If find this stuff fascinating. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-control trial studied the effects of small doses of nutritional yeast on viral immunity. Children were studied, because they get on average 6-10 colds per year compared to 2-4 in adults. Children were given between 1/16 to 1/8 teaspoon of nutritional yeast daily. The result? Those given the nutritional yeast experienced one-half the number of colds. And those who did get colds had the duration reduced from an average of 9 days to 3 days. How does it work? Nutritional yeast (along with mushrooms and some other foods) has a chemical compound called beta glucans. The body recognizes this harmless compound as a foreign invader, which ramps up one's own natural defenses. So its not the beta glucans that fights the viruses directly, but one's own natural killer cells that the beta glucans summons into high alert. Notably, beta glucans does not promote an inflammatory response. Which is a very good thing. Imagine if a prescription medication did what nutritional yeast does. It might be the top selling drug in America. But as there is no money in it for Big Pharma, your doctor will never prescribe it. Because it doesn't exist at the pharmacy. The good news is that Amazon will bring nutritional yeast to your door. I consume one tablespoon per day, directly out of the jar. It comes in powder/flake form, and tastes a lot like the Parmesan cheese that you sprinkle on your spaghetti. You gotta chase it with water if you consume it this way, because a mouth full of powder needs some help getting down. But you can also sprinkle it on popcorn or incorporate it into your daily meals. Its cheesy flavor is really good on popcorn. According to the studies, it only takes a very small dose to produce the intended effect. If nutritional yeast is effective in ramping up your immunity against the cold virus, it might be effective against other viruses. You know, of the pandemic variety. Who knows. But even if it "only" prevents half of all colds and reduces their duration by 2/3, it is well worth consuming daily. You can buy it fortified with B vitamins, or without. Note that "nutritional yeast" is grown for direct consumption. Brewer's yeast is a by-product of beer brewing, and baker's yeast - well, you can figure it out. You can consume brewer's and baker's yeast, but nutritional yeast is yummier. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000MGR1N6/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
