Row of small unbranded wellness shot bottles in orange, yellow, and purple beside fresh ginger root, turmeric, and a lemon
Ginger, turmeric, citrus, and elderberry are real ingredients with real research. Whether a 2 oz shot “boosts immunity” is a different question.

Wellness shots are now a fixture in grocery store coolers: 2 oz bottles of ginger, turmeric, citrus, or elderberry sold to support your immune system. On September 25, 2026, a New York shopper filed a proposed class action against Vive Organic, one of the category’s best-known brands, arguing that its “Immunity Boost” and “Doctor Crafted” labels mislead consumers.

The case has not been decided, and a complaint is only one side’s argument. But it raises a question that applies to the whole category: what do these ingredients actually do?

The Claim

“A daily shot of ginger, turmeric, vitamin C, or elderberry boosts your immune system.”

(Composite representative claim drawn from wellness shot marketing.)

What the Lawsuit Alleges

The case is Briceno v. Vive Organic, Inc., No. 1:26-cv-08431, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. According to the complaint, it covers 2 oz shots including Ginger & Turmeric, Vitamin C, Elderberry, and Cayenne, and seeks to represent New York buyers under the state’s consumer protection laws (General Business Law §§ 349 and 350).

The complaint makes two main arguments, as summarized by Keller and Heckman:

This is an economic claim, not a safety one. Nobody alleges the shots are harmful, only that buyers paid for a benefit that isn’t supported. As a law firm alert on the case put it, wellness brands can get sued before the FDA ever calls.

Why “Boost” Is the Problem

The immune system is not a dial that turns up. A healthy one is balanced, and an overactive one causes allergies and autoimmune disease. Dietary supplements can legally make “structure/function” claims like “supports immune health” without FDA approval, but they cannot claim to prevent or treat disease. “Boost” sits in the gap: it sounds like a measurable effect, but there is no clinical measure of a “boosted” immune system in a healthy person.

The Ingredients, One by One

Vitamin C. A Cochrane review found that regular supplementation did not reduce how often people in the general population catch colds. It did modestly shorten colds, and it roughly halved cold risk in people under heavy short-term physical stress, such as marathon runners. Starting vitamin C after symptoms begin showed no consistent benefit.

Zinc. A 2024 Cochrane review of 34 trials concluded that zinc “may have little or no effect on the prevention of colds but may reduce the duration of ongoing colds,” with more non-serious side effects.

Elderberry. A 2021 systematic review found it may shorten or ease colds and flu, but rated the evidence uncertain. It also found “no evidence that it overstimulates the immune system.” There is no good evidence that it prevents illness.

Ginger. The strongest evidence is for nausea, not immunity. A 2014 meta-analysis found ginger, typically around 1 gram a day, reduced nausea in pregnancy, though not vomiting, and rated the evidence low quality.

Turmeric. Its active compound, curcumin, is poorly absorbed. In a 1998 study, 2 grams of curcumin alone left blood levels “undetectable or very low” in volunteers. Adding 20 mg of piperine from black pepper raised absorption about 20-fold. A shot that mixes turmeric into juice tells you little about how much curcumin reaches your blood.

Cayenne. We did not find any clinical trials linking cayenne or capsaicin shots to immune function.

There is one more gap. The trials used defined doses taken for weeks or months. A shot’s label may not disclose how much of each ingredient it contains, so there is often no way to check whether it matches anything that was studied.

IngredientWhat the evidence shows
Vitamin CDoesn’t prevent colds for most people; may modestly shorten them
ZincLittle or no effect on prevention; may shorten colds
ElderberryMay ease colds and flu; uncertain evidence; no prevention data
GingerHelps nausea; not an immunity ingredient
TurmericCurcumin is poorly absorbed without enhancers
CayenneNo immune trials found

Should You Drink Them?

If you like the taste, a ginger shot is a fine part of a diet, much like the apple cider vinegar trend. Just treat it as a beverage, not a medicine. The habits with the strongest evidence for avoiding and recovering from respiratory infections are less glamorous: sleep, vaccination, hand-washing, and not smoking. A shot is no substitute for any of them.

Verdict: Claim Unsupported

No wellness shot ingredient has been shown to “boost” immunity in healthy people. Vitamin C, zinc, and elderberry may modestly shorten or ease colds, ginger helps nausea, and turmeric’s curcumin is poorly absorbed. The pending lawsuit hasn’t been decided, but the evidence doesn’t back the label.

References & Further Reading