Take my quiz to discover your immunity score ...
Take this first quiz to find out how your immune system is faring. Think about how often you’ve had these symptoms and conditions over the past year. Score 0 for ‘never’, 1 for ‘once or twice’, 2 for ‘occasionally’, 3 for ‘regularly’, and 4 for ‘frequently’.
■ Sore throat
■ Flu
■ Coughing n Boils
■ Long Covid
■ Warts n Pneumonia (lung infection)
■ Bronchitis (lung infection)
■ Sinusitis (swelling of the sinuses)
■ Sudden high fever
■ Ear infection
■ Episodes of diarrhoea (not related to IBS or chronic conditions)
■ Eye infection n Slow-healing injury
■ Mild fevers n Covid-19
■ Cold sores
■ Runny nose
■ Headaches
Immunity score: ___
Under 5: Top marks. It looks like your immune system is in good shape. Your challenge is to keep your gut health in peak condition this winter so it can keep supporting your immune defences.
5-15: Not bad. With a few tweaks, we can get you and your gut microbes thriving and in the best possible shape to help reinforce your immune system this winter.
16+: We’ve got some work to do. Using the practical strategies I’ll set out in this series, we’ll get your gut back on track, restoring health and happiness from the inside out.
(adapted from Professor Reed et al.)
IS YOUR DIET NOURISHING YOUR IMMUNITY ENOUGH?
IN THIS quiz, think about your diet over the past month, and award yourself points as shown...
1. HOW many portions of vegetables did you typically eat each day?
O portions (0 points)
1-2 portions (1 point)
3-4 portions (2 points)
5-6 portions (3 points)
7+ portions (4 points)
2. HOW many portions of fruit did you typically eat each day?
O portions (0 points)
1 portion (1 point)
2 portions (2 points)
3 portions (3 points)
4+ portions (4 points)
3. HOW many portions of nuts and seeds did you typically eat each week?
O portions (0 points)
1-3 portions (1 point)
4-6 portions (2 points)
7+ portions (3 points)
4. HOW often did you eat legumes (baked beans, lentils, chickpeas etc.) each week?
Never (0 points)
Once (1 point)
On 2 days (2 points)
On 3-5 days (3 points)
On 6-7 days (4 points)
5. HOW often did you choose wholegrain bread/crackers/wraps/cereal in preference to white?
Never (0 points)
Rarely (1 point) Occasionally/sometimes (2 points) Mostly (3 points)
Always (4 points)
6. HOW often did you eat other wholegrains ( quinoa, buckwheat, freekeh) each week?
Never (0 points)
Once (1 point)
On 2 days (2 points)
On 3-5 days (3 points)
On 6-7 days (4 points)
7. HOW many different types of plantbased foods did you eat each week? Fewer than 10 (0 points)
10-19 (3 points)
20-29 (6 points)
30+ (9 points)
8. DID you drink these?
Soft drink/squash (minus 1 point) Coffee/tea/red wine (1 point)
9. HOW many herbs and spices did you eat each week?
Fewer than 5 (0 points)
5-9 (1 point)
10+ (2 points)
10. DID you eat at least two portions of oily fish or six servings of vegetarian sources of omega-3 (walnuts, linseeds, chia seeds or tofu) per week?
No (0 points)
Some weeks (1 point)
Every week (2 points)
11. HOW often did you eat fermented food containing live microbes per week? Never (0 points)
Once (1 point)
On 2 days (2 points)
On 3-5 days (3 points)
Every day (4 points)
Diet score: ___
TO INCREASE your score, choose one or two of the diet hacks I’ve shared exclusively with The Mail+ and add them to your immune-strengthening action plan. See overleaf for more details on how to access this content.