Many of us are focusing on how to boost our bodies immunity defence systems. The good news is there are some ways you can boost your immunity. So, while the advice of eating a varied diet of fresh fruit and vegetables continues to provide most of what you need, there are ways to supplement when life moves a bit too fast to get our five a day. At GreenBox, we look through all the natural vegan supplements on the market to provide you with a comprehensive list of the Top 7 immunity supplements in the UK.
However, before we get into the list, it is critical to understand the six key components of any immunity boosting regime.
The 6 Building Blocks of Immunity
1. Turmeric
According to research published in reputable US journals, curcumin, the main compound found in turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties that can help boost immunity. Turmeric is also famous for its property as an anti-oxidant, helping to knock away all those free radicals. Pure turmeric is actually quite difficult to get, and you won’t get the dosage you need from the spice in your kitchen cabinet. As a result, many supplements now add turmeric or curcumin, and we view that as a nice bonus without having the fear of taking too much.
2. Vitamin B6
This vitamin is water-soluble and is in many foods. It has been widely studied for its role in disease prevention. It can also help convert tryptophan to serotonin. Serotonin is a key neurotransmitter which plays a role in sleep, appetite, and moods. So, this vitamin can also help make red blood cells and helps influence brain activity and immune function. Vitamin B6 doesn’t get much of the spotlight when it comes to immunity boosting, but it should be the secret weapon in your daily regime.
Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA): Ages 19 to 50: 1.3 mg M; ages 51+: 1.7 mg W; ages 51+: 1.5 mg
3. Vitamin C
The star of the immunity show, Vitamin C can be found in oranges, grapefruit, kiwi, tomatoes, and well, we guess just about any fruit or vegetable. Vitamin C is known to be a powerful anti-oxidant and taking higher doses has been touted as helping to prevent the common cold.
4. Vitamin D
This is the famous sunshine vitamin. It is the only vitamin that cannot be acquired through foods and is instead generated synthetically from sunlight. This is why in the winter months in Northern climates, supplementing with vitamin D is recommended as many of us will be deficient. This vitamin ensures calcium is absorbed in our bodies, which helps strengthen bones, and teeth. It also contributes to stronger immune function.
RDA: Ages 1 to 70: 600 IU (15 mcg); Ages 71+: 800 IU (20 mcg)
5. Zinc
This mineral is proven to help boost the immune system. However, getting enough but not too much is critical. The upper limited for zinc is listed as 25mg, where levels higher than this can trigger the opposite effect with a depressed immune system. This is why many suggest getting from food sources only, or ensuring you take only the recommended amount from a zinc supplement. In our ranking system, we have identified where we feel dosages of zinc are on the high side.
RDA: Male, ages 18+: 9.5 mg; Female, ages 18+: 7 mg
6. Probiotics
Healthy gut, healthy life? Pretty much. Probiotics are a hot topic in nutrition with lots of focus on the gut microbiome. Probiotics are the good bacteria (it does exist) that helps keep disease-causing bacteria in check. Studies also suggest a healthy microbiome may help improve digestion, strengthen your immunity and fight inflammation. The probiotics listed on the side of a package can look like a Saturday morning Latin class. The ones to pay attention to are, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium, with advice to purchase a product containing at least one billion cells per dose.
Rating System
We used a standard rating system for our top supplement lists. As the best immunity supplements could be a combination of any of the six factors, our daily dosage ranking is slightly different than normal.
Not all supplements are equal. Our proprietary ranking system looks at five factors:
- Company – who is the company? What is their ethos, and their brand?
- Daily dosage – can this be an effective part of a daily regime? Are the dose sizes helpful?
- Formulation – what has been added to the supplement to give the consumer more benefits?
- Value – cheap is rarely the best. How can one choose the best natural supplement on the market which balances cost with effectiveness?
- Packaging – we are always on the look-out for sustainable packaging, and assign huge downgrades for single-use plastic or carbon intensive packaging solutions
The Top 7 Immunity Supplements in the UK
#1 (24/25 points) Floradix Immune Support
Company (5/5): Floradix is an iconic herbal health foods company. Founded over 100 years ago in 1916 by Dr Med Greither, his son Otto Greither still leads the business today. Floradix grew from humble beginnings in the foothills of the German countryside. The team pride themselves on practical innovations and an always sustainable approach. All power is from the local hydro electric dam, and many of the herbs are sustainably growth by Floradix on their farm in Southern Chile.
Daily dosage (4/5): 400% of Vitamin D, ensures you get enough of the sunshine vitamin. While 50% of Vitamin C levels and 25% of Zinc levels help boost immunity support.
Formulation (5/5): Some decent levels of B6 and B12 also make this a great supplement for vegans, as most B12 naturally is derived from meat. The zinc is a proven immunity booster, while Vitamin C is also important. This is an immunity cocktail we can get behind.
Value (5/5): At £12.49, this product provides amazing value and one of the best price points on the market.
Packaging (5/5): Full marks for its cardboard outer box, glass jar and metal lid are which all 100% recyclable.
#2 (23/25 points) Solgar Turmeric Root Extract
Buy Solgar Now
Company (4.5/5): Solgar is the result of over 70 years of commitment to quality and health and wellbeing. The brand’s mission throughout the decades has remained the same: to create the finest nutritional supplement in small batches, backed up with deep research, and using only the very best raw materials. When it comes to quality, Solgar is The Gold Standard. Solar offers more than 300 products that bear the hallmark of the gold label, and is distributed in over 60 countries across the globe. Solgar is trusted by millions of consumers worldwide.
Daily dosage (4.5/5): At 400mg, this compares nicely to the daily recommended dose for impact which is 500mg to 2,000mg per day. So this allows you to properly dose within that range.
