"Ah, it's only a cold, your colleague will say, as you sit at your desk with a handkerchief to your nose." Only a cold it may be, but you can be sure that everyone in the office will keep well away from you so that they don't catch the cold from you. If only we could all avoid those running noses and tickly throats! Unfortunately, all of us (including doctors) are susceptible, and in fact there is very little that we can do to avoid catching a cold.

Most coughs and colds are due to a tiny germ called the Rhinovirus; a cold starts when this virus lodges in the nose and throat. When it does enter the body, the body's own defense mechanisms may well deal with the invader before it can get a hold, and the person may never even know that the germ had been there. If however the body's defenses are not up to scratch, the intruder becomes well established, spawns a family of a few million descendants at the back of your throat - and soon you are down with all the uncomfortable symptoms of a cold.

The basic truth, then, is that the first line of defense against the cold germ is your own state of health. Antibodies (unlike antibiotics) cannot be bought in bottles from the pharmacy - they have to be produced by the body only. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh air and exercise - it is these that build up the body's resistance.

For many years, Vitamin C was thought to ward off colds - but the evidence for this is still controversial. Anyway, a few extra bananas, oranges, mangoes and apples will give your body extra Vitamin C - so, until the controversy is settled, why not help yourself to the pleasures of fresh fruit?



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