Immunity-boosting tips from a UCI Health infection prevention expert
Whole foods, hydration key for staying well this winter
January 30, 2025
IN THE NEWS: A variety of illnesses caused by viruses are in heavy rotation this winter, including norovirus, the flu and COVID-19.
If you haven’t been infected already, there are several things you can do to give your immune system a fighting chance at keeping you healthy.
UCI Health infectious diseases expert Dr. Shruti Gohil spoke to U.S. News & World Report about how eating a diverse diet of whole foods can help keep you well.
“Part of the reason is because of the absorbability of these different vegetables and fruits, and the fact that they come with different elements that help you boost your immunity in other ways. Micronutrients cannot be underestimated in their role from different sources.”
She also stresses the importance of hydration because water is required for every cell process.
“When you use it up for any reason — a virus, hiking, heat, whatever it is — you are losing an important component that keeps your blood flowing. Your blood needs that water to be able to pump blood sufficiently to your brain, to your heart and all of your vital organs.”
Gohil is a board-certified infectious disease expert, the associate medical director for UCI Health Epidemiology and Infection Prevention and an assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UC Irvine School of Medicine. Her clinical interests include hospital epidemiology, infection prevention, communicable disease transmission and multidrug-resistant organism infections.
She led the UCI Health response to the novel coronavirus pandemic, including the clinical and epidemiologic assessment of healthcare providers and patients, COVID-19 testing and vaccination, exposure definition and response, contact tracing, vaccination and infection prevention strategies to limit viral spread.
She currently leads several national studies to assess patient risk for multidrug-resistant bacterial infections and to prompt physicians to limit the use of extended-spectrum antibacterial drugs in real time.
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