Intravenous vitamin injections: where is the evidence?

Abstract

The body needs small daily quantities of vitamins and minerals, which are usually obtained from the diet. Intravenous vitamins are used for a few serious medical conditions (eg, malabsorption syndromes with severe vitamin depletion, Wernicke’s encephalopathy or critical illness). Intravenous drips containing high doses of various vitamins and minerals (eg, the so-called ‘Myers’ cocktail’) have been promoted in popular culture to ‘reduce stress’, ‘increase energy’ or ‘boost immunity’, with claims that the intravenous route allows faster absorption of vitamins into the bloodstream than if they are taken orally. There is a lack of high-quality evidence to suggest that high-dose vitamin infusions are necessary or offer any health benefit in the absence of a specific vitamin deficiency or medical condition. There may be harms from taking high (non-physiological) quantities of some vitamins and minerals. Licensed forms of injectable vitamins that are prescription-only medicines should not be advertised to the public and should only be supplied and administered by appropriately qualified healthcare professionals.

Health Professionals’ Perspectives on Commercially Available Intravenous Nutrient Therapies: A Preliminary Report

“…IVNTs are often perceived as a kind of wellness service, and their popularity and market share seem to be on the rise [3,9]. Due to the lack of clarity regarding the effectiveness of IVNTs or clear procedures for their use, they should currently be considered an alternative therapy [2,5,9,10].…”

“…Companies offering intravenous supplementation claim that it has a whole range of health benefits [1,2,7,9,11]. In brief, the arguments used by IVNT proponents are as follows: increased absorption of nutrients, which-thanks to parenteral administration-bypass the digestive system, higher concentrations of nutrients administered parenterally, and quicker effects [10,12]. A rapid overview of the websites offering IVNTs in Poland as well as of the available literature [5] shows that the infusions allegedly lead to increased immunity, prevention of infections, support for other treatments, faster recovery, improved hydration, elimination of fatigue, improved mood, restoration of lost nutrients, improved condition of the skin, hair, and nails, faster muscle regeneration, extra energy, increased physical and mental resistance, and stimulating the body to burn fat.…”

“…However, it is worth noting that commercial infusions and injections are poorly studied in terms of both efficacy and safety [5,[10][11][12]. To date, there are few publications on their benefits, and all those that exist are anecdotal or lack scientific rigour [2,13].…”