So, you’ve tried everything to shift that sore throat, from vitamin C to ArmaForce and over-the-counter meds, but what about a steak? A new study published in the journal Science Immunology has revealed that a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet, may offer protection against the influenza virus.

Conducted by researchers from Yale University, the study showed that influenza-infected mice fed a ketogenic diet had a higher survival rate than those who were fed a diet closer to recommended dietary guidelines, but also included a higher amount of carbs.

The ketogenic diet was shown to activate the subject’s gamma delta T cells, a subset of T cells in the lungs which enhances mucus production, this ultimately enabled them to more aggressively target the disease and start reducing symptoms. This process wasn’t possible for the mice who followed the high-carb diet.

When mice were bred without the gene that codes for gamma delta T cells, the ketogenic diet provided no protection against the influenza virus.

“This was a totally unexpected finding,” said co-senior author Akiko Iwasaki, a Professor of Immunobiology and Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at Yale University.

“This study shows that the way the body burns fat to produce ketone bodies from the food we eat can fuel the immune system to fight flu infection,” said the study’s second co-senior author, Vishwa Deep Dixit, a Professor of Comparative Medicine and Immunobiology at Yale University.

Though not yet tested on humans, diet has long been shown to impact the longevity and severity of colds and flu.

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