If you haven’t been sick yet this cold and flu season, fortify your defenses against infection with these bits of immune-boosting advice:

> Adopt 4 healthy habits to give your immune system a boost.

> Cut out these 3 bad habits that zap your immunity.

> 8 nutrients your immune system needs + the foods you can find them in

> Should you get the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination? Get answers to 7 safety and effectiveness questions to help you decide.

> Okay, so you got the H1N1 shot. You can relax now … right?

> What about the seasonal flu shot? Do I still need to get that one, too?

> Get it right: The 6 steps to a thorough hand-washing

> What about my baby’s immunity? (What to do if you have to take your baby to the ER + one mom’s experience with her baby’s bout of H1N1)

> Your kids and H1N1: 3 key talking points

Add a good, solid night’s sleep to your cold-fighting arsenal.

In a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, research participants were paid $800 to have a cold virus sprayed directly into their noses. (Don’t you wish you’d signed up for that one?)

They also gave detailed accounts of their recent sleep patterns. Then their snoozing patterns and onset of potential cold symptoms were all carefully monitored. Those who had slept fewer than 7 hours per night before the direct shot of rhinovirus were 3 times more likely to catch a cold than those who slept 8 hours or more.

But it was how they slept that revealed more about their sniffly-sneezy-sore-throat risks. [Read more →]