The winter immune shelf: vitamin C, zinc lozenges and elderberry, by format

Vitamin C, zinc and elderberry are the three things people ask us about most once the weather turns. The bigger question is usually the format: a chewable the kids will take, a lozenge for your coat pocket, a powder you stir into water, or a capsule you can forget about.

This guide walks through the winter immune shelf by format, so you can pick the one that fits your day. If it's a scratchy throat you're shopping for, our guide to natural cough syrup, lozenges and throat teas covers elderberry syrups, honey lozenges and Throat Coat.

What's on the winter immune shelf?

Three nutrients do most of the work on this shelf. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that helps maintain immune function. Zinc is a mineral that also helps maintain immune function, along with healthy skin. Elderberry, the fruit of the European black elder, has long been used in herbal medicine, and many families keep it on hand through the colder months.

Which form of vitamin C is best?

The one you'll take every day. The body doesn't store vitamin C, so it needs topping up regularly, and that's easier with a format you like. Vitamin C also helps the body form collagen for healthy bones, cartilage, teeth and gums.

Chewables. Natural Factors makes the chewables most families know. The 500 mg wafers come in fruit flavours with no artificial sweeteners or flavours, and Big Friends is a 250 mg tangy orange chewable made for children. Plenty of adults who dislike tablets keep the wafers in the cupboard too.

Vitamin C powders and drink mixes

A powder lets you stir vitamin C into water or juice instead of swallowing tablets. Natural Factors Vitamin C Crystals are pure ascorbic acid: a quarter teaspoon gives 1000 mg. Thorne Buffered Vitamin C Powder blends vitamin C with calcium, magnesium and potassium ascorbates, which soften its acidity, and Medi C Plus is a citrus powder made with magnesium ascorbate. Ener-C packets fizz into a glass of water with 1000 mg of vitamin C and electrolytes.

Liquid and liposomal vitamin C

Liposomal vitamin C is wrapped in tiny bubbles of phospholipids, a format many people move to when they want something designed for absorption or easy on the stomach. CanPrev Vitamin C 1000 Liposomal is a vanilla citrus liquid with 1000 mg per tablespoon, made with soy-free sunflower phospholipids. Naka Liposomal C1000 also uses sunflower phospholipids, and Cyto-Matrix, a Canadian professional line, makes a liposomal C too.

Vitamin C capsules and tablets

For a routine you don't have to think about, a capsule or tablet is simplest. AOR Vitamin C is 1000 mg of pure ascorbic acid in a veggie capsule, free of wheat, gluten, nuts, soy and dairy. Natural Factors Time Release Vitamin C releases its 1000 mg gradually over several hours, and the 210-tablet bottle suits a household that goes through a lot.

What are zinc lozenges?

Zinc lozenges are meant to dissolve slowly in the mouth rather than be swallowed, so they're handy to carry in a bag or coat pocket through the winter. Zinc helps maintain immune function, and many lozenges add vitamin C, echinacea or soothing herbs.

Nature's Way Zinc with Echinacea & Vitamin C has 23 mg of zinc, 100 mg of vitamin C and 20 mg of echinacea in each wild berry lozenge. Quantum Health TheraZinc lozenges are made with organic ingredients, with 7 mg of zinc gluconate in a drop-style lozenge made to skip the metallic aftertaste.

Zinc chewables and capsules

For kids, Orange Naturals Kids Zinc + C pairs 12 mg of zinc bisglycinate with 100 mg of vitamin C in an orange chewable sweetened with xylitol and monk fruit. Genestra, a practitioner brand, makes a zinc chewable for anyone who has trouble with capsules.

If you'd rather swallow a capsule, NFH Zinc SAP has 25 mg of zinc picolinate with 1 mg of copper added to keep the two minerals in balance, and AOR Zinc-Copper Balance pairs 15 mg of zinc with 2 mg of copper. CanPrev Zinc Bis-Glycinate 25 is a single-mineral capsule in a gentle, well-absorbed form.

