How To Improve Your Immunity Quickly

Strengthening your immune system quickly through food or supplements: is that possible?

Can we improve, strengthen, "boost" our resistance, to put it in a modern word?

And if so how? 

How fast?

 Can we stop the corona virus quickly, by taking vitamins or other supplements? Many people wonder, as a quick look at numerous websites and blogs shows. But miracle cures and miracle foods don't exist, experts warn.
 “If there was one foodstuff really amazing, then I would really eat it,” laughs Patrick Mullie, nutrition expert at the VUB. “People always want a black and white answer. But that is difficult. The experts' answer may not sound sexy to fans of fashionable diets. “Miracle cures and miracle nutrition do not exist. There is only miracle behavior. ”
You can now make sure to be as fit as possible and control your weight. We see that obesity really has no beneficial effect on the disease process

 
Michaël Sels, UZA head dietician-

Nutrition experts and immunologists sound quite unanimous: simply boosting your immune system through supplements, drastic diets or simply tuning in to old folk wisdom does not work. A healthy, varied diet is still the best remedy. But you don't see that effect from one day to the next. “Eating is chronic. We do it every day, three times. Your diet is a matter of repetition. You can only expect a real effect of what you eat if you make long-term choices ”, says Michaël Sels, head dietitian at UZ Antwerp.
 
In the medium term? Yes
Whether it makes a lot of sense to adjust your diet during this period? In Belgium, 20 percent of people are still obese, and 30 percent are overweight. Those who have weight problems can easily gain weight. It is a good time to reflect. "Losing weight always makes sense, but you have to lose weight smart and cunning," says Patrick Mullie. "We don't go out for dinner, we cook ourselves. Whether we do it sensibly is something else, but now is the time to do something about it."
 
“There is no food to avoid corona,” agrees Michaël Sels. “But now you can make sure to be as fit as possible and to control your weight as closely as possible. We see that obesity really has no beneficial effect on the disease process. More than 70 percent of patients in intensive care are overweight, ie a BMI over 25. Overweight makes artificial respiration difficult, it causes disrupted sugar levels and higher blood pressure. ”
 
Many people are now going to cook to make it cozy at home, or to combat boredom. For example, baking with a lot of sugar, or making very tasty things with heavy ingredients, lots of snacks. We're also going to eat emo and stress eating. There is a pitfall there. "So don't put the basket with Easter eggs on the table," says Michaël Sels.
 
 
Do all those touted miracle remedies work?
During the epidemic of the Spanish flu 100 years ago, all kinds of stories surfaced about miracle remedies for the disease. That went from disinfecting snake venom (Miller's Antiseptic Snake Oil) to an almost legendary advertisement for Vicks VapoRub. Remedies that at best alleviate the symptoms, but do not cure or prevent the disease. That is no different now. However, the motto now is "boost your immune system". And even now, we are recommended all kinds of tools, especially on social media. You will even find sites that recommend masturbation to fight the virus, but we present the most common ones to the experts.
 
“In a normal healthy person, supplements have no effect,” says Patrick Mullie. “Many people don't like healthy eating and exercise, taking a pill is easier, you don't have to make any effort. But the effects of those agents are usually not sufficiently proven. Dietary supplements must be proven to be safe, not effective. "
 
Dietary supplements must be proven to be safe, not effective
 
Patrick Mullie, nutrition expert-
Michaël Sels explains: “For a long time, research into the effectiveness of food has been conducted in the same way as research into medication: the effects of substances are measured. You give group A a means, group B not, and then you examine the differences. That also happened with omega-3, for example. In the beginning you saw many differences. As the studies progressed, the evidential value of these substances became much less great. If you have no deficiencies, those supplements do nothing in terms of prevention. Nowadays people look more at the diet. And that's not something with an immediate effect. ”
 
Vitamins and other supplements under the microscope
Vitamin C, for example. Here with us, few people lack it. However, extra supplements are recommended to increase your resistance. "There is a ground of truth in it," says Mullie. “In earlier times, when people had scurvy, you could save lives with an orange. That is not the case with us today. In other regions, where people are malnourished, you can also get great results with vitamin C. There is always an explanation. The following applies here: eat enough fruit and vegetables. ”
 
Bart Lambrecht is a lung specialist and immunologist. "It doesn't boost your immune system," he says. "But it is an antioxidant that can have an effect on lung damage."
 
 
 
Vitamin C is an antioxidant that can have an effect on lung damage Bart Lambrecht, immunologist and pulmonologist
The immunologist continues: "Vitamin D is a different story, it can certainly help your immune system. But only in high doses. And you have to be very careful with that, because an overdose is very dangerous." Go to your doctor, says common sense, before you start to take vitamins. "You can get your daily dose of vitamin D better from something else," says Michaël Sels. "Outside in the sun with your hands and your face for 15 minutes. is enough, and it is certainly possible now. " Always: if you have no shortages. But you can - again - only have this determined by the doctor.
 
Selenium and zinc, that's what it's often about. "Sometimes we see deficiencies in humans. It can be interesting for viral infections, but in one cure," says immunologist Bart Lambrecht. Again, for healthy people: there is insufficient evidence to state that you need more than what you need. from a healthy diet. "In the 1990s we thought that selenium was a good antioxidant against cancer," says Mullie. "But that has not been proven. Just like the antibacterial effect of garlic or ginger: this is the case in a dish in a lab, but in a body? Not proven. There is a lot to be made with those "easy" solutions, but there is no proof of their effectiveness. "
 
 

 
Diets-
Miracle diets, such as the now popular ketogenic diet, are also not a good idea. “It doesn't help at all to boost your immunity,” says Patrick Mullie. “It is not a long-term solution, even if you do get results in a short time. But afterwards you get a fierce yo-yo phenomenon. Your body also needs carbohydrates, not only for your muscles but also for your brain. ” So you fall off quickly, but not permanently.
 
The same fate meets the hyped diet of British pop star Adele and Pippa Middleton, sister of British royal Kate Middleton. The sirtuin diet, “the sirtfood diet”, where you eat plant-based ingredients that stimulate fat burning, promises to help you lose weight quickly and protect you from disease. "Also not." Michaël Sels does not talk much about it.
 
Then what?
“An apple a day keeps the doctor away”, says the saying. Get enough sleep, exercise, don't smoke, avoid stress. Eat healthy. The motto has become a mantra, always the same, almost boring, but it remains irrefutable, and it certainly does now.
“Make sure you eat at least 300 grams of vegetables per day and 250 grams of fruit. Many colors, many types. Half your plate filled with vegetables, a quarter protein, a quarter carbohydrates. Three wholemeal sandwiches in the morning with toppings. And not top with a sandwich. And limit your portions. Build in veggie days. ”
 
 “I like to say it in terms of more, says Sels. “More vegetables. More fruit. We still eat far too little of it in Belgium. More whole grains. Above all, you have to be able to maintain it, because as said: improving your health and maintaining your resistance cannot be done in one day. ”
 
"So many people are still dying from obesity." It sounds like a call from Patrick Mullie. "Obesity leads to diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, economic absenteeism. There are still 3,000 soft drink vending machines in schools ... It is an interesting time to do something about it. We now see that we can take measures if we want. Use your common sense. "
 
A healthy, balanced lifestyle to maintain your immune system. For COVID-19, and other nasty illnesses.