nutrition immunology?

Question

can u all give me wat the interesting topic should i pick from this big topic! and please give me some details! thanks

Answer 1

It sound like you should be looking at what causes allergies perhaps, or nutrition deficiency, it's common for people to have an over active immune system that sees good nutrition as the enemy. Ask a Dr.

Answer 2

Hi Xiao Ping. I recently came across an incredible research finding on the effects of antioxidants on the risk of getting the flu (influenza) and especially how they affect the severity of the infection.

Here is what the paper states: "The immune system was altered in the Se-deficient (Se is selenium) animals, as was the viral pathogen itself."

What they found was that deficiency of Selenium (which is common in humans) not only made the host more susceptible to getting a viral infection, but that once infected, the Virus itself is affected by the deficiency. And, the effect on the virus is to cause it to mutate into a more virulent (toxic) form!

The implications for this finding for the risk of the bird flu virus ever mutating and causing a world-wide epidemic is enormous.

Here is the reference, you can find it at Pubmed/Medline or the journal's website:

Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 20, No. 90005, 384S-388S (2001).
"Antioxidants and Viral Infections: Host Immune Response and Viral Pathogenicity" by Melinda A Beck, PhD

Best wishes and good luck.