to provide us with increased immunity (of various types), limit the inflammation in the body, and as a result - reduce the frequency of infections, or shorten its duration and the severity of symptoms. Are they all worth considering? Certainly not, but in today's text I will try to briefly present a few of them that are worth paying attention to.
Multivitamin – something everyone snacked on!
This is where we should start – vitamin and mineral preparations, which each of us has certainly taken. In order to improve immunity, quickly return to fitness, accelerate regeneration or ensure the appropriate supply of regulatory components (at least theoretically) – but what does the research say about this?
The MAVIS study published in 2005 on the use of multivitamins in the elderly did not give much hope. Alison Avenell's team examined 910 people over 65 to see if this supplementation could affect the frequency of infections they reported. Unfortunately, it turned out that supplementation did not affect their quality of life, nor the frequency or duration of infections.
Also in 2005, a meta-analysis of RCTs was published documenting the role of multivitamin supplementation in preventing infections in the elderly. Alia El-Kadiki, who is also the author of the chapter on the role of micronutrients in preventing infections in the elderly in a 2015 publication on nutrition and supplementation of this group of people, together with Alexander Sutton, reviewed and analyzed 8 studies. It turned out that only 3 of them showed a reduction in the duration of infection by about 17.5%. The results of the studies turned out to be inconsistent and gave little evidence for the routine use of vitamin and mineral preparations.
In 2006, a systematic review by Stephen and Avenell was published. This review now covers the entire adult population, not just the elderly. The general conclusion is that supplementation is not very useful, but the authors suggest that people over 65 may benefit from supplementation for more than six months (if they are deficient).
Year 2013, another meta-analysis, led by Macpherson. Included 21 studies, covering 91,074 people and 8,794 deaths – examined the effect of supplementation on all-cause mortality. Unfortunately – also in this case, multivitamin supplementation did not reduce the risk of death from all causes.
Vitamin D?
In 2017, PLoS One published a paper covering 26,916 people and their observation for 10.5 years – the influence of vitamin D on mortality (and in general, the nutritional status of this vitamin) was examined. It was observed that in people with lower levels (49.99nmol/L and less) the risk of death was significantly higher. The main "culprits" turned out to be cardiovascular diseases. In the case of cancer diseases, the relationship was not linear. In the case of calcitriol concentrations at the level of 75-12nmol/L, no increased risk of death from various causes was demonstrated.
However, it was supposed to be about health, not mortality!
The importance of vitamin D in terms of immunity is demonstrated by the presence of VDR receptors and 1-alpha hydroxylase on many components of the immune system. Calcitriol has an immunomodulatory effect on B and T lymphocytes, regulates the expression of antimicrobial peptide genes with a broad spectrum of action. These peptides support the body's defense against pathogens, including tuberculosis, influenza and colds. Studies conducted on athletes, soldiers and the general population have documented an inverse relationship between vitamin D concentration and URTI incidents (upper respiratory tract infections). Athletes with low calcitriol concentrations manifest not only more URTI symptoms, but also a longer duration of infection. It has been observed that athletes with 25(OH)D concentrations below 30nmol/l are most at risk, and the rarest episodes occur in athletes with concentrations >120nmol/l. In the studies by Fraser et al., supplementation of 5000 IU (which is more than recommended as safe by EFSA!) for 14 weeks during winter training contributed to an increase in the level of cathelicidin (one of the antimicrobial peptides) and IgA in saliva, compared to placebo. The recommended doses for the population of our country are 800-2000 IU/d in the months of September-April. In the case of athletes, doses of 4000 IU/d are increasingly being discussed.
In the next part, I will focus on other promising ingredients in supplements that can significantly affect the risk or duration of infections, both respiratory and gastrointestinal disorders – I invite you to read it soon!
Literature:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1183131/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC556155/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16756533
https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/97/2/437/4577151
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5312926/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5790847/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25861808/
Paweł Szewczyk - Master of Dietetics specializing in sports nutrition. Dietician of Polish National Team and European Champions. Participant and speaker at trainings, conferences and seminars throughout the country. Lecturer at the State Medical Higher Vocational School in Opole and the Institute of Psychodietetics in Wrocław. On a daily basis, he deals with professional counseling in the field of nutrition and supplementation, publishes scientifically and popularly, and trains athletes and dieticians.
Author of the blog: szewczykpassion.wordpress.com
More information in the education and experience tab https://szewczykpassion.wordpress.com/wyksztalcenie/
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