Tested: Airborne Tablets

If you live a typical stress-filled life, have a less than perfect diet, or you encounter sick people on a daily basis, it’s pretty hard not to get sick. Add in an intense training regimen and it’s nearly impossible not to get sick at some point!

During my years of training intensely year round, I would always get sick. My immune system was just beaten down so much from the training that even a good diet and substantial rest couldn’t save me!

This past year, I became extremely fed up with being sick, so I decided not to get sick anymore! And when you decide something like that, you better be ready to put the effort in, because it’s not an easy task! So I did some research and decided to test out every possible product that could boost my immune system even slightly…

The first product I checked out was the Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, an “Immune Support Dietary Supplement.”

Airborne is a supplement designed by a school teacher (what profession is more susceptible to cold germs?) with the aim of preventing or lessening the symptoms of colds. It contains a blend of vitamins, minerals, and herbs to accomplish this goal.

There where two situations where I took Airborne:

1. If I woke up and felt like I was coming down with a cold.
2. If I was exposed to sick people and thought I could have picked up some germs.

Basically, if I thought there was any chance of getting sick, I would take some Airborne.

Ingredients

Curious what all is in Airborne? Here are all the ingredients…

First, the vitamins and minerals:

Supplement Facts:
Calories 5
Total Carbohydrates <1 g
Vitamin A 2000 IU
Vitamin C 1000 mg
Vitamin E 30 IU
Magnesium 40 mg
Zinc 8 mg
Selenium 15 mcg
Manganese 3 mg
Sodium 230 mg
Potassium 75 mg

Next, all the herbs:

Herbal Extract Proprietary Blend:
Maltodextrin, Lonicera (flower), Forsythia (fruit), Schizonepeta (aboveground parts), Ginger (dried rhizome), Chinese Vitex (fruit), Isatis (root), Echinacea (aboveground parts)

Many of those herbs have at least some connection to preventing or alleviating colds, whether it be clinical studies, tradition, or old wives tales.

Next, a few amino acids:

Amino Acids Blend:
Glutamine (as L-Glutamine), Lysine (as L-Lysine HCI)

Finally, the other ingredients:

Other Ingredients:
Sorbitol, Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Potassium Bicarbonate, Natural Lemon-Lime Flavor, Polyethylene Glycol, Mineral Oil, Sucralose.

The only real problem I have with Airborne is that it contains sucralose. I prefer to avoid all artificial sweeteners, and I highly doubt that sucralose helps my immune system!

Taste Test

Overall, Airborne doesn’t taste great, but it’s pleasant to drink. Emergen-C mixes faster and is tastier, but it’s just not the same thing. Airborne works well and tastes much better than cough medicine, so that’s cool with me.

My thoughts on the flavors are…

Lemon Lime – The lemon lime has a decent flavor, but it’s not great. It reminds me of slightly watered down 7-Up soda rather than lemon lime Gatorade.

Pink Grapefruit – The pink grapefruit is a pretty good, refreshing flavor. It is fairly realistic, but not overly tart or sour like some grapefruit flavors. It leaves a bit of an aftertaste but it’s not so bad.

Zesty Orange – Zesty orange has a pleasant smell, coupled with a good flavor. The taste is a little stronger than others, and it’s quite a natural flavor like a real orange. The effervescence gives it that “zest.”

This is way better than CVS Airshield orange flavor.

Very Berry – n/a

Mixing

Mixing is simple. You just drop the effervescent tablet in a glass of water and wait.

You do have to wait about two or three minutes (not the 1 minute it says on the box) for the entire tablet to dissolve in cold water, but it dissolves well. It will dissolve a little faster in warm water.

Does it work?

The big question is, “does Airborne actually work to prevent colds?”

That’s a good question! I tested these tablets over about six months, and in my experience, Airborne does work as promised!

I’ll be the first to admit that this could be a placebo affect. And it could have something to do with slightly scaling back my high volume of training as well.

But… I haven’t had a real cold since November 19, 2008. I had a few days where I was starting to feel “under the weather,” but Airborne took care of that and I felt fine the next day.

At the very least, you could probably use the herbs and vitamins to supplement your diet. Unless you’re allergic to one of the herbs or other ingredients, I think you’ll be better off taking Airborne than not taking it.

My final verdict is…

This stuff works, and I plan to continue using it. I would prefer something cheaper (Airborne is like $8 per tube) and without sucralose (I hate artificial sweeteners,) but the fact of the matter is, Airborne works for me.

If you’re sick of getting sick, I highly recommend this stuff.

Official website: www.AirborneHealth.com

Buy online: www.VitaCost.com