Are Girl Scout Cookies Safe to Eat Amidst Heavy Metal Lawsuit?
Girl Scout cookie season is here — if you drive around your neighborhood, you'll likely spot groups of kids in uniforms, ready to sell boxes of cookies. The Girl Scouts of America organization, founded in 1912, has evolved but remains focused on empowering youth to take risks and build agency. A key part of this mission is its entrepreneurial program, which teaches kids important life skills as they sell treats like Samoas and Thin Mints to eager customers. However, in recent weeks these beloved baked goods have faced controversy with claims of toxic ingredients. And just a few days ago, those concerns escalated to a serious lawsuit.
Here's what we know: On March 10, 2025, Amy Mayo, a woman from New York, filed a federal lawsuit against the Girl Scouts of America organization, along with cookie manufacturers Ferrero U.S.A. and Interbake Foods. She claims they are selling cookies containing heavy metals and herbicides.
The lawsuit draws its fuel from a study funded by Moms Across America and GMO Science, which found that 100 percent of the cookies tested contained traces of aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. Additionally, the findings show that 13 cookie flavors had high levels of the herbicide glyphosate.
It's important to note that this study hasn't been peer-reviewed or published in a scientific journal and relies on a small sample size. So the Kitchn spoke with Wade Syers, a food safety specialist at Michigan State University, to get a clearer understanding of whether there's really cause for concern. More importantly, we wanted to know if people should think twice before buying Girl Scout cookies.
Syers emphasizes that the claim of Girl Scout cookies being contaminated with heavy metals and herbicides is a serious one. 'Exposure to lead could cause lowered IQ, nervous system damage, slowed growth, hearing problems, and other issues,' he says. However, he notes that the likelihood of these symptoms would depend on the specific contaminant, how much is present, and how long someone is exposed.
When asked if he'd buy a box of Thin Mints or Samoas, Syers said, 'At this point, I'm not too concerned.' With years of experience in food safety, he explains, 'There has not been a recall issued, and there are safety mechanisms in place that check for dangerous levels of contaminants. For instance, the FDA has a pesticide residue monitoring program that ensures many foods do not exceed limits.'Last month, when reports surfaced about the possibility of the cookies being tainted with toxic materials, the Girl Scouts of America responded in a press release, saying, 'The health and safety of Girl Scouts and cookie customers is our top priority. Rest assured: Girl Scout Cookies are safe to consume.' The organization also pointed out that its iconic treats are made with ingredients that meet food safety standards set by the FDA and other relevant authorities.
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12 hours ago
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A 19-Year-Old Chemist Turned a Perfume Ingredient Into a Lifesaving Drug
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Here's what you'll learn when you read this story: 19-year-old Adam Kovalčík has created a stronger—and much cheaper—version of a powerful emerging medication known as galidesivir. Instead of starting out with the sugar, which is normally used in the production of this drug, he rebuilt the formula with a base molecule of corn alcohol. This change increases efficiency and cuts costs by reducing production steps and using inexpensive materials. We live in the aftermath of a global pandemic. Leftover COVID-19 trauma and world news updates reporting outbreaks of Zika or Ebola have made us apprehensive about viruses, and most of us have been vigilant about being vaccinated and re-vaccinated. But what about when preventative measures aren't enough? What happens if a virus invades us before we can get to a vaccine? Adam Kovalčík is only 19, but the high school senior at Gymnázium Nové Zámky in Slovakia he has created something beyond what anyone would expect of someone his age. He has managed to turn an alcohol derived from corncobs and husks into galidesivir, an antiviral drug that targets RNA viruses like Zika and Ebola. Generating the drug this way, in his words, 'could potentially save tens of thousands of lives.' Kovalčík recently won the $100,000 Genrge D. Yancopoulos Innovator Award at the 2025 Regeneration International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Galidesivir is the human-synthesized version of adenosine, which itself is a nucleoside—the components of nuclei acids. Among other biochemical functions, they are involved in storing and transferring genetic information. Adenosine is also an inhibitor of the enzyme RNA polymerase, which interferes with the function of certain enzymes in RNA viruses. The adenosine produced by our our bodies can inhibit RNA viruses (which clone their genomes in order to keep producing infinite copies of themselves), but it usually needs a boost when faced with potentially fatal pathogens like Ebola and Zika. This is where galidesivir comes in. Though not yet approved by the FDA, in vitro and animal tests have shown that galidesivir increases survival rates and has few side effects, which is why it is also being considered for treating COVID-19. It binds to the molecules that viruses use to clone themselves, making that function no longer accessible to the virus. The problem with galidesivir is that it costs $75 per gram (0.035 ounce) to produce, making the cost of a future prescription almost unfathomable, especially considering the state of healthcare. Kovalčík's process could bring that cost down to $12.50 per gram. Why is galidesivir so expensive? There is an extra step in the production of the most powerful form of this drug that ultimately affects the cost. When drugs are being developed, unwanted materials—such as variants of that drug—often end up in the first batch. These variants, or stereoisomers, have the same molecular formula as the finished drug, but their atoms form molecules in different arrangements. Kovalčík wanted to synthesize cis-OH galidesivir because it is 20 times stronger than its stereoisomer trans-OH galidesivir, so the trans version needs to be separated out to isolate the cis version. Separation involves extras steps that take extra time and cost more. Kovalčík used his experience working on perfumes in a chemistry lab to figure out how to synthesize galidesivir in a different way. He needed a starter molecule—typically, sugar is used for galidesivir, but sugar would just repeat the existing process, which was not efficient enough. Perfume taught Kovalčík that some scent compounds used furfural alcohol (corn alcohol) as a starter molecule, so he rebuilt the drug using it as the replacement starter molecule and was able to reduce the production steps from 15 to 10. Using corn alcohol also lowered the cost. This production method is not restricted to galidevisir—it could create other antivirals. Kovalčík used computer models to design new molecules that were supposed to operate in the same way as galidesivir, and one molecule he came up with (ADK-98) had the potential to be even more effective. The furfural alcohol distilled from corn would be the base for these future drugs. Kovalčík plans to continue refining his research and development process for this and other potential antivirals in collaboration with the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava. And to think, this all started with a realization that came from molecules in perfume. Think about that with your next spritz of Dior Homme or Chanel No. 5. You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life? Solve the daily Crossword
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15 hours ago
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Healthcare costs can make or break your retirement
The best laid plans for retirement can be totally upended by an unexpected medical emergency, especially if you don't have a reserve of savings to draw from. On this episode of Decoding Retirement, host Robert "Bob" Powell speaks with Sudipto Banerjee, global retirement strategist at T. Rowe Price, about what you can do to factor healthcare costs into your retirement planning. Sudipto discusses maximizing tax efficiency with Health Savings Accounts, whether you should consider a Medigap policy, and whether de-risking some of your investments as you enter retirement may be the right Finance's Decoding Retirement is hosted by Robert Powell. Find more episodes of Decoding Retirement at When it comes to planning, you know, if you're close to retirement and you're really thinking about planning, what you're probably really thinking in your mind is your cash flow that, you know, how much once I retire, you know, how much income I have coming in and how much spending, you know, I outflow do I have, right? How much will you need to pay for healthcare in retirement? Well, a number of institutions have published estimates over the past two decades plus that have lately frightened you into a state of fear and maybe even inertia. Consider the Employee Benefit Research Institute has shown that a 65-year-old couple needs $350,000 to have a 90% chance of covering all healthcare expenses in retirement, and that doesn't include long-term in the world will you pay for all that healthcare? Well, here to help me decode all that is Suduo Banerjee. He is a global retirement strategist at TO Price. Sudoko, welcome. Thank you. Thank you forhaving me. It's a pleasure. Uh, we're old friends, and I, I know the tale well, but I, I want to start here with the EBR numbers, which is a research institution, a nonpartisan one I should add that you once worked at, where we showed, and you showed perhaps maybe Paul Fronston and others showed that a 65 year old couple needs $350,000 to pay for healthcare and retirement andFor someone who might be listening, maybe they're in their 50s or 60s or so, that's a big number and thinking, I don't even have that in my, I maybe I have that in my 401k in my IRA, but what am I gonna use for living expenses? Yeah, yeah, I mean, um, so, you know, my, my first point there would be not to really focus on that number, that one single number that you mentioned where $350,000. Um, but really to understand that, you know, it's one way of looking at healthcare costs. It's basically, it's what a couple will spend over 30 years, right? It's just the sum of, of that, butwhen it comes to planning, you know, if you're close to retirement and you're really thinking about planning, what you're probably really thinking in your mind is your cash flow, that, you know, how much once I retire, you know, how much income I have coming in and how much spending, you know, I outflow do I have, right? Um, and for that, of course, you know, you need to figure out your income side and then you are looking at your spending side and right there there's one big element which is healthcare, right?So I think that's why people should focus on that, you know, doing the cash flow analysis, and