The premise of vitamin drips is to restore this balance so that you can get back to regular life quickly without fully getting sick. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a clinic called RestoreIV operates on this very principle. RestoreIV charges patients $179 per 100 milliliter infusion that contains a cocktail of vitamins and minerals, which the clinic claims to have “immune protection.”
"These are your natural pharmacy," said Jason Hartman, who co-launched RestoreIV, "and in chronic diseases these things can be depleted [by] just a stressful lifestyle. And if they become deficient enough, it alters your internal pharmacology enough to possibly manifest as a symptom or disease."
Indeed, when our bodies are stressed, either by pathogens or by not getting enough rest, our whole homeostatic process is disrupted. But, if vitamins and minerals could put us back into the right state, then why are IV infusions necessary? Couldn’t the body absorb the appropriate nutrients from the right fruits and vegetables?
A healthy gut is more than capable of absorbing all the essential nutrients from our food. Thus, if you were to eat the right foods, there seems to be no real need to get the minerals and vitamins delivered straight to your veins. Furthermore, for mild dehydration, it seems that drinking more fluids would resolve the problem adequately without invasive intravenous infusions.
Fans of the procedure could argue that getting a controlled, concentrated dose of the right minerals and vitamins is more effective than waiting for the gut to absorb the same nutrients from foods. But researchers who specialize in naturopathic medicine say the “feel-good” effect from such procedures are likely due to the placebo effect.
Furthermore, it’s worth noting that in addition to out-of-pocket costs (insurance generally does not cover the procedures), patients are also subject to IV-related risks, such as bruising, bleeding, and even infection.
Of note, the disclaimer for one of the clinics, The Hangover Club, based in New York reads: "This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This service is intended only for healthy adults."
So, is it worth a few hundred dollars to potentially avoid feeling run-down? Perhaps. But the same effects may likely be obtained (and exceeded) for free with good diet and exercise.
Additional sources: NPR news