We Asked Nutritionists To Pick Their Immune Health Must-Haves For Winter

There’s never a guarantee of staving off winter illness, but lifestyle choices can affect our susceptibility to the many icks that go around in the cooler months. Dietary supplements are one such tool in your defense kit against the usual seasonal sicknesses, though it can be hard to decide which capsules, tinctures, and the like to add to your at-home arsenal when there are so many options.

So, who better than to help you navigate the labyrinth of wintertime wonder supplements than nutritionists? After all, these professionals are experts in the nutrients and herbal powerhouses that help your body fight bugs.

Here, the pros give you an inside peek at their very own medicine cabinets and share the immune health supplements they always have on hand during sickness season. 

• ABOUT OUR EXPERTS:  Nicole Ibarra, R.D., L.D., is a registered dietitian specializing in gut and hormonal health. Seema Shah, M.P.H., M.S., R.D., I.F.N.C.P., is a registered dietitian focused on integrative nutrition. Jenna Volpe, R.D.N., L.D., C.L.T., is a functional dietitian and clinical herbalist. Lisa Andrews, M.Ed., R.D., L.D., is a registered dietitian and owner of Sound Bites Nutrition.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is the second most commonly used dietary supplement after multivitamins, so it’s not surprising many nutritionists say they use it personally. According to Nicole Ibarra, R.D., L.D., supplementing with vitamin D is a great move for immune health, especially if you don’t get adequate sunlight or eat many foods that contain the vitamin. “Immune cells like macrophages and T cells have vitamin D receptors, and they’re the first defense to fight off infection,” she explains.

Read More: How to Choose the Right Vitamin D Supplement for You

Research backs her reco. Multiple studies have shown that vitamin D supplementation can support your system when you’re feeling rundown. 

Choose a vitamin D supplement that’s been third-party tested by a group like USP, Informed Choice, or NSF Sport, Ibarra suggests. As for when and how to take it? “I’d recommend taking vitamin D3 in the morning with a breakfast that includes a healthy fat, as vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin.” Research shows that D3 is typically more effective for correcting deficiencies.

In appropriate doses, vitamin D is safe to take at any time, whether you’re in good health or feeling under the weather. The tolerable upper intake (the highest amount considered safe) is 4,000 IU per day.

Zinc 

When flu season approaches, think zinc! “Zinc is one of my go-to supplements for supporting immune health and helping the body navigate when under the weather,” says Seema Shah, R.D. “It’s involved in the proper maturation and activities of immune cells, like B and T cells, and helps the immune system work in a balanced and harmonious way.”

Shah says you can supplement with zinc when you feel something coming on, or throughout the season for general health. The Mayo Clinic recommends checking with your doctor for the best dosage. (For reference, the Recommended Daily Allowance is 11 milligrams for adult men and eight milligrams for adult women.) Getting too much—as in, above the tolerable upper intake of 40 milligrams per day—could land you with unpleasant side effects like nausea, dizziness, stomach upset, and vomiting. Once you’ve settled on the right amount for you, take your zinc at least one hour before or two hours after a meal to promote optimal absorption.

Elderberry

It’s not just a sweet addition to cocktails or a tasty ice cream topping. Elderberry (a.k.a. sambucus) is an antioxidant-rich supplement you can rely on in the face of winter. “Elderberry appears to help the body balance stress via its flavonoids and other types of antioxidants,” says functional dietitian and clinical herbalist Jenna Volpe, R.D.N., L.D., C.L.T. Research also suggests compounds in elderberry can bind to viruses.

She recommends it to clients and takes it herself during the colder seasons. “I have only had two colds since Christmas of 2018, almost six years ago at this point,” she says. “I used to get at least two to three colds each year.”

Read More: 3 Homeopathic Medicines That’ll Help You Survive Cold and Flu Season

Multiple studies suggest elderberry may help the immune system rise to the occasion of fending off trouble. One 2016 study, for example, concluded that elderberry supplementation effectively helped air travelers stay healthy.

“Clinically safe and effective doses of elderberry supplementation can range from about 600 to 900 milligrams of standardized elderberry extract per day in capsules, lozenges, or syrup, based on the few available research studies,” Volpe says. Look for a third-party tested product that contains minimal added sugar, and make it a daily part of your routine as soon as you feel something coming on.

Probiotics

You may know probiotics for their digestive health benefits, but these helpful gut bugs do more than just regulate digestion. “With over 70 percent of the immune system living in the gastrointestinal tract, enhancing the gut microbiome is a smart way to keep the immune system strong,” says Shah. “Probiotics strengthen the good bacteria in our digestive tract, support gut lining integrity, and work against pathogenic bacterial growth.” And through all of these actions, they modulate and stimulate the immune system, she explains.

When choosing a probiotic to support your immune system, look for products containing at least one billion CFUs and strains associated with immune benefits, such as Bifidobacterium lactis or Lactobacillus acidophilus (like The Vitamin Shoppe brand Ultimate 10+ Probiotics). Note, too, that probiotics aren’t meant to be used just here and there. “Probiotics are the most efficacious when taken consistently every day, as it can take some time for their therapeutic effects to manifest fully,” Shah says. So, consider them a daily staple throughout the colder months, if you hope to do the most possible for your immune health.

Vitamin C

Sure, you can get vitamin C from fruits and veggies—and, by all means, do that!—but, according to dietitian Lisa Andrews, M.Ed., R.D., L.D., owner of Sound Bites Nutrition, most Americans don’t reach recommended intakes. That’s a real shame since vitamin C plays a role in immune health, working as a powerful antioxidant to fend off oxidative stress-causing free radicals and help other antioxidants regenerate. 

That’s where supplements come in. Research has shown vitamin C supplements can be helpful in the face of the wintertime’s not-so-fun visitors.

There are a handful of different forms of vitamin C out there—and some research indicates a liposomal-encapsulated form is better absorbed than others. “The RDA for vitamin C is 90 milligrams per day for men and 75 milligrams per day for women—but most dietary supplements will exceed this amount,” notes Andrews. “I usually advise no more than 500 milligrams of vitamin C daily, as too much can raise the risk of kidney stones.” Stick to less than that amount if you’re taking vitamin C for daily maintenance.

That said, you can take higher amounts for short periods. If you’re under the weather, it’s a-okay to up your vitamin C intake to 1,000 to 2,000 milligrams until you’re in the clear. Just note that it’s best to split vitamin C into doses of around 200 milligrams throughout the day to ensure optimal absorption (and avoid not-so-fun side effects like stomach upset).