7 Benefits of IV Nutrition Therapy
IV Drip
IV nutrition therapy involves an intravenous infusion of various vitamins and minerals. IV nutrition therapy serves several purposes, from boosting the immune system to improving skin conditions.
Over the past several years, IV nutrition therapy has been gaining popularity. While a lack of vitamins and minerals can cause serious health issues, failing to maintain proper levels in your body can also lead to problems such as fatigue, memory loss, cardiovascular disease, and skin conditions.
What is IV Nutrition Therapy?
The first attempts at IV nutrition therapy date back to the 1970s when Dr. John Myers developed the popular Myers' Cocktail. This consists of magnesium, calcium, B vitamins, and vitamin C.
Modern cocktails also contain amino acids and antioxidants like glutathione. They help with health issues such as asthma, chronic migraines, fibromyalgia, seasonal allergic rhinitis, depression, cardiovascular disease, and more.
One therapy session takes between 20 and 30 minutes. You may need one to two sessions per week for up to a month or, one per week or one twice a month depending on your goals, current nutrition status, and your life style. The main benefit of administering vitamins and minerals intravenously instead of taking them orally, is excellent absorption.
When you take micronutrients by mouth, only about 50% are absorbed in the small intestine. However, when you receive them intravenously, it's possible to achieve up to 90% absorption.
Top 7 Benefits of IV Nutrition Therapy
While more studies are being done to confirm the health benefits of IV nutrition therapy, the existing evidence shows that for most people, it can be highly advantageous.
1. Immune System Support
Your body needs to maintain certain levels of vitamins and minerals for the immune system to work properly. Deficiency of a single vitamin can lead to an altered immune response. Key micronutrients like vitamin C, calcium, and magnesium support the growth and activity of immune cells. This helps us fight viruses and bacteria by boosting antibody levels.
2. Energy Boost
Vitamin B12 is essential for maintaining proper energy levels. An early sign of vitamin B12 deficiency is fatigue since this vitamin is involved in your body's energy production. People with celiac disease, Crohn's disease, gastritis, and HIV are prone to B12 deficiency.
Meanwhile, healthy people who take antacids can have it as well. Vegans and vegetarians may suffer from vitamin B12 deficiency unless they take supplements or eat fortified foods. If you don't have a sufficient level of Vitamin B12 in your body, you may feel tired or lack energy.
IV nutrition therapy can replenish your vitamin B12 levels and help you experience an energy boost.
3. Alleviating Chemotherapy-Related Symptoms
Cancer patients often suffer a series of symptoms of disease progression as well as side effects of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. These tend to be fatigue, insomnia, nausea, and loss of appetite.
Studies show that IV nutrition therapy can alleviate some of these symptoms and improve cancer patients' quality of life. Patients who receive vitamin C intravenously experience improvements in physical, cognitive, emotional, and social functioning.
4. Rehydration and Restoration
IV nutrition therapy can serve as a rehydration therapy for athletes. Workouts are stressful to the body. They cause muscle fatigue and free radical buildup. Appropriate IV therapy can restore hydration, fight free radicals, and deliver lost nutrients to the body.
While more studies need to be done, some athletes report experiencing a faster recovery, after intense workouts, with IV nutrition therapy.
5. Disease Prevention
Lack of micronutrients such as B12 and magnesium can cause serious health problems. While vitamin B12 deficiency manifests itself rather early, lack of magnesium can take a while to discover. Some evidence suggests that up to 75% of Americans may be suffering from a magnesium deficiency.
By taking advantage of IV nutrition therapy, it's possible to maintain normal magnesium levels, thus preventing conditions such as:
· Hypertension
· Cardiovascular disease
· Type 2 diabetes
· Osteoporosis
· Migraines
All vitamins used in IV nutrition therapy are water-soluble. If you have sufficient levels of these vitamins, your kidneys will remove the excess. So you don't have to worry about overloading your body with unnecessary vitamins and minerals.
6. Better Appearance
One of the most popular reasons people opt for IV nutrition therapy is an improvement in their appearance. People who suffer from vitamin B and C deficiency often have issues with skin and hair.
Timely IV nutrition therapy can help you fight this deficiency. It can have an impressive rejuvenation effect on your entire body. By improving your immune system and adding an energy boost, IV nutrition therapy can help delay aging both physically and physiologically. For the same reasons, it can help with hair growth.
7. Hangover Relief
Alcohol removes nutrients from your body. It also damages the cells lining the stomach, making it harder for you to absorb necessary vitamins and minerals from food and supplements. The nutrients that are often depleted by alcohol use are B1, B3, and B6. Alcohol intake also leads to dehydration.
All the above can be countered by timely IV nutrition therapy.
The Takeaway
IV nutrition therapy can help with a variety of health issues from fatigue to chemotherapy-related symptoms. By maintaining proper levels of vitamins and minerals in your body, this therapy can boost energy levels, improve your immune system, prevent serious diseases, and much more.
Would you like to learn more about IV nutrition therapy and its benefits? Contact us to schedule a consultation with our IV nutrition specialist, Myron Ubungen, MSN, RN.