Mayo Clinic Health Manager

Get free personalized health guidance for you and your family.

Free

E-Newsletter

Subscribe to receive the latest updates on health topics. About our newsletters

• Housecall
• Alzheimer's caregiving
• Living with cancer

• December 11, 2009 10:06 a.m.

  I'm with you, Jennifer! As a nutritionist I'm always amazed at how quickly people will reach for bottles when the best sources of nutrients are in the supermarket. (More fun to eat, as well...:))

  - August

• December 9, 2009 12:15 a.m.

  We can avoid the flu even if there are some medicines who can protect us.

  - kathrine

• November 24, 2009 1:49 p.m.

  I agree with Safebutuseless & Dan. Anecdotal musings about delicious whole foods aside, how about some science, eh? I expected to read about foods rich in vitamin D, C, Zinc and what about Grandma's remedies of old- garlic, ginger, chili peppers, and apple cider vinegar? It appears that modern medicine cannot hold a candle to ancient wisdom.

  - Jordan

• November 16, 2009 12:50 p.m.

  Flu fighters — Can diet enhance immunity? What a worthless article, I hope that you tell your high risk patients more detailed advice than eat well and have some chocolate! Seriously, I respect that as an MD any medical advice to the general public must be a vague b/c you have not consulted anyone; but a bit of specific dietary advise would be helpful such as foods which contain vitamin D, and or help with it's absorbtion. Which we should all know due to the research done 30+ years ago by the gentleman (MD with an opinion omg!) who discovered the cause of shingles.

  - Safebutuseless

• November 8, 2009 2:37 p.m.

  Ifind it strange that we are adviced to eat "HEALTHY".Ihave looked for a product that has a lable "HEALTHY",i can not find a product like that.Mayby you meen a product that is healthy for you.

  - DIETER

• November 5, 2009 6:39 p.m.

  We eat healthy most of the time, limiting treats to one particular item on the weekend. I've read that sugar lowers your immunity 1-4 hours after eating it. Also, I use Zyrtec nasal spray at the first sign of illness and continue it. I really noticed a difference in getting sick less last winter with doing this each time. To nip sore throats in the bud, I gargle with 1 teaspoon salt to 1 cup warm water every half hour until it's gone. My granny always did this and now medical science proved her right, because salt kills bacteria and some virus germs. For coughs I think the Ricola cough losenges are great. I believe they have horehound in them, which is an old cough remedy. They don't taste real great, but it sure beats coughing. That salt water gargle can soothe and calm a throat irritated from coughing too. I've taken Guafenisin for years to help keep my lungs clear because I have a chronic illness. It's available OTC now, either as generic (much cheaper) or as Mucinex. The higher the dose, the better it works, but only if you drink lots and lots of water to thin the mucus so the med can expel it. Otherwise, it doesn't work well. I drink lots of hot black, green and herb tea, which helps me get lots of water, and clear congestion. My husband and I are proactive about our health, and using preventative measures as much as possible. Our biggest lapse is exercise, but we're starting to go on 'walk dates', and buying a ping-pong table. Maybe dance lessons too.

  - Chel

• November 5, 2009 7:59 a.m.

  I'm taking my vitamin D! It's been keeping me flu and cold free for years now. I take 5,000 IU/day and get my blood levels checked annually.

  - Laura

• November 4, 2009 2:17 p.m.

  Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study and distinguished scientist in the field of nutrition would absolutely agree with your plan to eat a whole grain/whole food plant-based diet that supplies all the nutrients for health. Supplements are not required and may prove detrimental, the testing and the jury are still in progress. Also in agreement are such distinguished medical personnel as Dr. Joel Fuhrman, Dr. John McDougall, Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn and his son Rip, Dr. Neal Barnard, Jeff Novick, Dr. Pam Popper and many others now promoting a plant-based low oil diet as the best way to stay healthy and ward off the flu as well as such nutritional transgressions as obesity, heart disease, and even cancer. You are what you eat and so is your immune system.

  - Jeannette

• November 3, 2009 3:49 p.m.

  I eat an extra serving of yogurt (plain,1%fat)for the probiotics, along with mixed berries, high in anti-oxidants(blueberries,strawberries,blackberries - I buy them mixed,frozen) and not necessarily together. I also have an extra serving of raw garlic (I know, bad breath) but if I don't get the flu, its worth it! I drink lots of water and make sure that I get my daily dose of exercising in.

  - Barbara

• November 3, 2009 3:43 p.m.

  But the original question has not been answered, just your personal note of the foods you'll eat, with no reference(s) as to the efficacy of those foods with staving off or reducing the effect of the virus on one's ability to fight off the virus' effects!

  - Dan

• November 2, 2009 11:21 a.m.

  Well I'm sure like most of the topics I read on this blog there's a happy middle ground. We all know that eating "right" and exercise is good for us and helps keep our immunity strong. But, even those of us who are actively trying for that can't have a perfect balance every day. Supplements have their place to fill in the holes, that's why they are called supplements. I think the key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle is finding the right balance.

  - Chris