You Don’t Really Want to “strengthen” Your Immune System.

The virus is spreading around. In general, when your immune system is strong, you are more able to fight off infection. So, who wouldn’t want to boost their immune system with vitamins, exercise, or any foods or supplements that might help? But the whole concept is broken in some way.

Immunologists don’t really recognize the concept of “boosting” the immune system, with one exception, which we’ll talk about in a second. But I can understand why people think that way. Many things can weaken your immune system, so of course it’s easy to assume the opposite is true.

The fact that you can weaken your immune system does not mean that you can strengthen it.

For example, if you are undernourished or under severe stress, you may be more susceptible to illness. Experts agree with this.

Here’s the only boost we know of: a vaccine can boost your body’s ability to fight a specific pathogen. However, this is not a general impetus for the entire system.

So, if your immune system can be weakened, can it be strengthened? Not really. If your immune system was stronger than usual, if it attacked more things more often, that would be a problem. “Immune hyperactivity is just as dangerous as immune deficiency,” explains the British Society for Immunology . An example of this is allergies. It’s the same with autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis.

Supplements that “boost” immunity are bullshit.

According to the trend reports cited in this 2019 article in which scientists examined information about boosting immunity in Google search results, people are taking supplements, this is the main reason people take dietary supplements is to improve the immune system. They’ve found that if you’re looking for immune boosters, you mostly get commercial and news websites advertising nutritional supplements and vitamins, and very little information on vaccines.

So I asked Kamal Patel, who considers the study of food additives on Examine.com , to share his thoughts on immunostimulatory supplements. He says, “A lot of people who insist on immune-boosting supplements and foods seem well-intentioned, but like 99% of people, they haven’t read an immunology textbook and tend to overestimate their knowledge.”

The immune system is made up of many parts and interconnected systems, and Patel notes that drugs that affect the immune system often have serious side effects, including death. If a supplement can affect your immune system – and most of them don’t, despite their claims – it can cause serious side effects as well.

“Immunology is extremely difficult!” he emailed me. “It’s not like a 90s video game where you just keep picking up steam to fill your hearts to the fullest.”

So while we’re all worried about our immune system these days, supplements are not what you need. If something harmless, like making a glass of water with lemon , makes you feel better, I won’t stop you. Maybe it’s a ritual that calms you down and makes you feel like you’re taking care of yourself. It’s great if you’re honest with yourself.

But if your rituals make you nervous when you run out of lemons, or if you are worried that you are taking the wrong vitamins, stop. Take a deep breath. Read the World Health Organization’s tips for protecting yourself . This will sound familiar: hand washing is top of the list. Do what you can control instead of thinking of your immune system as a video game that you are trying to win.