Some say supplements aren't worth it; others swear by them

Those holiday shopping crowds and family get-togethers throw you into the middle of a mix of people and inevitably surround you in a cloud of germs.

Aside from wearing one of those odd ventilators when purchasing your presents and gathering at family festivities, what can you do to protect yourself? One product started appearing on store shelves a few years ago and I have discovered it in the medicine cabinets of more than a few friends: Airborne.

It's a tube of effervescent tablets about the size of a quarter. They come in different flavors -- mostly of a lime variety -- and they promise to boost your immune system before a run-in with a potentially contaminating crowd, be they customers, co-workers or family members.

At about $6 a bottle for the name brand and slightly cheaper for knockoffs of the same claim and ingredients, I wondered if they really are worth giving up paying for lunch one Monday. The consensus? Nope.

After checking the ingredients, I found out each tablet is basically just a shot of vitamins and minerals. Most of these are found in a daily multivitamin, and all of which you can overdose on. The Airborne Web site actually tells you not to take a multivitamin on days you use the product.

The directions for all the products say to take it two or three days before entering a crowd situation. Drop a tablet into 4 to 6 ounces of water. Let it dissolve. Drink it down. There's always the "or as needed" and you're not supposed to exceed four doses in a day, according to packaging.

That's still a lot of supplements, and some medical pros caution that if you follow the directions on the package, it puts you at risk for kidney stones.

Some people swear by it; others have tried and rejected it and still more remain skeptical. Pharmacists have similar responses. Some flat out don't recommend it, others say it's up to the buyer/believer and a few say it's worth it.

The brand-name product offers a money-back guarantee. All of them admit the FDA hasn't approved the claims. The Airborne company first touted the product as a cure for the common cold, but after the "clinical trial" was shown to be a company formed with no doctors or scientists and only to conduct that study, they revamped their claims.

Now the various brands and off-brands are called immune-boosting supplements. Put more simply: multivitamins. You can get this immune-boosting effect in a variety of ways, not just a fizzy tablet in a glass of water.

Now you know.

Have a quest? Features Editor Chris Harris is ready to hunt down the answer. Send questions to charris@semissourian.com, post on semissourian.com/blogs under "Quest for the Healthy Grail" or c/o Quest, 301 Broadway, Cape Girardeau, Mo., 63703.