which means asking how much am I going to spend on healthcare on an annual basis, right? And then you know the, all the other elements that you know, housing, you know, food, etc. right?And then how that matches up with how much income are you expecting, whether a mismatch or not, then go from there, right? But to focus on that one single number, uh, I think it does not help as much with planning because, you know,Healthcare is not something that you retire, you know, a day, then you got a check of $250,000 to someone and healthcare is taken care of. It doesn't work like know, it's an ongoing process. Every year you have to make decisions. So I would say that focus on that cash flow and the annual numbers. So we have done a lot of research as you mentioned, where we provide you know a lot of different numbers but looking from that annual, you know, uh, point of view, um, so I would say, you know, maybe start there. Yeah, I mean, this is just rough back of the napkin. I'm not going to do a present value of that per se, but if I take a look at, let's call it $300,000 for a couple aged 65/30 years, I'm looking at what, uh, what is that, uh, maybe $10,000 per a couple or $5000 per person over the course of 30 years, which seems like a much more manageable expense given that you might have cash flow and you might have assets to pay for this, and you might have Social Security benefits to pay for this. I know we're gonna dive deeper into but before we do so, I, I wanna talk a little bit about, uh, Medicare Advantage versus, uh, Medi gap, uh, uh, traditional Medicare, and, uh, what you, your, your research has shown around what might be a better way to manage healthcare costs as you think about removing the risk that you might face, or the, the unplanned for costs, let's say. Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's, it's a, it's a really important decision. I think, you know, when it comes to healthcare and retirement, that's the choice of the plan. I mean, exactly what plan you choose, whether you go with traditional Medicare, whether you go the Medicare Advantage or you add a Medi gap. I think that's a really important decision, so people should pay a lot of attention to that. Uh, but particularly when it comes to the, the choice of whether you uh want to add a Medicare policy, you know, with your traditional Medicare or not.I think uh there's two questions really to answer here. So the first one is, can you afford it? Right? Because as you might have seen from the research that we have published and others have done similar work that, you know, Medi gap on average it costs more, you know, annually maybe around $2000 so there is a question of affordability, right? Can you afford that additional, you know, $2000 or so? If you can, that's great, right? Uh, so that then the next question then becomes is basically, why are you, um, what do you want Mia?Basically, right. So usually the, the reason that people want to add Medi gap, you know, to their coverage is to limit their out of pocket expenses, right? Because with traditional Medicare, you have the deductibles, you have the co-insurance and all that. Once you add Medi-gap to that, you know, you my out of pocket expenses, you know, are, are, you know, they, they will be checked. But when we did the research, when we look at the numbers, so on average, people who have Medi gap, you know, they are spending, their out of pocket spending isYou know, similar to people who have other types of coverage, it's not less. Uh, it's only at the extreme end where you see that people who have Mediga, you know, they have uh lower numbers, um, and the reason for that is basically people who have Mediap, they just use more because they know they have that protection, they just use more healthcare. So when people are thinking about this, I just want to make sure that they understand that the expectation, if they have the expectation that, you know, I will have lower out of pocket expenses, that might not happen because what we see is people just end up using more healthcare. Yeah, I, I, I should mention too that this is almost an irreversible decision. If you decide to go with Medicare Advantage when you sign up for Medicare, and you should become unhealthy over the course of retirement, trying to switch from Medicare Advantage to a um original Medicare with a Mediga policy is probably virtually impossible. So you need to think about the 5, 1015 years into your retirement and make that decision not based on today, but perhaps on what the future may hold andAnd though you may pay more for Mediga now in the present, uh, maybe you'll pay less over the course of your retirement for healthcare because you won't be exposed to those, uh, large out of pocket costs that you might face with the Medicare Advantage plan, for instance, should you become unhealthy. You're right, and yeah, it's a personal decision. People know they, they have their own medical histories and all that. So based on that, you need to make a decision, but you're absolutely right, yeah, you have to be aware of that, you know, the down the line, you, it might be an irreversible decision, yeah. Um, there's another, uh, sort of healthcare decision that people need to think about, but maybe in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, which is if they have an HSA available to them, uh, in their employer through a high deductible health plan, uh, they have an opportunity to take advantage of a triple tax-free account that in some ways offers more advantages than, say, a 401k. yeah, what do they need to know?Yeah, I