This research analyzed how individuals utilize nutrition supplements such as vitamins, minerals, and herbal medicines to prevent respiratory infections (such as the common cold, flu, or even COVID-19). Rather than using conventional surveys, the researchers gathered public opinion through X (formerly Twitter). Thousands of individuals from around the globe tweeted which supplements they take to remain healthy. Those most cited were vitamin D, zinc, vitamin C, magnesium, and honey. These were found beneficial to enhance immunity and keep cold-like diseases at bay.
Remarkably, almost half of the respondents indicated that they do take supplements for respiratory infections. The researchers employed computational tools to scrutinize all of the responses and even verified how these public views align with scientific research—and discovered solid scientific research backing for numerous of the well-liked remedies. This research shows how social media can be utilized as a new “survey tool”, cost-effectively and rapidly amassing global opinions on health. However, it also cautions that social media responses do not necessarily represent scientific accuracy or the general population. Nevertheless, the employed research approach provides a window of opportunity for insight into real-time public health behavior.
Full text: Rajeev K. Singla, Himel Mondal, Shailja Singla, Ronita De, Sahar Behzad, Mihnea-Alexandru Găman, Siva Sai Chandragiri, Merisa Cenanovic, Jayanta Kumar Patra, Jennifer R. Depew, Hemanth Kumar Boyina, Abdulkadir Yusif Maigoro, Soojin Lee, Omar M. Atrooz, Gitishree Das, Fabien Schultz, Emad Mohamed Abdallah, Hitesh Chopra, Jamil Ahmad, Rupesh K. Gautam…Atanas G. Atanasov, Bairong Shen, Exploring nutritional supplement use for countering respiratory tract infections through an X (formerly Twitter)-based survey, Current Research in Biotechnology, Volume 9, 2025, 100282, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crbiot.2025.100282.