Since the recent pandemic, we’ve all become a little obsessed with our health, inside and out. Just look at how the demand for home workouts, fitness equipment, and supplements has risen (19% in the UK alone since 2019).
While it’s arguably a good obsession to have (better than the urge to binge-watch the latest Netflix series, for example), the latest wellness trend, that the likes of Kim Kardashian, Rihanna, Adele, and Chrissy Teigen love, is IV vitamin drips. They were even a feature at the Los Angeles Marathon, where runners were waiting up to 45 minutes to receive an IV drip, presumably under the premise that it will help them to achieve an elusive personal running record.
But naturally, with all the fuss around them, it had us wondering, are IV vitamin drips all they’re cracked up to be?
What are IV drips?
Intravenous Nutrient Therapy (or IV drips as they’re more commonly known), is when a concentrated dose of vitamins is administered through your veins via a drip (much like the ones you get in clinical settings like hospitals).
The idea is that you can boost the number of essential vitamins and minerals, and electrolytes in your system to help you to improve your health instantly with benefits ranging from a strengthened immune system to a boost in energy, an enhancement in mood, and extra power for performance.
Since we’ve all become more acutely aware of our health, with celebrities like Justin Bieber, Brad Pitt, and Gwyneth Paltrow leading the way, can we really hack our health via a quick trip to a drip? What do IV vitamin drips do?
More people are now educated on the fact that vitamin deficiencies can cause health implications, including everyday annoyances, like low mood, low energy, problems with digestion, constantly getting sick, and lack of focus.
Many deem IV drips as the ultimate hangover cure. When you’re suffering from a hangover, you feel ropey because alcohol is a diuretic. This means that it removes fluids from your body at a much quicker rate which leads to dehydration, plus your body becomes low in nutrients and electrolytes (lost through excess fluids). An IV drip would aim to replace the nutrients you've lost (and are deficient in) to recover faster and feel better instantly.
The IV drip will bypass the normal process of digestion and go directly into the bloodstream. It’s thought that IV drips deliver a high concentration of certain vitamins and minerals at a much quicker rate than you would get through nutrition alone since our gut can influence the extent of the nutrients’ absorption.
We get the appeal! With so many of us leading busy, time-poor lives, getting all the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients our bodies need through nutrition alone can prove difficult. An IV vitamin drip seems like the quick fix to the healthiest version of ourselves we all crave.
What do IV vitamin drips contain?
The IV vitamin drip menus are endless with promises to improve detoxing, energy, healing, immunity, slimming, and fitness. Specialist vitamin clinics will create a blend of vitamins and minerals to supplement your nutrition and give you a treatment menu to choose from.
Think ‘skin glow up', ‘immune booster’, or ‘focus enhancer’. Some of the most popular nutrients are vitamin C, vitamin D, magnesium, iron, vitamin B12, and glutathione (an antioxidant that supports immunity with anti-aging properties). It all sounds promising... or does it?
Some nutritionists, however, are skeptical of their proposed benefits and suggest that blood tests should be carried out before an IV drip is administered so that the body isn’t given excess micronutrients that it doesn’t need, which at best, could just mean a waste of money, but at worst, could cause health implications in the future.
Another issue is whether your body is able to use the vitamins in the right places. Our gastrointestinal tract (or guts) is there for a reason – to help our body use the vitamins and nutrients in all the right ways. If a deficiency exists, an IV drip won’t necessarily solve the issue since it fails to go to the root cause of the problem (which can often be nutrition but could also be an underlying health condition).
Do IV vitamin drips actually work?
While there is very little evidence to support the effectiveness of IV drips compared with a placebo, the sheer number of people signing up for IV drips and purchasing programs over a number of months suggests that they do feel better having had them, but could it be the placebo effect?
If you’re tempted to try them for yourself, make sure that the person administering the injection is qualified to do so to minimize any dangerous complications (like blood clots, air bubbles, or excess fluid in the lungs).
If you don’t fancy being hooked up to get your nutrient fix, there are also vitamin injections, vitamin patches, vitamin supplements, sprays, mist, and good old-fashioned nutrition.
Looking for a natural hangover cure? Hydration, hydration, hydration, some well-balanced meals, and electrolytes could help!
For health benefits, you can’t beat a well-balanced whole food diet filled with plant-based goodness, and a wide variety of organic foods. An IV vitamin drip will sadly not make up for a poor diet, lack of exercise, or excessive indulgences, so do your research before you commit.
