'Keep off dieting' to avoid flu
Dieting at this time of year could impair your body's ability to fight the flu virus, a study warns. US researchers found mice who were put on a calorie-controlled
diet found it harder to tackle the infection than those on a normal
diet. The findings, published in the Journal of Nutrition, suggest
that contrary to the old adage "starve a fever", those with a
temperature should eat well. Flu cases in England and Wales are currently approaching a nine-year high.
Killer cells need food The team at Michigan State University found even though the mice
on the lower calorie diet received adequate amounts of vitamins and
minerals, their bodies were still not able to produce the amount of
killer cells needed to fight an infection. As well as being more likely to die from the virus, the mice - which
were consuming around 40% of the calories given to their counterparts
on a normal diet - took longer to recover, lost more weight and
displayed other symptoms of poor health. "Our research shows that having a body ready to fight a virus
will lead to a faster recovery and less-severe effects than if it is
calorically restricted," said study author Professor Elizabeth Gardner. Even those who have received the flu vaccine should steer clear of dieting until the warmer months arrive. "If the strain of flu a person is infected with is different
from the strain included in the flu vaccination, then your body sees
this as a primary infection and must produce the antibodies to fight it
off," Professor Gardner said. The study, the team added, should not be seen as a carte
blanche to avoid dieting all year, but to reserve weight control to the
eight months of the year when flu is not so virulent. The latest flu data from England and Wales has shown cases are
up 73% on last year; experts believe the unusually cold weather may
have contributed to the surge. Professor John Oxford, an influenza expert at Queen Mary's
School of Medicine and Dentistry, said "common sense should prevail at
this time of year". "There are a lot of viruses and while it might have been better
to avoid those extra helpings of Christmas pudding in the first place,
now is not the time to be thinking about diets."
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