Immune ‘boosts’ are more myth than scientific magic

As the days grow shorter, the mercury falls and winter’s chill spreads across the southern hemisphere, claims for natural “immune boosters” heat up.

From vitamin C and vitamin D to curcumin, dandelion, echinacea, garlic, ginger, mushrooms, zinc, intravenous vitamin drips, meditation, deep breathing, massage and even masturbation, immune-boosting claims are proliferating wildly. They are limited only by fevered imaginations. They are staples of “natural”, “alternative” or “complementary” medicine for protection against colds, flu and other winter viral infections.

But is there any robust medical science behind claims for “natural” immune boosters? And even if you could boost your immune system “naturally”, would it be a smart thing to do? 

The masturbation claim raised its head at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 in Bild, a German newspaper billed as “tabloid in style but broadsheet in size” with the 16th-largest circulation worldwide, it enjoys a deserved reputation as “the best-selling European newspaper”.

The Bild article was headlined “Why orgasm is specially important now” and subtitled, “Masturbation against Corona”. It went viral and lingers in the cyber ether to this day.

The article was predictably short on science and long on clickbait sensation. It referenced experts and studies linking sexual activity, including masturbation, to potential immune-system benefit to fight the virus.

Research shows many health benefits of sexual activity for body and mind but no robust science for immune boosting.

Johannesburg specialist physician and pulmonologist Dr Anton Meyberg says that one of the “biggest misinformations of our times” is that there are such things as natural immune-boosting foods, concoctions and therapies.

During the pandemic, Meyberg was busier than usual, not just in his practice. He shared his considerable pulmonological and immunological expertise to provide expert media commentary on the virus, its spread, effective immune support and vaccine development.

In the early days of the pandemic, some vitamins and minerals were added to treatment regimens, Meyberg says. Among these were vitamin C, niacin (a B vitamin), zinc and vitamin D. The latter enhances immune-cell function and inhibits inflammation that makes the virus more severe.

None proved to be the “holy grail” to boost immunity, he says. They were additives in the overall treatment picture. And as Covid-19 progressed, the role of vitamins was shown to be “less profound but essentially unhelpful”.

Meyberg describes himself as a “holistic doctor with scientific training”. He is open to natural, alternative or complementary medicine but his priority is “scientifically proven medication and therapies with positive result outcomes”.

Like open-minded medical doctors, he sees so-called natural, alternative and complementary medicines that are shown to work simply as “medicines”.

“Doctors just want to make their patients better,” Meyberg says. “We are not withholding medication or treatment modalities. We just believe in safe, studied, peer-reviewed treatments.”

To understand why “natural” immune boosters are more myth than scientific magic, Meyberg gives a simple definition of the immune system: the body’s ability to protect itself against bacteria, viruses, toxins or any foreign substances that enter the body and, in lay terms, cause a threat or a change in the body’s natural environment.

Fans of “natural” medicine often say that “health isn’t found in a needle”, says Meyberg. Vaccine research shows that immune boosts are “far more likely to be found in a needle than vitamin juice shots, other natural products or therapies touted as immune boosters”.

During the most recent cold spell in Gauteng, for example, admissions to intensive care units (ICU) and general wards skyrocketed with pneumonia, flu, rhinovirus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections being the main pathogens, he says.

Meyberg ascribes the admissions spike to “vaccine fatigue” as much as false claims about natural immune boosters.

“People are done with getting vaccinated,” he says. “Covid-19 caused denial and exhaustion in people who used to receive their yearly flu vaccines.”

That’s unfortunate because the flu vaccine is the “single most effective, studied and warranted immune booster”, Meyberg says. He advises that people take it at the end of March or beginning of April, just before the start of the flu season.

“This saves lives,” he says. “It helps to decrease morbidity and mortality and not just for immune-suppressed people.”

Meyberg also recommends pneumonia vaccines, especially in those with chronic respiratory conditions, those who are immune-suppressed with chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cancer, for transplant patients and those on chronic immune-suppressant therapy.

Vaccination is more important these days given a surge of viruses in recent years to which we are all more susceptible, he says. One example is RSV cases that were seen mostly in children. They are now a major cause of pneumonia and hospital admission in adults.

Dr Alastair McAlpine is an SA paediatrician and specialist in infectious disease in children, based in Vancouver, Canada. He has a special interest in combating misinformation online and on social media.

McAlpine says that the term “boosting immunity” as popularly used is “meaningless from a medical perspective”. He prefers “maintaining healthy immunity” but appreciates that this won’t elicit as many clicks online.

McAlpine calls vaccination the “ultimate immune booster” as it is one of few scientifically proven ways to boost immunity in adults and children. Another is to receive antibodies from other humans in the form of intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg), he says.

IVIg helps patients with weakened immune systems or other diseases to fight infections.

“Vaccines truly do boost immune systems,” McAlpine says. “They stimulate an immune response against a pathogen without exposing the individual to toxic effects of that pathogen.”

Like all interventions, vaccines have side effects that can be severe in some cases, he says. Overall, “the huge benefits outweigh marginal risks”. For this reason, “every reputable paediatric society on planet earth endorses vaccination”.

McAlpine compares the immune system to “a see-saw that requires balance, not a car that requires refuelling”. The body’s immune system exists in a “delicate balance”, he says, and “boosting” it could “potentially be harmful”.

“An inadequate immune system renders us susceptible to infections, but an over-active immune system causes autoimmune disease and hyperinflammatory conditions,” McAlpine says.

If “natural boosting’” of the immune system were possible, we would risk pushing ourselves into the autoimmune side of the spectrum, he says. “The truth is, we don’t, even with toxic amounts.”

Like Meyberg, McAlpine is not against natural, alternative or complementary medicine. At best, alternative medicine exists in harmony with modern medicine to meet all the needs of the patient, McAlpine says.

“Alternative practitioners may have skills and abilities that physicians and clinicians do not, including more time. They can also focus on areas that clinicians sometimes neglect, such as sleep, nutrition and stress.”

At worst, alternative therapies can be dangerous, he says. One example is chiropractic manipulation of infants’ skulls, which can cause a stroke. Others, such as reiki and homeopathy, are “obviously silly because they violate the laws of physics”. As an aside, McAlpine says there’s “no question” that a healthy diet benefits immune systems. Specific vitamin deficiencies, for example, vitamin D deficiency, impair the ability to maintain the delicate balance he refers to earlier.

Children and adults with medically diagnosed deficiencies should be complementing their diets with prescribed supplements, he says. However, there is “almost no evidence” that healthy people eating a balanced diet need routine supplementation. An exception may be vitamin D, for adults and children who may not be getting enough sunshine.

McAlpine is on the same medical page as Meyberg with advice on immune “boosting” for all ages.

Mother Nature is healing but not omnipotent. Forget “magic” pills, “amazing” immune-boosting juices and “wonder” therapies.

Focus on lifestyle modification, work-life balance, exercise, good nutrition, destressing, common sense — and vaccination as the “real”, safe, natural immune booster.