mean, I don't know that, you know, if all your, you know, listeners are aware ofUh, the, the triple tax advantage of HSA assuming they are, um, it is really unique because there is no other, uh, place where you, that the money is basically virtually never taxed, you know, uh, so the contributions are not taxed, the growth is not taxed, and the distributions, of course, they have to be like eligible, you know, for healthcare purposes, so then they're not taxed either. Um, so when it comes to HSAs in, I think, to use, um, how to maximize the value of HSA, I think there is a, a theoretical answer and there is sort of a practical answer to it. So the theoretical answer is that I would say yes, maximize your HSC contributions, right? So there is acontribution limit and, and would you do that? So, would you, would you do that before your your pre-tax 401k like with in terms of sequencing your contribution, would it be?Oh no, the, the 41K comes first because you know with the 401k if you have match, right, that's an instant like you know, whatever, uh whatever per your employer is matching, that's an instant return on your on your contributions, right? So that comes first, but once you sort of, you know, maximize your 401k match and all, all that, right, um, at that point, it might make sense to, you know, put all your money up to the contribution limits in your there are caveats to that. So, uh, the, the, so one is that, you know,The the value of HSA is really, you know, if you keep it invested over the long term, right? So then the let the money grow and then you take the money out in retirement, right? So then you get all the tax advantages, right? Uh, but if you're putting in the money in HSA and taking the money out whenever you need, you know, for healthcare purposes, then you are not using it correctly. And so in that case, you know, you might be better off putting the money in somewhere else, right?Um,So I, so if you know, the other part is you mentioned that high deductibles, so HSS are attached with high deductible plans. So to keep the money invested, they have to meet those high deductibles, right, which might not be, you know, possible for everyone, right? So for the, the practical answer to me seems like, you know, yes, put money to your, into your HSA as much as you can, but try to keep it that if you need, you know, money for healthcare purposes, you try to get the money from somewhere else. So then whatever money you are keeping in your HSA you're actually taking the advantage of the growth and the tax advantage as well. Uh, so, we have to take a short break, but when we come back, I, I want to talk about long term care, which I mentioned at the start of the program, but it's a really important topic that people worry about, so don't go away. Welcome back to Decoding Retirement. I'm speaking with Suddu Bill Banerjee. He is the global retirement strategist at T Rowe Price. Suddu though, I said that we were going to talk about long-term care costs, but I, the first thing I want to talk about is since we were just talking about investing your HSA, I, I want to talk a little bit about the research has traditionally shown that you should allocate your assets based on your age, that you would take 100 minus your age, and that would be the percent allocations that you would split between stocks and bonds, but you have a contrary point of view? Uh, not contrary, so we actually just published some new research, um, uh, just, you know, this week, and it's, uh, it's using data from our, you know, 401k recordkeeping business and we worked with some academics from MIT and Stanford, butThe, the, the key, the, the interesting finding was that so we try to estimate their preferences, like, you know, their equity allocation preferences and how that changes with age, and we also track their actual, you know, how they manage their allocations. So when we looked at preferences, so at younger ages, you know, the preferences are pretty similar, like, you know, it's pretty homogeneous for they all want to be highly invested in equities, which makes sense, you know, people have very little money, they want to grow their portfolio. They all want to be highly invested in equities. But when we look at the older, you know, groups, 50 and above, we see there is a lot more heterogeneity in their allocation preferences. So some people don't want equities at all. Some people want to be, you know, fully invested in equities, and there are a lot of people, you know, in middle, you know, some most people are in that 60 to 80% range in that age group. Uh, so, so that tells us that, you know, there is, there needs to be more personalized solutions, you know, as people get closer to when we track what they're actually doing with their money in their 401k, the interesting finding was that, you know, as people get older, they are more actively making changes to their, uh, uh, to a 401k, which makes sense, right? But the more interesting part was that the older they're getting, we see more and more of them making their their portfolios more aggressive, so they have a higher equity allocation. They're moving towards a higher equity so, so that, that's a very interesting, um, and we did not really dive into the reason why people are, you know, uh choosing higher equity allocation at older ages. We have some theories, like, you know, it could be that just trying to catch up, they're, you know, lagging behind. There are also some research which suggests that as people get older, they are they gain more investing knowledge, their risk preferences, you know, they might be more