Proper Nutrition is the Best Defence

For almost every ailment or illness, there is a drug available to supposedly fight back. However, despite colds and flu coming into season again, it isn't necessarily the best plan to immediately take medicine to protect your self or reduce the symptoms if you already have flu.

Leading nutrition experts are recommending that a healthy and balanced diet goes a very long way to keeping the immune system in peak condition so it can naturally protect the body from attack, without the need of drugs.

Harvard Medical School, director of nutrition, George L. Blackburn , M.D., PhD stated that "Nutrition plays an important part in maintaining immune function," and that "Insufficiency in one or more essential nutrients may prevent the immune system from functioning at its peak."

David Katz, M.D., M.P.H,  director of Yale Prevention Research Center, New Haven in Connecticut said "There's no question the immune system fundamentally is influenced by overall health -- and a balanced diet is key," adding that "Not only are essential nutrients critical for the production and maintenance of key germ-fighting cells in the immune system, but a balanced diet also has a strong effect on vascular function, and the immune system is dependent on blood flow."

To provide a more specific recommendation about what to eat, research scientist Professor Charles Stephensen, from the University of California's Western Human Nutrition Research Center suggested that you should "Cover two-thirds of your plate with vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and beans, and one-third with lean protein."

Most experts also agree that a multivitamin is advisable to take even if you only have a minimal deficiency in particular nutrients, especially vitamins A, B vitamins, C, E, iron, zinc or selenium. Take into account your age or gender when selecting a multivitamin so that you get one that has been produced for you.