The world's best immunity boosters

For centuries, people around the world have relied on home remedies to fend off colds and the flu. Now, research finds their time-honored tricks really do boost immunity

- Ann Green

Up germ fighters

the French way 

Women in France start their day with a creamy café latte. The sip, which is equal parts milk and coffee, doubles immune cells’ ability to fight off infection, found a study in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Fats in milk bind with coffee’s inflammation-fighting chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid, raising the body’s ability to absorb them and fight infection.

Rev ‘killer cells’

the Japanese way 

Light a pine-scented candle for 1 hour and Japanese research shows you’ll boost your body’s ability to fight off infection for seven days. Pine scent compounds called alpha-pinene and betapinene hike up the body’s levels of natural killer cells, which target infected cells.

Block viruses from breeding

the Icelandic way 

For more than 500 years, people in Iceland have knitted wool scarves to fend off colds. Now, a study in