tolerant of risk and things like that, but that's, you know, for our future research, but this is what we found that, you know, people at older ages, basically there's a lot of, you know, variation. So that's our point. The point trying to make is that more personalized solutions probably make sense at that age. Yeah, I mean, it sounds like the actual advice in this case would be to at least not do this willy-nilly arbitrarily, but to know why you're becoming more aggressive with your asset allocation and, and not just sort of, uh, you know, flip a coin and say, I'm going to invest more in whatever international equities this day because my neighbor has, or whatever the case may right, so I promise we would talk about long-term care, um, which is the, it's the one thing that many people worry about, right? They, they, they think that they will face some sort of tragedy at some point and they'll end up in a nursing home. They don't know how they'll pay for it. They don't know whether they should buy a long-term care insurance policy. They don't know the degree to which they could self-fund their home equity is a break class option. They talk about qualifying for Medicaid to pay for long-term care, but your research seems to suggest that it's a very idiosyncratic risk that, in the main, not that many people will need long term care. So, but to me, I don't know if I'm going to be in the 3% or the 97%, right? Yeah, so it's, it's, it's a tough decision, honestly, because what, this is a classic example of what we call tail risk that, you know, for most people, if you look at the average, you know, people don't spend anything on long term care out of pocket, right? Um, but a very small percentage, you know, uh, will spend a large amount, right? And this is sort of a classic case where, you know, you, you would think that, you know, it' insurance, right? It's, it's, it's a uh situation to be addressed by insurance because uh it's a tail risk, but as you know very well that the long term care, you know, insurance market has not, um, you know, um uh perform or function, you know, very well over the years, you know, they're having a lot of problems and the least of which is that the, the policies are very expensive so people, you know, they don't want to you know, spending so much on, on these policies and never needing the care, so that's the uncertainty of it. Um, in terms of how to think about, you know, whether you insure, you get insurance, whether you sell fund, I so, so for some people, it's an easy decision like if it's you lower end of the, you know, income spectrum or so that most of you don't have, you know, a lot of liquid assets. Most of your income is going from Social Security, you go with Medicaid, right? You're on the opposite end with the higher end, you're probably able to, you know, self-fund yourself. It's people in the middle, uh, who you really have to think about it, whether they want to protect their assets, uh, from, you know, um, uh, Medicaid or I think it's, it's a tough decision. There's no like rule what they should do, but I think we can provide some guidelines as to if you are thinking about, you know, getting, uh, long term care insurance, if you're seriously thinking about long term care insurance, what things you should have in mind. So, uh, so my colleagues, you know, uh, at Trice, they have done an excellent job. They have produced a very good guide on long term care you know, if your listeners are interested, I would highly doubt it, um, towards that. But some of the key takeaways want is when is the right period to get a long-term care insurance, um, because the, the trick is you don't want to be too late when, you know, you have health issues crop up and your premiums will really go up and you don't want to get it too early when you are spending your premium in your, uh, spending on premiums for a long I think somewhere between 55 and 65 is, you know, um, a good uh period to consider long term care insurance. And then the other one is really to figure out, you know, what's your living situation going to be if you know that, you know, if you think that, you know, I'm going to be at home and then I'm going to move into a continuing care, right? So then it's easier to get the type of insurance that you want because there are some umbrella policies which would cover, you know, almost any living arrangement, and those are more you have more targeted, you know, if you have figured out your living situation and you get a more targeted policy, then your cost might be lower. So there are all these different things and there are, you know, benefit limits and all that. So keep all that in mind, to do your research, basically. Yeah. I want to save time to talk about your years in college as a Buckeye sup though, but, but first, I, I want to double back on a topic that we begin with, with in terms of paying for health care expenses over the course of retirement. In your research, correct me if I'm wrong, you've shown that for costs, your Medicare Part B, your Medicare Advantage, your Part D, uh, premiums, whatever those may be, that you would pay for those perhaps out of cash flow as you go through retirement, but for other expenses out of pocket deductibles, copays, etc. that you might use a different bucket of money. Is that fair to say? Yeah, yeah,exactly. So the way, I mean, I mean, we talk about it is, you know, think of premiums and you're out of pocket as two separate elements. So premiums, the reason is that premiums are basically, you know, they're predictable, they're face. Even the year to year changes are