i was really poorly this time last year - had swine flu, then some complications from it, and my immune system was totally wrecked!!
it's taken me a while to get back to fighting fit, but what worked for me was making sure i ate really well (if you're getting a good balanced diet then you shouldn't really need to fork out for a lot of supplements), getting plenty of sleep, doing a little exercise (but little and often rather than killing myself in one session) and just generally 'being nice' to myself and listening to my body. if i felt a bit off colour i'd make sure that i took it easy, rather than ploughing through it like i ordinarily would.
slowly but surely i've improved and *touching a lot of wood* have only had a mild cold so far this winter.
I throw a rolled-up ball of newspaper out of the window every day and I haven't had a cold or flu in the last two years! It's also effective at keeping elephants away from my garden.
Or it might be the 75mg Aspirin that I take each day.
But extra vitamin C over the DRA doesn't have any affect on the immune system. Thats what the evidence shows. Good balanced healthy meals should provide enough for this and will be better and cheaper for you than supplements.
You may only think that they're working for you or they could be acting as a placebo
Not everyone does eat healthy balanced meals though.
Supplements do work, I've proved this to myself and my doctor.
I throw a rolled-up ball of newspaper out of the window every day and I haven't had a cold or flu in the last two years! It's also effective at keeping elephants away from my garden.
Or it might be the 75mg Aspirin that I take each day.
Whether or not one can "boost" the immune system depends on why it's crap in the first place. If your diet's rubbish and you're missing out on essential vitamins, a vitamin supplement can help. However, there ARE people who don't have good immunity (an increasing number, since the middle classes took to making sure their children NEVER got exposed to germs and wiped their entire house with Dettol every day), and you can't change that, I'm afraid.
I know there's some doubts about the so-called hygiene hypothesis and development of immunity, but it makes good sense to me (and I am a scientist). If a child's immune system is stimulated when young, the defences will be better throughout life. My immunity to colds etc. is much better than my childrens' (even although my daughter used to eat out of the cat's dish!), and I reckon it's because we just got exposed to more diseases and dirt when we were younger.
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it's taken me a while to get back to fighting fit, but what worked for me was making sure i ate really well (if you're getting a good balanced diet then you shouldn't really need to fork out for a lot of supplements), getting plenty of sleep, doing a little exercise (but little and often rather than killing myself in one session) and just generally 'being nice' to myself and listening to my body. if i felt a bit off colour i'd make sure that i took it easy, rather than ploughing through it like i ordinarily would.
slowly but surely i've improved and *touching a lot of wood* have only had a mild cold so far this winter.
Or it might be the 75mg Aspirin that I take each day.
Not everyone does eat healthy balanced meals though.
Supplements do work, I've proved this to myself and my doctor.
Whether or not one can "boost" the immune system depends on why it's crap in the first place. If your diet's rubbish and you're missing out on essential vitamins, a vitamin supplement can help. However, there ARE people who don't have good immunity (an increasing number, since the middle classes took to making sure their children NEVER got exposed to germs and wiped their entire house with Dettol every day), and you can't change that, I'm afraid.
I know there's some doubts about the so-called hygiene hypothesis and development of immunity, but it makes good sense to me (and I am a scientist). If a child's immune system is stimulated when young, the defences will be better throughout life. My immunity to colds etc. is much better than my childrens' (even although my daughter used to eat out of the cat's dish!), and I reckon it's because we just got exposed to more diseases and dirt when we were younger.