Dr Anna Brooks

This episode is about one of the most significant aspects of health and wellness that’s often overlooked. Immunity. 

Dr Anna Brooks is a top immunologist and researcher, and she takes us on a deep dive into myths, truths, theories and the latest understanding when it comes to viruses, immunity, Covid and resilience. This includes:

-How her Keto diet helps her allergies

-Honing in on “trigger” foods to find out what makes you react, and how it’s not just about avoiding them

-What’s a virus, how it makes us sick, and how cells in the body respond to it

-Why some people catch a virus and others don’t - including why kids are often more resilient

-How viruses you catch as a kid can stay latent in your system forever, and how that can impact you later on

-What natural immunity is, and how vaccinations play into it

-How you can build your immunity (spoiler: diet is key)

-The role of the microbiome, and what we know about making it stronger

-Antibiotics - when you should and shouldn’t use them (including Anna’s recommendation for the best lozenges)

-How fasting impacts immunity

-Anna’s experience taking probiotics and the impact on her microbiome

-Supplements - when to take them for the biggest impact

-Hot and cold therapy

-Why this year’s flu season was so bad, and why next year might be another rough one

-Sleep and immunity

-Covid - how it’s different to the flu, and the surprising time it takes for our body to recover fully

-Why fitness doesn’t necessarily translate to immunity

-Long Covid - why people are getting it

-The importance of looking after yourself when you’re sick

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RESOURCES: 

See more from Anna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drannanz?lang=en 

Contribute to Anna’s Long Covid crowdfunding campaign: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/giving/donate/a-z-list-of-funds/long-covid-research-project.html