Vitamin infusions in Munich, tailored to you

Vitamins, minerals and trace elements – known as micronutrients – are involved in a great many processes in the body. They play a part in energy production, in the immune system, in the nervous system and in building bone and blood. The body cannot make most vitamins itself and takes them in from food. A deficiency can develop if the diet is unbalanced, if requirements rise or if the gut absorbs nutrients poorly. Some medications also affect nutrient balance, such as drugs for heartburn or the contraceptive pill. The signs of a deficiency are often non-specific, for example tiredness, susceptibility to infections or difficulty concentrating. That is why a close look is worthwhile before we give vitamins.

With a tablet, the gut first has to absorb the active substance. How well this works varies from substance to substance and from person to person. An infusion, by contrast, goes directly into the blood. This makes it possible to reach higher blood levels, and the gut is bypassed. That can make sense if absorption is impaired, tablets are not tolerated or a deficiency is marked. With normal values and a balanced diet, an infusion is not always necessary. We give you honest advice on which route suits you – even if that means tablets or a change of diet are enough.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin that humans cannot make themselves. Among other things, it is involved in building connective tissue and in immune defence. The body absorbs only limited amounts through the gut and excretes any excess via the kidneys. Considerably higher blood levels can be reached through a vein. In complementary medicine, high-dose vitamin C is therefore used as an add-on, for example for exhaustion, susceptibility to infections or as supportive care in cancer. For many of these uses, the benefit is not sufficiently proven scientifically. Before a high-dose infusion, we check, among other things, kidney function and possible contraindications. These include a rare inherited enzyme deficiency of the red blood cells, G6PD deficiency.

Lab values help to identify or rule out a deficiency. However, a single value does not tell the whole story. Some substances are measured in blood serum, others more reliably in whole blood. Values also fluctuate depending on the time of day, diet and use of dietary supplements. We therefore always consider your results together with your symptoms and history. After treatment, a follow-up test can show whether the values have changed. Health insurance covers some lab tests where there is a medical reason; others are self-pay. We tell you in advance what to expect.

Prof. Dr. Schulte-Uebbing has worked on micronutrients in gynaecology for many years. One focus is vitamin D, for example in the article “Vitamin D – an important and interesting hormone” (Your Health magazine, 2015; in German). At the Anti Aging Symposium of the University of Oradea in 2011, he spoke on “Vitamin D Substitution and Treatment in Menopause and in Anti Aging Medicine”. Further work addresses selenium and vitamin D deficiency in the thyroid condition Hashimoto's disease, as well as amino acids. This knowledge informs the advice on your vitamin infusion. Incidentally, vitamin D itself is generally taken by mouth and not given as an infusion.