As the kids find strength growing up. Might. Be books on youtube. Mood. Scientists around the world are racing to find a vaccine against cars with 19 or at least a drug that can treat the illness theres no time to lose the number of new cases keeps rising and with it the death toll. But were not entirely at the mercy of the coronavirus apart from crucial measures such as cleaning our hands and keeping our distance we also says our very own defense mechanism our immune system its job is to recognize harmful substances and germs that enter the body and fight the intruders the stronger our immune system the better it can do its job the question is can it also protect us from cope with 19. Welcome to our special here on d w news i want to johnsonville in the tabby with us a healthy immune system is always important and it might just save your life now during the pandemic but how do you keep it strong take a walk in the park eat plenty of fruits and vegetables and a moment well ask an expert but 1st this report. The human immune system. The bodys various defensive mechanisms protect us from pathogens like bacteria and viruses. Our skin. And saliva. As well as a host of immune cells contribute to a highly complex system. The world around us offers ways in which we can boost that system and in the face of corona virus researchers are seeking help from nature. For example from plants. There are indications in work from indonesia china and vietnam that substances that we already know as having antiviral effects in the case of the flu may also be effective against covert 19. For instance the african geranium which is thought to help the lungs and extract from its root the activity of the hair like structures on the lining of somebodys airways. Clears out infected mucus making pathogens less likely to gain a foothold. Its been shown in various live oratory studies that they have a fundamentally good antiviral power. There are effective against herpes and influenza viruses. So for us that makes the geranium parallel goni im one of the most important candidates for closer examination. Can also come from on high the sun provides us with vitamin d. Which is essential to our immune systems its mostly absorbed through the skin. But in parts of the world where sunlight is scarce it can be difficult to get enough. At the office that end of the temperature spectrum is cold water. The technique of night things involves letting 17 degree water run across your face repeatedly. The blood vessels 1st contract then expand allowing more blood to flow through them. This improves the blood supply to the nose the throat and the inside of the mouth enabling more defense cells to form there. So whether its cold water the burning hot sun or blooming plants our immune systems can take strength from the natural world. So nature can boost our immune system just wrong a new system keeps us healthy wallace lets find out more from an expert im joined by Alexandre Michaels hes a Research Associate in Communications Officer for the Linus Pauling institute at Oregon State University in the United States good to have you with us 1st of all your research i believe focuses on micro nutrients thats the timmons and minerals such as ion and so forth what do these substances have to do with the immune system well the immune system is a elaborate network of different biological systems that are helping to keep us free from germs from viruses and bacteria and whether its to keep them out of our bodies or or attack them with a when they invade our bodies and so the vitamins and minerals that we eat. Basically bolster that network and help us fight off things more effectively and efficiently without doing undue harm to our own bodies can we overdo it when you say the vitamins and minerals and everything that we eat can we overdo it there. Yes not not if youre taking food you know if youre just getting your vitamins and minerals from the food that you eat. Your little harm over it however youre probably at risk of not getting enough. So if youre taking supplements. Unless youre taking high doses of vitamins and minerals youre probably not overdoing it if you stay within government guidelines youre probably fine now certain vitamins act differently than others but in c. Which is where my background is has a very low level of toxicity so when you take large doses of vitamin c. Theres usually no or few negative side effects but other vitamins are different for example vitamin e. That is fat soluble and get stored in your body for long periods of time you dont you really need to take caution with those and several minerals as well ok i obviously we hear again and again is very important to strengthen your immune system best sound somewhat abstract i mean when do we actually tolka bad an immune system be an strong and how long does it last. Well immune system being strong is immune system that is able to meet the challenges that if basis that thats generally our general definition of a strong system if its capable of mounting an appropriate response now everything that we encounter in our daily lives will challenge our new system including stresses for under any sort of stress our immune system is going to suffer. So we try to minimize our stresses and maximize the foundation immune