In the ongoing COVID-19 crisis the fight is not only against the coronavirus but the fake health news. The false medical claims are circulating for treating COVID-19 by boosting immunity for long.
These kinds of fake health claims become starts trending on various social platforms be it WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, etc.
One of the popular false health claims is associated with boosting immunity against COVID19. In this regard, the drastic increase in the consumption of herbs, supplements, Sanna Makki, special diets, and vitamins noticed.
People are consuming it without any medical consultation and end up overdosing themselves with these substances that lead to long-term side effects.
Myth: Boost immunity against COVID19 by intake of Herbs, supplements, Sanna Makki, special diets, and vitamins. They are harmless.
Fact: What’s the downside? The benefits of these substances are not clear or researched. Also, their side effects are well documented.
COVID 19: Can boosting Immunity from herbs, supplements, Senna Makki, vitamins be harmful?
Side effects of traditional Asian/Chinese herbs or supplements.
There are noticeable side effects of traditional Asian/Chinese herbs or supplements. The elements like arsenic, lead, cadmium were found in high concentrations that make 61% of the total herbs content. Hence long term use can cause kidney or liver damage.
What are the side effects and potential risks of overdosing of vitamins?
Vitamins are essential for our body’s nutritional needs. Millions of people consume vitamins on a daily basis. Intake of vitamins if you are deficient is helpful. But their overdosing of vitamins can cause long term side effects.
It’s a very common practice that we intake more than the recommended dose. Taking too much can be dangerous.
Water-soluble vitamins mostly excreted from the body through urine, hence lesser-known side effects are noticed. However, intake of some water-soluble vitamins can cause potential risks.
Like overdose vitamin B6 cause irreversible nerve damage, while high doses of niacin can cause liver damage.
As fat-soluble vitamins accumulate in the body, they are more likely to cause toxicity. Overdose of fat-soluble Vitamins A, D, E, and K can cause nausea, irregular heartbeat, stroke.
How Senna Makki (Senna) is injurious to your health?
Senna is the laxative used to treat constipation and sometimes used for colonoscopy.
It will not help in boosting immunity rather lead to side effects are abdominal cramps, diarrhea, pain, nausea, electrolyte imbalance, excessive bowel activity, muscle weakness, liver damage, Kidney inflammation.
Another popular claim is to boost immunity by zinc. Toxicity of zinc not only causes nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain but weakens your immunity as well as bone density. Also, it impacts the absorption of your regular life-saving medicines.
Some health claims that intake of Omega-3, garlic, mangoes, green tea, etc boost immunity or protecting against COVID 19. But there’s no enough documented material or research available to stand by this claim.
Conclusion
Long story short the several fake health claims are nothing more than as distractions and the false sense of security.
No herbs, supplements, Senna Makki, special diets and vitamins have been scientifically proven to prevent or treat COVID-19
If you’re nutritionally deficit or find yourself weak lethargic consult health care advisor for proper treatment. They will prescribe as per your body health condition.
The blind and excessive use may cause health side effects, waste your money and energy. Cause false sense of security, sustainability issues, and leads to distraction.
Instead, FOCUS on what works and SUSTAIN it. Follow social distancing, avoid crowds, handwashing or hand sanitizing on regular intervals, eat fresh nutritional home-cooked food, avoid self-medication, do regular respiratory exercises, or yoga.
Wear your protective gear like a mask, face shield, etc whenever you go out. Follow proper personal hygiene routine and keep your home and surrounding clean.
References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1173379/ https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/feb/06/herbal-medicines-can-have-dangerous-side-effects-research-reveals https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/can-you-overdose-on-vitamins#fat-vs-water-soluble
Totally agree… instead of following to wat we heard … it better to improve the lacks in our body & increase immunity level as per body required.
Spam and fake news are major hindrances in fight against Corona. It’s important that we consult docs before taking any such things.
There is so much fake propaganda going on related to covid vaccine this article is very helpful, we shouldn’t believe in any such news.
That’s a helpful and informative post. We should not believe everything which is on the internet
That’s an awesome article. We really need to know what and how much supplements or herbs should be taken for boosting our immunity.
These days people are forwarding everything blindly without any research. Your post is eye opener for everyone, thanks for sharing
There are so many fake news and myths circulating. Everything needs to be taken with a pinch of salt. Best is to adhere to your normal diet, as it is Indian diets have traditionall incorporated various spices that are good for immunity.
In the time when people are trying anything and everything to boost their immunity, this post is an eye opener. Thank you for sharing the facts about these things.
This was such an eye opening post; and so true with lots of myths floating around & im glad you cleared so much of it. Sharing the post.
Such an informative post doc. Glad you gave us a balanced bite on such an important question
That’s glad to know about this supplements and vitamins. This is so informative info during current covid situation. Great thoughts.
It is absolutely essential to consult a doctor, specially with this pandemic around. My dad got infected and these were somethings everyone around us asked us to take. Thanks for busting the myth 🙂
People are taking supplements now to boost the immunity. But seriously this is not good. A much needed post from you.
These days people are crazy on taking various supplements to boost up the immunity.. your post is an eye opener.