I’ll admit, a big part of my flu season regimen is loading up on some extra vitamins (for the rest of my regimen, see How To Naturally Prevent the Flu).  When I get home, particularly after having been on the subway or another crowded germ-fest, the number two thing I do (after washing my hands with hot, soapy water) is to pop an effervescent immune-boosting vitamin.  It definitely does the trick (I rarely get sick), but this precaution comes with a fair amount of guilt on my end.  The drugstore standbys, Airborne and Emergen-C, come with their fair share of sub-par ingredients that I usually avoid.  So I’ve decided to take on a side by side comparison of these guys, as well as few other readily available and slightly harder to come by brands.  I was actually surprised to find that those drugstore standbys are the weaker of the 5 brands I found!  So without further ado, behold…

The Effervescent Immunity-Boost Showdown!

1. Comprehensive vitamin and mineral content (CVM)

2. Immune-boosting herbal additions (H)

3. Quality of ingredients (Q)

4. Calorie and sugar content (CS)

5. Value (V)