Click photo to enlarge Dr. Komaroff  Dear Dr. K: I've seen many
product labels that claim to boost immunity. Could they really
help? Or should I be skeptical?  Dear Reader: Your immune system
does a remarkable job of protecting you from bacteria, viruses
and other microbes that can cause disease, suffering, even
death. So it seems logical to want to give your immune system a
boost. But the concept of boosting immunity actually makes
little sense scientifically.  In fact, boosting your immune
response is not necessarily a good thing. An overactive immune
response is seen in major autoimmune diseases, such as Type 1
diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. In autoimmune
diseases, the overactive immune system starts attacking the body
instead of defending it. Allergies are another example of an
immune system that's overactive. A harmless little pollen gets
into your nose, for example, and the immune system attacks the
pollen as if it's at war.  Even if it were a good thing,
attempting to boost the immune system