Can 'boosting' your immune system protect you?

While over-the-counter medicines provide us with a so-called ‘relief’ by suppressing our fever, runny nose and other ‘symptoms’, these are in fact necessary for the body to get well. The symptoms we want to be stopped are not our enemy:

• The mucus is helping flush out the pathogen.
• The fever(heat) makes the body impalpable for it to survive and replicate.
• The body pain is actually the inflammatory chemicals in your veins, guiding the immune cells like an air traffic controller.
• The brain is provided with a signal to slow down and let the body recover.

Common knowledge tells us that Vitamin C boosts our system's ability to fight the common cold, but extensive studies debunked this as well. 

Vitamins aren’t really beneficial for our bodies unless we are deficient in them. Only Vitamin D is beneficial to be taken as a supplement form if we are not able to get it from the sun due to some reason.

• Antioxidant pills do kill bacteria and viruses but also damage healthy cells, leading to wearing out of the immune system and even cancer. No study so far has given compelling results in favor of antioxidants boosting the immune system or treating viral infections.
• Stuff with live microorganisms like probiotics and kombucha is doing the rounds in the news with claims of curing the new virus, cancer, and AIDS. One study did show that probiotics reduce upper-respiratory-tract infections, but more evidence is needed.
• Claims of masturbation improving our immunity or protecting us from the new virus are untrue.
  

Basic lifestyle adjustments to suit the ongoing pandemic: Social distancing, covering your face with a mask, and staying at home at all times, will work.

The time-tested approaches to improving our well being, like getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, not taking stress and eating a balanced diet will also work.