minimal. So you have a very good idea how much you are going to need for your health insurance premiums, right? So you can basically build that into your cash flow, your into your income flow, right? Uh, the, the, the more trickier part is the out of pocket expenses where you might not know exactly how you know, something might happen, you know, in some years. So the idea is that you keep sort of a cash reserve for that and we have shared numbers, you know, based on your age and whatever, uh, how much you might expect. So you keep, you know, whatever you're comfortable with $5000 10,000 dollars, you keep that as a reserve. You spend that at the end of the year, you fill that up, you know, again, and start the new year. So that's, that's how we think about it, yeah. Yeah, I should remind our listeners that they can go to the T. Rowe Price website where you have at least 3 if not more research papers that sort of hand walk people how to uh approach this paying for healthcare in retirement. So, and they're, they're quite good that we can only do a sort of a uh a shallow dive here today, I said I wanted to talk about your college years. You, uh, you wrote plays, you directed plays in college as a Buckeye, and I'm curious, what, uh, parallels do you see between maybe writing and directing plays and, you know, you're sort of your role today now as a retirement, uh, strategist. Um, that's, that's a, you know, a difficult connection, but, um, I, I gave up on that dream a long time ago because I just realized it's, it's really hard, uh, to make a career, you know, in, in creative arts, um, but I, I do see one connection, which is really writing, uh, because I, I like to write, and what that has stayed with me over the years andUh, I really, so I value the, the, the skill of writing now more and more because when I'm writing about, you know, all the research papers or anything like that, I think you get a clarity of thought when you are writing in, in that way, I sort of envy you know, journalists like you who get to write on a more daily basis. Um, but, uh, but I think that, that has stayed with me and that has helped me because I still like to, you know, spend some time, you know, it doesn't happen every day, but write some of these thoughts, uh, because that really helps me even think about the research itself, yeah. Yeah, I, I forget exactly whose quote this is, but uh they said something to this effect that writing is easy. I just wait till beads of blood form on my forehead and then the words spill though, I'm afraid we've run out of time. 23 minutes goes by in the blink of an eye, but thank you ever so much for talking with us and sharing your knowledge and wisdom. Uh, we'll have you back on a future episode to, to talk about things we didn't get to today. So thank you. Yeah, absolutely. And thank you for having me. It was an absolute pleasure, um, and, you know, look forward to staying in touch. Thank you. So that wraps up this episode of Decoding Retirement. We hope we provided you with some actionable advice to help you plan for or live in retirement. If you have questions about money or retirement, you can email me at YF podcast@ and I'll answer your questions in a future episode. And lastly, remember you can listen and subscribe to Decoding Retirement wherever you find your favorite podcasts. This content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services. Are you ready to master the markets and dare I say, become a better leader in the process? Well, Yahoo Finance has you covered with our new full suite of original podcast content, whetherIf you're a seasoned investor, but you're just starting your financial journey, we offer invaluable market insights and strategies to help boost your portfolio, build your wealth, and make you a successful investor. Join us on Yahoo the Yahoo Finance app, or wherever you get your podcasts.
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18 hours ago
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8 Surprising Ways to Strengthen Your Immune System Naturally, According to Doctors
"Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." We live in a time in which we have a vaccine, medication or other treatment strategy for almost any illness. Still, keeping your immune system (your body's natural defenses against illnesses and invaders) in tip-top shape will help you avoid catching a virus here or an infection there. And the good news is that there are plenty of super simple ways to boost your immune system naturally. Meet the experts: Julia Blank, M.D., family medicine physician in Pacific Palisades, CA; Jessica Cording, M.S., R.D., a dietitian and health coach; Beth Warren, R.D., founder of Nourished by Beth. How the immune system works Your immune system is actually made up of 'multiple layers of defense,' said Julia Blank, M.D., family medicine physician in Pacific Palisades, CA. This includes physical barriers like your skin, cilia (tiny, hair-like structures) that line your airways, and specialized cells that recognize and attack foreign substances like viruses and bacteria, she explained. 'Some of these immune cells are nonspecific and destroy anything that appears foreign. Other cells produce antibodies that recognize and target protein markers (called antigens) on the surface of germs,' Dr. Blank added. Your immune system also has the ability to recognize pathogens you've come into contact with before and mount a quick response. 