From vitamin C to your microbiome and mindset, the latest science of immunity is often counterintuitive. Here’s how to give your system a fighting chance to overcome infection
I am lying under a blanket, feeling rough, staring at a bowl of oranges. Every fibre of my being is urging me to devour the lot. I can hear my mum – and medical friends at university – insisting that a megadose of vitamin C will head off my oncoming cold.
The thing is, I know it isn’t true. Despite the common belief, vitamin C doesn’t prevent colds. At best, it may shave a few hours off your symptoms. Still, the myth endures, because who wouldn’t want an easy way to supercharge their immune system?
Over the past weekend, friends have also suggested I drink ginger tea and gobble down some turmeric. It got me thinking: what, if anything, really helps strengthen the immune system to help it ward off potential invaders? To find out, I decided to take stock of my own immune health and find an evidence-based approach to improving it. Along the way, I learned how absent bacteria, the contents of my spice rack and even my outlook on life play a critical role in enhancing my immune defences – and uncovered the one thing that might harm immunity more than anything else.
We often talk about “boosting” our immune system, but, taken literally, that would be a terrible idea. Immunity isn’t a dial you can just turn up, says immunologist Daniel Davis at Imperial College London.
Your immune system is made up of a diverse network of cells, proteins and organs that must be powerful enough to attack invaders but restrained enough not to target healthy cells or harmless molecules – overreactions that underlie autoimmune conditions and allergies. “You don’t want to boost your immune system. You want to help it respond appropriately,” says Davis. “That’s a lot harder to do.”
Read the full article: You can upgrade your immune system, but not in the way you think (New Scientist)