system which includes nutrition but it also includes other things. You know healthy diet exercise are also part of a vital immune system. You know but how long does a strong immune system last that just depends on from a day to day evaluation of how many stresses youre under and how well youre to maintaining or taken care of your body and also you know whats happening at a given time all right so i can just say i have a strong immune system and it stays that way i really have to to work on it so what do role does nutrition play in supporting our anyone system against covert 19 then. Thats a thats a great question and were still trying to figure that one out. We have some ideas on various components that can help but the individual parts of our nutrition framework we really dont know were still working on that because code 960 new virus and sars which came before it was not widely studied we dont exactly know which parts of the new systems or are you mean system or nutrition will be effective so we try to take a general approach anything that will in general support system and this is just a good time for people to look at the recommendations find vitamins and minerals they may be falling short on and bolster up those areas where they feel like theyre not doing as well. To michaels there from the Linus Pauling and situate at Oregon State University thank you so much for your time. Time now to answer your questions about coping 19 over to our science correspondent williams. Can cope with 1000 antibody tests differentiate between infections with sars cove 2 and other coronaviruses antibodies are highly specific proteins made by the body as part of its immune response to a pathogen and and they help it recognize and wipe out a bug if you are infected with it again within a certain amount of time so detecting the presence of antibodies in someones blood that are linked to sars cove 2 is at least in theory proof that they had covert 19 even if they did notice it but tests for antibodies ceasar scotu are of course not perfect and ones that are sensitive enough but not always quite specific enough can also give a positive result if they detect antibodies for example to coronaviruses like those that cause colds which are which are closely related to sars so so while most antibody tests usually work as advertised they do they dont always. Is it true that groups of people who are taking high trucks a clear record for other reasons are not getting covert 19. This is another of those rumors not based on unscientific studies and weve learned a couple of things about hydroxy chloroquine so far one is that it doesnt have an effect on mortality if youre already seriously ill a 2nd thing is that any benefits also appear negligible in whats called postexposure so in people who took the drug after being exposed to cope at 19 but the people who didnt yet show symptoms but what about if someone has been taking hydroxy chloroquine before exposure to cope at 19 for example to. The auto immune disease lupus so a pretty prophylactic several teams are looking into that as well and there are some large trials going on but but one initial study was unfortunately not very positive according to plenty of lupus sufferers who regularly took hydroxy chloroquine have come down with copd 19 as well so so i wouldnt hold my breath that pre exposure treatments with hydroxy chloroquine are going to keep you from getting top at 19. And you can post your questions to derek on our you tube channel and if youd like to keep up with the latest developments of the coronavirus do subscribe to our newsletter just log on to d w dot com corona and dash you slaton. Thats all for today thanks for watching fox speak for we go how do olympic athletes keep in shape during the pandemic while one japanese a limp ian has found a useful and effective solution fencer a real new yaki was forced to practice on his rooftop during a lockdown now for a proper workouts he needed to get on his bike which he was allowed to do by taking a job delivering food turns out that was a great exercise with one so many people ordering takeaways and of course so few cars on the road. For. The Society Faces a coronavirus meltdown is the crisis also and. Its focused attention on the problems of. Labor shortages. Overstretched health care. Spotty internet. Is it time for a major rethink. Injured. Next on d. W. Armstrong really walk on the moon. Isnt thing earth really flat hafter on. The government to use planes to reason us. Conspiracy theories spread like wildfire on the internet. Some people are convinced they are true. Interview the cons of small groups who shout louder than others profit from a lack of interest among reasonable people. Scientists are studying why some are so susceptible to ideas that are obviously wrong and absurd and how the Internet Company fires it all. Up and it takes a lot more energy to refute rushed into propagated in the 1st place. Conspiracy theories can provide comfort you dont like reality create another. A film about knowledge and belief trust and deception. Tomography of the goal of all starts july 1st on t. W. The corona Virus Outbreak has been a disaster in so many ways for the tragic loss of life at a blitter rated International Financial markets in one fell swoop it tore down