Last week, Britain’s health chiefs asked the public ‘to avoid unnecessary illness’ in order to avoid placing even more pressure on the NHS. No, the advice wasn’t exactly inspiring. That said, with winter bugs spreading fast, there is a growing sense that we should at least try — and the best place to start is of course with good immune health. Not always simple, because our immune system is actually a collection of components that help protect and fight against disease: from our white blood cells, which produce antibodies, to the gut microbiome, skin, bone marrow — all determine whether we get ill, and how badly.
Like all biological systems, it weakens as we age. But scientists are also exploring the concept of ‘immune age’ which can be affected by lifestyle. “Your immune age is not the same as your chronological age,” says Dr Jenna Macciochi, senior lecturer at the University of Sussex and author of Immunity: The Science of Staying Well. “So a very active 80-year-old could have an immune age that’s much younger than that of a sedentary 30-something.”
