Have you started to hear colleagues, friends, or family members getting IV drips and wondered why? What's the point? Or is this just a big health fad? Well, your friends and family may just be on to something.
Traditionally, supplements were the preferred method for optimizing the body and to ensure all vitamin levels were topped up. But not a lot of people are consistent with their vitamin routines forgetting to take them days at a time. Introduce the Meyer's cocktail. It was one of the first IV's used to introduce vitamins and minerals to the body developed by Dr. John Myers in the 1970's. Now, back in the 70's it didn't gain a lot of traction for popularity in treatments as preventative medicine wasn't as top of mind as it is currently.
Fast forward 50 years and IV therapy has become a house hold name for prevention. People are seeking out clinics that offer a menu of IV drips to target specific health goals such as immune function, energy optimization, hangover cures, and more. But what are the benefits of IV drip therapy?
BENEFITS OF IV THERAPY
Most benefits known about IV therapy are based off of clinical studies or the benefits of specific vitamins/minerals. Not a lot of research has been completed on IV therapy as companies cannot patent IV treatments meaning there isn't a lot of money to be made because pharmaceutical companies can't develop trade mark combinations.
But, IV drips are an amazing treatment and here are a few benefits that can be achieved because of IV infusions.
Vitamin C IV benefits - Vitamin C has been crowned the best vitamin for sickness. It helps to boost the immune system to fight off active infections in the body and also helps with overall energy production. Doses above 15 grams are even being used as a cancer therapy adjunct treatment.
Magnesium For Muscle recovery & More - Magnesium is well known for helping athletes maintain relaxed muscle and to treat stiffness. But magnesium does a lot more than that. It is beneficial in helping to reduce inflammation, block substance P in the spinal column (blocks pain), and helps to relax the nervous system. Trouble sleeping? Magnesium in sufficient doses can promote restful and full sleep.
Helping Optimize Skin Quality & Health - There are a few minerals that can be added to IV formulations to target skin quality. Lysine, Glycine, proline, and Hyroxy-proline are all collagen boosters. They are the building blocks to collagen which is what makes up the skin. More collagen and elastin production leads to tighter and firmer skin. Looking for brightness? Glutathione, the master antioxidant, is also a skin brightener. It is commonly used to help lighten and brighten skin. It won't happen overnight but overtime it can improve skin complexion.
Immune Boosting And Botox Improving - One of my favourite vitamins currently is Zinc. Why? Because it is the one I prescribe most frequently for its effects on Botox. A study completed by John Koshy et al (Click here to read study) shows that taking 50mg of zinc a few times before your Botox treatment can optimize your results by up to 30%. Not only does it help Botox results but it also helps the immune system. It's a winer in my books.
NAD+ & Anti-aging Therapy - We could write a full blog on NAD alone (coming soon), but lets focus on the anti-aging benefits of NAD+. When tested on 2 years old rats in a 2017 study at Harvard, their cells started to resemble those of a 6 month old rat cell. This is a huge break through in modern science and anti-aging medicine. If we can turn back the clock, we can theoretically extend our life span...maybe.
Who Doesn't Need More Energy? - A day doesn't go by without someone coming into the clinic wanting to boost their energy levels. First off, we definitely want to find out why their energy is so low. B12 deficiency? Iron deficiency? Hormone imbalance? If we know the cause, we can treat it. But for those burning the candle at both ends, we can focus on the energy boosting vitamins and minerals such as L-carntine, B12, Magnesium, Taurine, and B Complex. These can all be mixed in an IV drip to target energy.
Hangover Cure - Vegas has made this IV drip extremely popular. The Hangover IV. To put it simply, adding saline to the system on its own will help to reduce the intensity of a hangover as alcohol creates dehydration. IV's are used mostly as a preventative therapy but every now and then they come in handy as a remedy.
IV DRIP WRAP UP
IV treatments can be fully customized to each individuals goals and needs as each vitamin can contribute differently in the system. We've seen how certain minerals can help with pain management while others can optimize anti-aging. Lucky, most vitamins have a variety of benefits to the system and can help treat multiple health concerns.
For those looking to get a boost, I would reach out to an IV clinic near you and check out what they do and what they have to offer. Most drips are recommended to be done monthly to keep they body optimized with some requiring most or less frequency depending on the health goals being targeted.