Keeping your bodys inner army strong can help guard against the common cold, flu and COVID-19.
Heres what willand wontboost your immune system.
Immune healthhas become front-of-mind for many for obvious reasons over the last few years.
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Our lifestyle, food choices and more can all have a big impact on our immune system.
But what helps and what hurts?
Here we take a look at four common myths about immune health and see what the science says.
Your body’s defenses weaken with age.
(There’s a science-y term for this process: immunosenescence.)
Probiotics support healthy immune function.
Mostly true.The microbiome plays a key role in a strong, resilient immune system.
However, this mechanism isn’t fully understood and higher-quality clinical studies are needed.
Honey will “cure” your allergies.
Too early to tell.
Not enough to make a difference.
And, so far, no clinical evidence shows that honey alleviates allergy symptoms.
But don’t nix honey quite yet.
It may help soothe your cough.
Sweetness may be honey’s “active ingredient.”
A megadose of vitamin C can squash a cold.
This vitamin does play an important role in immune function.
Similarly, zinc may also help cut the number of days you’re sick.
Zinc comes in many forms, but only lozenges have been shown to be effective.
Skip nasal sprays and swabs: they may damage your sense of smell.
Sleep has little impact on immunity.
Other research has found that adequate rest may improve immune response following vaccinations.
Just one more reason to get more zzz’s!
Dairy will make you more congested.
