What is IV Vitamin Therapy?
Intravenous (IV) vitamin infusion therapy is a fast, easy, safe way to deliver nutrients straight to the cells that need them. When delivering nutrients via intravenous injection, vital compounds can bypass slow and inefficient digestion processes and become readily available for metabolic use.
IV therapy drips are delivered intravenously in your doctor’s office or integrative clinic, and they usually take anywhere from 20 minutes to an hour. During this time, you’ll be seated comfortably while the drip is administered.
There are different combinations available depending on your needs and goals, often referred to as “cocktails”.
At CentreSpringMD, we offer IV drip packages ranging from a recovery-boosting Recharge Drip, to an antioxidant Beauty Drip. Learn more about our unique IV drip therapy.
What Is the Purpose of IV Vitamin Therapy?
Your cells depend on an adequate supply of nutrients to fuel their biochemical reactions, which includes every metabolic process from cardiac function to immune response, and more.
These nutrients also help support the function of tiny energy powerhouses within your cells called mitochondria. Mitochondria are the small but mighty parts of your cells tasked with producing all the energy your body needs to function.
The healthy function of your cells and their mitochondria determine your biological age, something that’s also impacted by diet, sleep, exercise, and lifestyle.
Essentially, the more robust and numerous your mitochondria, the longer and healthier you’ll live. So to promote longevity and increase cellular health, it’s important to supply adequate nutrients, and the primary way we do this is through food. However, diets high in refined foods and low in nutrient-dense vegetables and proteins are the norm, even in health-conscious individuals.
Additionally, food grown in nutrient-depleted soil or raised improperly fails to supply more than a fraction of the nutrients our cells need to thrive.
As a result, many people turn to supplements and additional vitamins to meet their needs, but for the average person, how do you determine which supplements you need, and which ones are high quality enough to deliver the right nutrients?
Oral supplements are also affected by absorptions factors, such as:
- Binders, fillers, or additives
- Chemical form
- Your age
- Digestive function
- Acid balance
- IBS, IBD, or leaky gut
- Genetic factors
- Absorption site (i.e. stomach or small intestine)
Dozens of different factors inhibit or altogether halt breakdown and absorption of nutrients. Leaving many people with an expensive collection of oral supplements that aren’t actually doing them any good.
This is where IV therapy bridges that gap.
Benefits of IV Vitamin Therapy
Studies have shown a plethora of benefits of various nutrients when applied at concentrations only achievable by IV therapy (1). IV therapy is also more effective than oral supplementation at correcting nutrient deficiencies within cells.
After receiving IV vitamin infusions, patients report benefits such as:
- Increased energy
- Improved mental clarity
- Reduced fatigue
- Headache improvement
- Improved skin appearance, quality
- Better sleep
- Feelings of wellbeing
Studies also show the benefits of IV vitamin infusion drips upon egg quality, which can positively impact fertility (2).
Immune Health and IV Vitamin Infusion Therapy
With an immune boosting IV drip, you’ll receive vitamins and antioxidants the immune system needs to function it’s best and at concentrations not achievable with oral supplementation. For example, one study demonstrated high-dose vitamin C is effective in reducing the severity of respiratory allergy symptoms (3).
The complex proteins and signaling molecules the immune system relies on to function properly are in high demand during times of illness or stress.
A Myers’ cocktail is one popular IV therapy to boost immune function, containing:
- Vitamin C
- B12
- B Vitamin complex (B1, B2, B3, B5, B6)
- Magnesium
- Calcium
CentreSpringMD Cold & Flu Buster IV drip also contains zinc for optimal immune function, not normally included in traditional Myers’ cocktail formulation, but an essential component of healthy immune function.
IV vitamin C has been shown to promote the production and activation of immune cells, and may help mediate the activation of inflammatory cytokines within the respiratory system (4).
Gut Health and IV Therapy
As mentioned before, gut health and function drastically impact the rate of absorption of vitamins and minerals within the digestive system.
Oral vitamin and mineral supplements travel through an inefficient process of breakdown and metabolism before they’re available for circulation and absorption under normal circumstances.
Meaning, even outside of illness or reduced digestive function, an individual may only absorb a fraction of the additional supplement. While this isn’t a reason to discontinue oral vitamin and mineral supplements, IV therapy bypasses the GI tract altogether, eliminating intestinal absorption challenges
Antioxidants and IV Therapy
Your body’s antioxidant status is the front line of defense for the ever-increasing toxic load, poor nutrition, and stress that can create oxidative damage within cells.
To maintain balance, or homeostasis, within the body, there must always be a healthy ratio of pro-oxidants (normal metabolic waste and toxins) and antioxidants (like vitamins C, E, and glutathione).
Glutathione IV Infusion Therapy
Glutathione is considered your body’s master antioxidant and boasts an impressive and invaluable list of benefits:
- Regeneration of antioxidants (vitamin C and vitamin E)
- Detoxification of heavy metals
- Mitochondria function
- Regulation of cellular health
- Healthy lung function
- Regulation of immune inflammation(5)
Reduced glutathione status has also been shown to be a predictor of more severe outcomes to viral infection, such as the world’s current pandemic (6).
How to Boost Glutathione:
Because glutathione plays a role in so many pathways, your body’s demand for it is high. To increase glutathione, you can:
- Eat foods high in glutathione precursors such as cruciferous vegetables, onions, and greens.
- Increase nutrients that produce glutathione such as n-acetyl cysteine (NAC).
- Avoid smoking, alcohol consumption, and environmental toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides. These deplete glutathione levels, limiting its availability to other functions.
Why not supplement with oral glutathione? Supplemental glutathione has a low bioavailability and has been shown to have minimal impact upon overall glutathione status (7).
A glutathione IV drip, however, delivers glutathione directly where it’s needed: your cells. You’ll see IV glutathione in many IV therapy infusions, such as those supporting:
- Hair
- Skin
- Fertility, egg quality
- Gut health
- Immune health
- Fatigue
- Detox
You’ll find this master antioxidant in several of CentreSpringMD’s unique drip therapy combinations.
Should You Get an IV Therapy Booster?
IV vitamin therapy is an effective way to deliver nutrients directly into circulation. This process bypasses slow digestive pathways which can drastically reduce the amount of nutrients available for the body.
IV therapy is also a simple alternative for people who have difficulty swallowing pills, or who need increased availability of nutrients to correct nutrient deficiencies.
As with any medical treatment, you should always ensure your provider has the training, license, and experience to properly administer your IV.
Which IV drip package is right for you? Learn more about our unique IV cocktails at CentreSpringMD.
Resources
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6136002/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5844662
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6136002/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7172861
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2696075/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7263077/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4536296/