Formulation (4/5): This is straight turmeric extract, so what you see is what you get.
Value (5/5): £13.24 and this is for 60 capsules, which is enough to last for two months. Amazing value.
Packaging (5/5): Recyclable glass jar and aluminium lid give this brand top marks
#3 (22.5/25 points) Amazing Grass Green Superfood
Buy Amazing Grass Now
Company (5/5): Founders Brandon and Tod discovered first hand the benefits of green nutrition right from their Kansas farm. For over three generations, they have perfected growing some of the most nutrient-dense greens on planet Earth. They set out in 2002 to take the amazing benefits of superfood greens and share it with the world. Amazing Grass crafts each greens recipe carefully using the highest quality plant based ingredients. These natural extracts are from the family farm in Kansas as well as other like-minded growers.
Daily dosage (5/5): No worries on overdosing here as it’s a cocktail of amazing plant extracts containing plant sources of vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients
Formulation (5/5): Wheat grass is a rich sources of vitamins and minerals. In particular, Vitamin C, our immunity boosting favourite. The powder is super fine too which many greens powders are not. So this one blends very well in a drink. Goes great in water, juice, smoothies, porridge, or protein shakes.
Value (3.5/5): At £17.99, this is good value as one container has enough for 30 portions.
Packaging (3/5): Well not everything is perfect, as the packaging is all plastic but at least it’s recyclable.
#4 (22/25 points) Vegums Multivitamins Gummies
Company (4/5): Vegums is a carbon-negative company founded by 2 plant-based pharmacists who were looking for a plastic-free alternative to pongy pills and chalky chewables. They set themselves a mission to fill in the potential gaps in the plant-based diet, without it costing the Earth. Each delicious fruit-flavoured vegan vitamin gummy bear packs a nutritional punch from the safety of biodegradable or recyclable packaging. The full range uses natural colours and flavours and covers everything you need to perform at your best, every day.
Daily dosage (4.5/5): 400% of vitamin D levels, which seems to standard. 50% of Zinc, 100% of Vitamin C and 100% of B6 and B12. As this is per gummy, it allows the user to halve the amount. It’s a great compromise, and the best daily dosage of any product we took at look at.
Formulation (4.5/5): A thoughtful formulation and a mix of all the important vitamins including the ones important for those living a vegan lifestyle. And remember, most vitamin gummies do have sugar in them. These multivitamin vegan gummies, however, are sugar free! Another plus for this fantastic formulation.
Value (4/5): £15.95, last 30 days on full dose, so could be up to 60 for this deciding to dose at lower amounts.
Packaging (5/5): 100% plastic free and recyclable. The tubes contain 2x bags of 30 gummies. These bags are made from compostable cellulose. The reusable gummy tins are also recyclable. We think this is best in class.
#5 (21/25 points) Neat Nutrition Immune Support
Buy Neat Nutrition Now
Company (5/5): Former British Swimming Team members Lee & Charlie set out to create a collection of plant-based supplement to support a modern lifestyle. They wanted to create products that could help manage stress, boost immunity and promote recovery. Their journey began in 2015 after retiring from their swimming careers. They were shocked to find out how hard it is to find a simple, well source nutrition products. So they set out to create them together, and Neat Nutrition was born!
Daily dosage (3/5): 200% of Vitamin D, 313% of Vitamin C and 150% of daily zinc which is a bit on the high side.
Formulation (5/5): The holy trinity of Vitamin D, Vitamin C and Zinc gives this formulation top marks. There is also a probiotic in here which makes this a perfect score.
Value (4/5): £19.95 for a month’s supply but this in the middle category in terms of cost, but the expert formulation makes it worth the money.
Packaging (5/5): Recyclable glass jar and recyclable aluminium lid
#6 (20/25 points) Solgar Vitamin D3 4000
Buy Solgar Now
Company (4.5/5): Solgar is the result of over 70 years of commitment to quality and health and wellbeing. The brand’s mission throughout the decades has remained the same: to create the finest nutritional supplement in small batches, backed up with deep research, and using only the very best raw materials. When it comes to quality, Solgar is The Gold Standard. Solar offers more than 300 products that bear the hallmark of the gold label.
Daily dosage (2.5/5): They back a big wallop of vitamin D with 1 capsule at 100ug or 2000% the daily recommended intake. Perhaps a bit too intense. Still, this is the highest strength on the market for those who are looking for it.
Formulation (3/5): Basic and straight-forward, what you are looking for with a Vitamin D supplement
Value (5/5): 60 capsules for £8.80, this is incredible value
Packaging (5/5): Recyclable glass jar and aluminium lid give this brand top marks
#7 (19/25 points) Hello Day Bioharmony Balance
Buy Hello Day Now
Company (4/5): Hello Day believes in the power of nature and the changing of the seasons. Its founder, Sebastien Rumpler, combines his pharma expertise along with European health experts and nutritionists to create Hello Day’s award winning range. Hello Day’s natural and vegan products help us all roll with the seasons and live life at its best throughout Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring. We love the mission of this company!
Daily dosage (4/5): This is an entirely pro and prebiotic formulation with 1 capsule containing 23.33mg of three key probiotics and 98.33mg of a prebiotic.
Formulation (4/5): With lactic ferments and fructo-oligosaccharides to help balance your gut, this is one of the best formulations available.
Value (3.5/5): At £20, and enough of a dose to last a month, this won’t break the bank and will help you get that microbiome back and shape, helping to boost your immunity.
Packaging (3.5/5): No specific commitment to sustainability but the box is recyclable, although the product does come in a blister pack, which removes a few points from our score.
Final Thoughts
A stronger immune system is a hot topic, and hopefully this list helps you find the one superstar supplement to add to your daily routine.
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