Is This Popular Wellness Trend Worth Your Money? Doctors Share Surprising Answer
We spoke with two doctors to find out the truth. They explain whether vitamin IV therapy works, who should consider trying it, and whether there are any risks you should be aware of before you do.
Vitamin IV clinics claim the therapy offers all kinds of benefits: It can help you beat your hangover, brighten your skin, or cure your common cold. But experts say for the most part, evidence to support these claims is scant.
'I do not know of any convincing evidence that, for example, an IV drip of zinc, B12, C, and magnesium will cure colds and flu,' says Sidney C. Ontai, M.D., a family medicine doctor and associate clinical professor at Texas A&M College of Medicine.
But Albert Ahn, M.D., an internal medicine physician and clinical assistant professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, says vitamin IV drips could offer two clearcut benefits.
First, vitamin IV therapy helps your body absorb vitamins and minerals faster than a traditional oral supplement. 'Some people may prefer that quick fix,' Dr. Ahn says. 'Will it boost your [vitamin and mineral] stores quicker? Yes it will. But to sustain those stores, you'll still need to continue to take it in. You're better off probably taking an oral supplement on a daily basis.'
Second, vitamin IV therapy also boosts your hydration levels. 'That will, for most people, make you feel better—whether you have a cold or an infection, or you're a little hungover or feeling a little under-the-weather,' Dr. Ahn says.
But you can reap the same benefits by simply drinking more fluids. And if you're healthy and hydrated before you get the IV drip, odds are, you'll just excrete any extra fluids your body doesn't need. 'If you don't absolutely need these drips, [you] might just be passing it out throughout the day,' Dr. Ahn says.
It's possible you might feel better right after vitamin IV therapy. But if you're healthy, Dr. Ahn says any benefits can likely be chalked up to the placebo effect.
Who could benefit from vitamin IV therapy? Anyone with a health condition that makes it challenging to retain or process nutrients. Delivering nutrients via IV ensures vitamins and minerals directly enter the bloodstream—bypassing the gut—which can help you replenish nutrients faster.
Because of this, doctors routinely prescribe vitamin IV therapy for a number of medical conditions, says Dr. Ontai. For example, he might prescribe IV thiamine for someone going through alcohol withdrawal, IV B12 for renal dialysis patients, or IV multivitamins for people with health conditions that make it hard to tolerate or absorb food in the stomach or intestines.
'With certain conditions, the absorption [via IV] may be quicker,' Dr. Ahn explains. For example, people with chronic or severe anemia may find that taking oral iron supplements causes an upset stomach or other side effects. In contrast, getting an iron IV may replenish their levels faster without provoking stomach issues.
But Dr. Ontai and Dr. Ahn agree that most relatively healthy people don't need vitamin IV therapy. You're better off saving your money—and getting your nutrients through your diet instead.
'For your average, healthy, young patient, it's probably not a necessity,' Dr. Ahn says. 'If they have good gut health and healthy habits and a decent diet, [they] should be able to get most of these [nutrients] through food and a normal diet.'
While vitamin IV therapy may not offer all the benefits it claims to, experts say it's also unlikely to do you much harm. 'If it makes [you] feel better, there's not a whole lot of downside,' Dr. Ahn says.
That said, it's always smart to exercise caution when getting an IV. 'Any time you introduce something intravenously, there are risks,' Dr. Ahn says. For example, you might experience bleeding, bruising, or risk of infection at the injection site.
For this reason, Dr. Ahn says it's important to vet any clinic before getting treatment. 'Make sure you're going to a place that is well-certified and well-staffed and that does everything appropriately,' he says. 'You want to make sure everything's completely sterile because you're introducing something into the body that could potentially cause problems.'
Perhaps the biggest downside of vitamin IV therapy is that it's expensive. Treatments often range from $100 to $500, and they're not usually covered by health insurance. That's a lot to spend on something you might excrete because your body doesn't need it.
The bottom line: You don't need to waste your money on vitamin IV therapy if you're healthy. Unless you have a serious medical condition, experts say you're better off getting vitamins and minerals through food.
'There are very few vitamins that you're not able to get through food,' Dr. Ahn says. And if you're low on a key nutrient, talk to your doctor about oral supplementation. 'In general, oral administration is adequate and generally safer and more practical for most vitamin deficiencies,' Dr. Ontai says.
By getting your nutrients the old-fashioned way, you can save time and money—and you're likely to see the same results.
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