As with nearly everything else to do with our bodies, the effectiveness of the immune system declines with age. From our twenties onwards the bodys ability to fight infection decreases at a rate of about 2 to 3 per cent a year, gradually leaving us more susceptible to diseases, says Janet Lord, a professor of immune cell biology and the director of the Institute for Inflammation and Ageing at Birmingham University. But, she says, the speed at which this happens is not unavoidable. Ill health should not be an inevitable part of growing old. By understanding what happens to our immune systems as we age, we can break that link.

Ageing of the immune system is accelerated by the usual baddies, smoking, a sedentary lifestyle,

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Anti-age your immune system here's how to turn back the clock - The Times