1. Help Your Body Help You
If the devil finds work for idle hands, he may do the same for an idle immune system. Here's how to keep yours working hard.
Some experts theorize that your body's defenses can get "bored" without germs to battle (blame: antibiotic overuse and our modern craze for cleanliness). As such, they begin overreacting to harmless substances such as ragweed, says Estelle Levetin, Ph.D., a professor and the chair of biological science at The University of Tulsa in Oklahoma. To stop that from happening, you've got to challenge your immune response, starting in a surprising place—your belly.
Mounting evidence suggests that a thriving microbiome—that ecosystem of good and bad bacteria in our intestines—is the key to a robust immune system. It can get thrown off balance by things beyond your control (like your DNA and how many antibiotics you took as a kid), as well as by the choices you make today, says microbiologist Martin Blaser, M.D., director of NYU Langone Medical Center's Human Microbiome Program. Too much sugar, stress, and booze can all dial back the number of positive bacteria in your tum.
Now, you can't go back and trash the scripts from your pediatrician, but you can protect the good germs you have left. For starters, ask if the pills your M.D. is offering are really needed (some 50 percent of antibiotics can't even treat the diagnosed illness). Then nourish your friendly gut bacteria; fiber-rich foods like beans, avocado, and brussels sprouts are good picks, per the journal Nutrients.