'This is why we don't usually get sick after being exposed to a germ we've already encountered and fought off in the past,' Dr. Blank said. How to boost your immune system naturally 'Maintaining a healthy immune system requires that you take good care of your body,' Dr. Blank said. Indeed, these simple strategies will help strengthen your immune system, plus boost your overall wellness. 1. Sip alcohol in moderation. 'High alcohol intake has been shown to suppress immune function,' said Jessica Cording, M.S., R.D., a dietitian and health coach. Plus, booze 'can be dehydrating, and hydration is really important for protecting yourself from illness.' When you're dehydrated, your cells aren't able to function at their optimal level—and that can open up the door for you to get sick, Cording explained. If you don't want to cut out booze completely, sip in moderation. That means having up to one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2. Curb your stress levels. Stress seems harmless enough once you get over whatever it is you're anxious about, but chronic stress can 'compromise or suppress the immune system and make us more vulnerable to infection,' Dr. Blank said. Consistently high levels of stress causes a release of the hormone cortisol, which can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system, per the Cleveland Clinic. Chronic stress may also interfere with the infection-fighting ability of your white blood cells, per a review in the Annals of Medicine & Surgery, making you more susceptible to contracting illnesses. Daily practices like mindfulness meditation, journaling, or just going for a walk outside can help reduce stress. 3. Enjoy plenty of fruits and vegetables. Putting a rainbow of fruits and vegetables on your plate can do your immune system a solid, said Beth Warren, R.D., founder of Nourished by Beth. 'Fruits and veggies help arm your body with antioxidants it needs to fight oxidative stress, which includes contracting a sickness, in your body,' she explained. Not sure how much you need? The U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that people who eat 2,000 calories a day have two cups of fruit and 2.5 cups of vegetables a day. Some solid options: Leafy greens, bell peppers, citrus fruits, sweet potatoes, and berries. 4. Increase your intake of vitamin D. Vitamin D plays an important role in supporting the immune system by helping your body produce antibodies, which can then fight illness, Cording said. 'Active vitamin D gets sent to different areas of your body, including your bones, intestines, colon, brain, and immune cells, where it binds with the receptors on these cells and ultimately turns them on,' added Warren. The kicker: Most people don't get enough of it, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Your body primarily produces vitamin D from the sun's UV rays (it's called the sunshine vitamin for a reason!), but you can also load up on vitamin D-rich foods to boost your intake, including fatty fish and seafood, mushrooms, eggs (don't skip the yolk), and fortified foods, Cording said. If you suspect your vitamin D intake is low and would like to take a supplement, be sure to talk to your doctor. He or she can do a blood test to determine the appropriate dosage for you. 5. Prioritize sleep time. Spending more time snoozing is key, Dr. Blank confirmed. 'Getting enough sleep helps our bodies recover from everyday stress—both physical and mental—and promotes better functioning of our immune system,' she said. When you don't get enough shut-eye, your body may decrease the production of protective proteins called cytokines, which your immune response needs more of when it's dealing with an infection or inflammation while under stress. So just how much sleep are we talking about? The National Sleep Foundation says adults up to age 64 should snooze between seven and nine hours per night, while adults 65 and up should aim between seven and eight hours. 6. Wash your hands frequently. Washing your hands regularly will help keep viruses and bacteria away from your eyes, nose, and mouth, which can do your immune system a solid, Dr. Blank said. 'This reduces the variety and number of germs we are exposed to and keeps our immune system from getting overwhelmed,' she explained. The CDC specifically recommends washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or the amount of time it takes to hum the 'Happy Birthday' song from beginning to end twice. Hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol also works in a pinch. 7. Move your body every day. Being physically active can help keep pathogens out of your lungs and airways, according to the National Library of Medicine, which can minimize your odds of getting a cold, the flu, or other illnesses. Exercise can also give antibodies and white blood cells a boost, causing them to circulate more widely throughout your body, where they might detect illnesses better than they would if you didn't get moving. 8. Quit smoking. You already know smoking is bad for your health in so many ways, but it can also wreak havoc and 'cause direct damage' to parts of your immune system, Dr. Blank said. For example, smoking immobilizes cilia, the hair-like structures in your airways that help 'sweep' out bacteria. 'These cilia form the first line of defense against respiratory infections,' Dr. Blank said. When they're immobilized, germs have 'much easier access' to your lungs, she explained. Cue the coughing and sneezing. The good news: According to research in the journal Nature, the detrimental effects of smoking on the immune system vanish immediately once you stop. You Might Also Like Can Apple Cider Vinegar Lead to Weight Loss? 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