 IS there a way to keep the common cold at bay? Every winter I get a really bad cold that seems to last weeks. I'm 50 and eat plenty of fruit and veg but is there anything else I can do? Elsie Reeves, Hastings, East Sussex A) The honest answer is no. It is very hard to eat or supplement your way towards better immunity. Health food shops may suggest otherwise, but there isn't much evidence that superdosing on vitamins will stop you getting a cold. If you are deficient in something, then replacing a missing vitamin or mineral can make the world of difference, and this is certainly the case with vitamin D, which is now recommended as a supplement for everyone during winter. But in general, what you eat does not alter your risk of getting a cold. Providing there is no underlying medical cause for you to have a weaker immune system, the main reason we struggle more with a cold is simple exposure. Our immune systems do well when exposed to mild illnesses and in most cases can fight off the bugs in about ten to 14 days. There is a common misconception that we should be better in three or four days, but this doesn't give us time to generate an immune response and build up antibodies. A 50-year-old's immune system is a bit slower than it once was, and if you combine this with only being exposed to the cold virus maybe once a year or so, you lose your immunity, and it takes another ten to 14 days to rebuild it. Then you're well again – until next year. Q) WHILE I had Covid in August I couldn't sleep at all, even though I had never had a problem with sleep){kind=link}
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Q) IS there a way to keep the common cold at bay? Every winter I get a really bad cold that seems to last weeks.
I’m 50 and eat plenty of fruit and veg but is there anything else I can do?