Dietary supplements (DS) have been a part of American culture since the 1940s. Nowadays, 52% of adults in the United States take at least one supplement monthly. Dietary supplements are available without a prescription, mostly for vitamins, minerals, and herbal products or botanicals. Usually, people take nutritional supplements to get some essential nutrients they may be missing from their diets and to maintain or improve their health. (1)

What are Antioxidants?

Antioxidants are natural and man-made substances that can prevent or delay cell damage. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, and even cocoa are good sources of antioxidants. Additionally, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are also high in fiber, low in cholesterol, and excellent sources of minerals and vitamins that contribute to your overall health.

Antioxidants are found in vitamin C, E, selenium, and carotenoids, such as beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein, zeaxanthin, and zinc.

Why Add Antioxidants To Your Diet?

Antioxidants can protect against free radicals, which are highly unstable molecules that form in the body when exposed to:

• Excessive exercise
• Environmental pollution
• Smoking
• High intake levels of refined and processed foods, artificial sweeteners, trans fats, and certain dyes and additives
• Exposure to chemicals like pesticides.
• Tissue trauma, due to inflammation and injury.

The release of free radicals can generate oxidative stress triggering cell damage leading to:

• Excess release of free iron or copper ions
• Activation of phagocytes, a white blood cell in charge of fighting infection
• Higher production of enzymes that generate free radicals
• Disruption of electron transport chains

Because of this, it is thought that oxidative stress plays a central role in health conditions like cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, and some eye conditions such as cataracts and age-related macular degeneration. As you might expect, consuming antioxidants reduces the risk of these illnesses. (2)

What is Elderberry?

Elderberry is an ancient medicinal plant that is used globally. For example, there is evidence that indigenous people used elderberry to treat rheumatism and fever, and elderberry was used in ancient Egypt to help improve skin complexion and heal burns.

For centuries, elderberry has been part of folk medicine across Europe, where it has been used to treat conditions like flu, hay fever, and sinus infections. Elderberry can also be helpful in the treatment of sciatica, toothaches, and burns.

Elderberry's dark purple fruit is a rich source of antioxidants known as anthocyanins. The elderberry fruit comes from the European or black elder tree that grows in the warmer parts of Europe, Northern Africa, Asia, and North America.

What Are The Health Benefits Of Elderberry?

The benefits of elderberry are connected to the anthocyanins in it, known for:

• Removing free radicals from the body that harm cells at the DNA level
• Prevention or reduction of the severity of certain infections due to its antiviral properties
• Anti-inflammatory properties help to regulate the body's immune response (3)

How To Take Elderberry

Beware that raw unripe elderberries and other parts of the tree, like leaves and stems, are toxic and can cause vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea. That is why ripe elderberries are cooked to eliminate the toxins and then sweetened like cranberries. As a natural medicine, elderberry can be found in a variety of forms, such as:

• Topical ointments
• Teas
• Syrups
• Gummies
• Capsules
• Tonics
• Tinctures

What is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) is an essential vitamin that our body doesn't produce on its own, yet is needed to form muscle, cartilage, vessels, and collagen in bones. Thanks to its antioxidant properties, vitamin C is crucial for the body to properly heal and protect cells against the harmful effects of free radicals.

Vitamin C is water-soluble and can be found in many fruits and vegetables such as oranges, kiwi, strawberries, broccoli, bell peppers, spinach, and kale. Many people turn to dietary supplements to get their daily intake of vitamin C, which is recommended at 75 mg for women and 90 mg daily for men. (4)

What Are The Health Benefits Of Vitamin C?

Apart from protecting against harmful free radicals, other potential benefits of vitamin C include:

• Lowering the risk of heart disease
• Helping reduce blood uric acid levels preventing gout attacks
• Preventing iron deficiency
• Managing high blood pressure
• Boosting immunity and speeding up wound healing time (5)

What is Zinc?

Zinc is another essential nutrient the body doesn't produce on its own, so supplementing is recommended. Zinc is present in every cell of your body, and it is the second most abundant mineral after iron. Zinc is essential for various vital processes in your body, such as:

• Growth and development
• Immune function
• Gene expression
• Protein and DNA synthesis
• Wound healing
• Enzymatic reactions

What Are The Health Benefits of Zinc?

Zinc possesses a wide range of benefits throughout the body, like:

• Potentially reducing the risk of some age-related conditions such as pneumonia, infection, and age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is common in older adults. (6)
• It may reduce inflammation provoked by oxidative stress, resulting in chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, or a decline in mental function.
• Accelerates wound healing; zinc is commonly used in hospitals to treat burns, ulcers, and skin injuries with excellent results. (7)
• Zinc supplements can boost the immune response in specific cells, thereby reducing oxidative stress, especially in older adults (8)

Although zinc deficiency is very rare, it is estimated that about 2 million people have severely low zinc levels due to inadequate nutrition. These deficiencies are primarily noted in children from developing countries. (9)

A severe zinc deficiency can produce symptoms such as skin rashes, chronic diarrhea, defective growth, and development, delayed sexual maturity, impaired wound healing, and behavioral issues.

With all the information about what a good supplement can do to support and even boost your immunity, the only question is where the best triple immunity combo of elderberry, zinc, and vitamin C can be found! Look no further, Purity Labs has you covered. Click here to buy our Organic Elderberry With Vitamin C And Zinc

Sources:

1. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30126136/
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4688332/
3. https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-11-16
4. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/VitaminC-HealthProfessional/
5. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(74)91874-1/fulltext
6. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3649098/
7. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4413488/
8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2702361/
9. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4175048/