CanPrevZinc Bis-Glycinate 25, 120 capsules25 mg of zinc per capsule, in a bis-glycinate chelate form.Shop →

How do people take elderberry?

Elderberry comes as gummies, powders, liquids and syrups. Gummies are the easiest daily habit, powders stir into a drink, and liquids made for children come with clear age ranges on the label. For elderberry syrups from SURO, St. Francis Herb Farm, Naka and Harmonic Arts, see our cough syrup guide.

Nature's Way Sambucus gummies combine black elderberry with vitamin C and zinc; the kids' version is for ages 4 and up, and both are gluten free and gelatin free. Flora Elderberry Crystals are organic European elderberries, juiced and vacuum-dried into a fine powder that tastes like the berry. Stir a small scoop into water, juice, sparkling water or a smoothie.

CanPrev Elderberry C is blueberry-flavoured and sweetened with stevia and xylitol; refrigerate it after opening. Flora Elderberry+ for Kids combines organic elderberry juice, echinacea and licorice root in a stevia-sweetened syrup for children five to nine.

FloraElderberry+ for Kids, 250 mLOrganic elderberry, echinacea and licorice root, for ages five to nine.Shop →

And for the pancake table rather than the supplement aisle, Wabanaki infuses maple syrup with elderberry for a sweet, tart, earthy pour. Wabanaki is an Indigenous, female-owned business in New Brunswick.

WabanakiElderberry Infused Maple Syrup, 200 mLMaple syrup with a tart elderberry finish, from New Brunswick.Shop →

How do I choose a format?

Think about who's taking it and when. These five steps cover most of the conversations we have in the aisle.

1. Start with what you'll actually take. A chewable or gummy that gets taken beats a capsule that sits in the cupboard.
2. Read the amount per serving. Gummies and chewables often list the dose for two pieces, and liquids for a teaspoon or tablespoon.
3. Match the age range. Kids' products list the ages they're made for. Choose one made for children and follow the label.
4. Look for the NPN. An eight-digit NPN on the label shows the product is licensed for sale in Canada.
5. Bring what you already take. If you take a multivitamin, bring it in and we'll help you see what's already covered.

The best format is the one you'll remember to take every day.

CanPrevZinc Immune + Vitamin C, 120 capsulesZinc and vitamin C together in one veggie capsule.Shop →

Questions we get a lot

Is a chewable vitamin C as good as a capsule?

A chewable gives you vitamin C in a different format, so compare the amount per serving on the label. The 500 mg Natural Factors wafers and the 1000 mg AOR capsules simply suit different people.

What is liposomal vitamin C?

Vitamin C wrapped in tiny spheres of phospholipids, usually from sunflower. It comes as a liquid or softgel, and many people choose it when they want a form designed for absorption.

Should zinc be taken with food?

Follow the label for your product. AOR Zinc-Copper Balance, for example, is taken with food, a few hours apart from other medications.

Why do some zinc supplements add copper?

Some formulas pair zinc with a little copper so the two minerals stay in balance. NFH Zinc SAP and AOR Zinc-Copper Balance both include it; others, like CanPrev Zinc Bis-Glycinate 25, keep it to zinc alone.

What's the difference between elderberry syrup and elderberry gummies?

Mostly the format. Syrups are measured by the spoonful and some are made for coughs and sore throats; gummies are a pre-measured chew, often with vitamin C and zinc added. Our cough syrup guide covers the syrups.

You'll find vitamin C, zinc and elderberry in the supplement aisle at both stores: 486 Starboard Drive in Bedford and 590 Portland Street in Dartmouth, open seven days. Kids' formats are together in our children's cold, flu and immunity section, and our vitamin D in winter guide covers the other supplement people reach for this time of year. In HRM, order by 11 am with Luminate Express for same-day delivery, or choose pickup. Anywhere else in Canada, orders over $80 ship free.

Sources: product labels and listings for the items shown. This article is general information, not medical advice.