A ketogenic diet, which includes meat, fish, poultry and non-starchy vegetables, may help combat the flu virus, suggests new research. This diet regimen activates a subset of T cells in the lungs not previously associated with the immune system's response to influenza, enhancing mucus production from airway cells that can effectively trap the virus, said the study published in the journal Science Immunology.

"This was a totally unexpected finding," said co-senior author Akiko Iwasaki, Professor at Yale University in the US. The researchers found that mice fed a ketogenic diet were better able to combat the flu virus than mice fed food high in carbohydrates.