PLACE YOUR FREE MESSAGE FOR Mother’s DAY

As the Covid-19 vaccination roll-out continues across the UK, Amy Packer discovers ways to give the jab a helping hand when your turn comes

SO THEATRES and comedy gigs could be coming back by summer? Lord, I sincerely hope so! I’m believing in Boris in the way you wanted to believe the Walter Mitty kid at school. The one who said he had a swimming pool in his Gateshead terraced house garden and reckoned Malcolm McDonald came to wrestle with his dad on Sundays.

Oh please let this fantasy be true! It got me thinking of what it would be like to do such stuff again...

I fondly recall doing a gig in a theatre that was also hosting the Seventies hitmakers Smokie – aye the ones whose song invokes the refrain ‘Alice? Alice? Who the **** is Alice?’

As an aside, I joked to a mate backstage that a tab-evoking name like theirs was probably inappropriate in today’s health and safety conscious ‘snowflake ‘ world. Surely The Vapours would have been a better choice of retro band!

Anyway, it got me thinking about how many bands or songs from ‘the olden days’ would be suddenly a bit iffy in the second decade of the third millennium?

What about, for example, the late 1982 hit Zoom by Fat Larry’s Band? Apart from confusing the youngsters as it’s got nowt to do with online conferences (imagine the modern version – ‘zoom, just one touch and my now audios doon...) surely there would be a massive question about his self-esteem and being labelled because of his body issues?

He would probably be offered counselling and be rebranded Gravitationally Challenged Larry and his Gastric Band? (Can I just point out that like Larry I’m an ex saladdodger myself, and at the snogging section of many a student disco, I’d happily gyrate my chunky frame to this romantic dirge).

It gets a lot worse ! The lyrics of the 1971 hit In the Summertime by Mungo Jerry would probably have questions raised in parliament.

For a start, it encourages a range of anti-social behaviour that would keep a magistrate’s court busy for a month: ‘Have a drink, have a drive Go out and see what you can find.’

And all of this is purely because ‘You got women, you got women on your mind.’ Givowwer! This is beyond misogyny – it’s absolutely disturbing nasty and creepy!

Drunk men in cars going out looking for women?

And it gets even worse! ‘If her daddy’s rich take her out for a meal. If her daddy’s poor just do what you feel.’ Did he just say that?

Again, it’s unbelievable that this was aired on national radio without any major fuss.

Some lyrics, however, just need to be banned because they are so bad!

Who can ever forget Toto’s Eighties rock ballad Africa with one of the most inappropriately shoe-horned lines ever; ‘I know that I must do what’s right / Sure as Kilimanjaro rises like Olympus above the Serengeti” Givowwer!

Even worse has to be the examples of sheer hippie lazy songwriting, where the lyricist simply can’t be bothered or his mates have knocked and invited him down the boozer before he’s finished his line.

This clearly must be the case with ABC’s That Was Then as Martin Fry warbled ‘Can’t complain, mustn’t grumble, help yourself to anther piece of apple crumble.’

For soulless creative emptiness and sheer anti-inspiration, that has to rank with ending a text in ‘Lol’ or buying your lass petrol station flowers.

At least they used words! Adam Ant must have had a Fray Bentos steak and kidney pie burning in the kitchen when he dashed off the finishing touches to the chorus reprise of Stand and Deliver.

An instrumental break? A line in French like Visage or in German like the Passions? No.

Let’s just go: ‘Fa diddley qua qua, fa diddley qua qua, fa diddley qua qua...’ They don’t write ‘em like they used to and they don’t have menonly bars or send bairns up chimneys either. Except, perhaps, in some bad Seventies song lyrics somewhere.

YOU’VE done the hard bit and had your jab. But how can you help the vaccine do its work?

PAY MORE ATTENTION TO YOUR DIET

Nutrition plays a major role in vaccine efficacy, according to a recent study which concluded that good nutrition bolstered the immune response to the BCG tuberculosis (TB) vaccine.

“This study showed that malnourishment in developing countries is a significant factor altering immune response to vaccination,” explains Dr Ross Walton, immunologist and founder of A-IR Clinical Research.

“While we can’t yet conclusively state that improved nutrition provides better efficacy of the Covid vaccine here, it’s prudent to suggest that enhancing and enriching our diet may help.”

The study, published in the journal PLOS, suggests we should focus on fresh fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, beans, lentils, nuts and seeds, while avoiding highly processed foods and takeaways. This will bump up our intake of vitamins A, C and E, vitamin B6, zinc, magnesium and iron– all vital for a strong immune system.

DON’T SKIMP ON SLEEP

“We need good restorative sleep for an optimum immune system, to fight off infection and for antibody production,” explains Dr Walton.

Researchers at the University of California found that healthy volunteers who had the least sleep the night before having a flu jab produced the lowest level of antibodies to the flu in the months afterwards.

AVOID ALCOHOL

Booze negatively impacts our gut microbiome and has an inflammatory effect on the body which could reduce the effectiveness of the body’s immune response.

In the recent BBC programme The Truth About Boosting Your

Immune System, blood samples revealed that three glasses of prosecco reduced levels of lymphocyte cells, which are responsible for sending out antibodies, by as much as 50%. Alcohol charity Drinkaware advises that you avoid alcohol for at least two days before and at least two weeks after you’ve been vaccinated.

KEEP MOVING – IN MODERATION

Exercise has a positive antiinflammatory effect on metabolic function, which is why it protects against the development of chronic diseases and helps regulate the flow of immune cells around the body.

“Exercise is also central to our mental wellbeing, helping us deal with the effects of stress,” adds Dr Walton.

But don’t go overboard. Too much high-intensity exercise can actually trigger stress chemicals, such as cortisol, which suppress the immune system.

DON’T ASSUME YOU’RE INVINCIBLE

“It can take two to three weeks to develop immunity after vaccination so there is still a chance you can catch the virus,” warns Dr Walton. And, although you must have your second dose to receive maximum protection, “no vaccine is 100% effective”, he adds, so it’s possible to still get infected and, we think, be able to spread the disease.

“It’s vital that we continue to adhere to social distancing and hygiene measures to protect ourselves and others,” he says.

“This really does work. The proof is the 95% reduction in flu cases this year, entirely due to changes in social behaviour.”

POP A PILL

There’s growing support for vitamin D supplements as studies suggest that it plays a key role in immunity. “Studies show that low levels leave people susceptible to respiratory infections,” says Dr Walton.

Research shows Echinacea purpurea can support the body’s immune system to reduce the occurrence, duration and severity of cough, cold and influenza symptoms. While there’s no specific data related to vaccine efficacy, Dr Walton suggests it could be helpful for those using public transport or who work in close proximity to others.

A. Vogel Echinaforce Drops (priced £10.50, Boots) have been shown to repel and reduce respiratory infection.