A Myth-busting Guide to Immune Health

Self Defence

'Brilliant. Will change the way you think about your body and live your life' CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN 
 
'A world expert offers practical tips and dispels many myths' TIM SPECTOR 
 
'Illuminating ... fascinating' DAILY MAIL ** BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR 2025 ** 
 
We are surrounded by bold claims and quick fixes for improving our immune systems. In this expert guide, leading immunologist Daniel M. Davis sorts the fact from fiction. 
<ul><li>Is it true that orange juice can help ward off colds?</li><li>How does age affect our immune system? </li><li>Is mental health really connected to inflammation?</li></ul> 
How do we separate the bogus claims from the useful advice? And given its sheer complexity, is there anything we can do to improve our immune system? 
 
World-renowned immunologist Daniel M. Davis examines the effects of stress, diet, age, exercise, the microbiome and more on the immune system, punctures the key myths, and equips us to make informed choices for ourselves. 
 
'The best book on immune health I have ever read' ALICE ROBERTS 
 
'Utterly absorbing. Nearly every paragraph brings a revelation' BILL BRYSON 
 
'Essential reading for anybody who wants to understand their health' RUSSELL FOSTER 
 
'Empowers readers to make informed choices about their health' RHIANNON LAMBERT 
 
'If you've ever been tempted to take steps to boost your immunity, read this first!' SARAH GILBERT 
 
'Beautifully written ... guides readers through the blizzard of popular science and pseudoscience that obscures discussions about our health' BRIAN COX

As renowned immunologist Davis argues, the immune system is extremely complicated and widely misunderstood … [Self Defence] offers an illuminating picture of a fascinating area of science

Self Defence ... bridge[s] the gap between the scientific research of [Davis'] day job and what people want to know about immunity .. The immune system can be hard to unravel ... Daniel M. Davis follows the twists and turns of the evidence and offers nuanced responses to immune health questions ... Above all, his friendly tone and clear writing give the reader a much deeper appreciation of the complexity of the human body

Top immunologist Daniel M. Davis separates fact from fiction in this insightful guide

Treads familiar questions with exceptional sharpness … The book succeeds in inoculating the reader against easy health answers, headlines, and platitudes

Eradicate[s] long-held myths and replace[s] them with wonder at the complexity of the body’s defence system

The immune system holds the key to modern diseases and this great book from a world expert offers practical tips and dispels many myths on how best to enhance it

TIM SPECTOR, author of Food For Life and co-founder of ZOE

Dan Davis is a world class scientist and one of the best science communicators of his generation. From the role of tobacco scientists in promoting stress to why astronauts take antihistamines, Self Defence will answer every question you have about your immune system and many more. It is deeply absorbing, wise and beautifully written. Packed with astounding science, compelling stories and ideas, it will change the way you think about your body and live your life

CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN, author of Ultra-Processed People

Utterly absorbing. Nearly every paragraph brings a revelation

A beautifully written overview of our immune system. But perhaps even more importantly, this book is an instruction manual which guides the reader through the blizzard of popular science and pseudoscience that obscures discussions about our health

Expertly cutting through all the myths, marketing hype and simple slogans, this is the best book on immune health I have ever read

A fascinating guide to the immune system, cutting through the myths with clear, evidence-based science. Daniel M. Davis empowers readers to make informed choices about their health in a world of so much misinformation

RHIANNON LAMBERT, author of The Science of Nutrition and co-host of The Wellbeing Scoop

An engaging and thorough look at the factors affecting our immune health. If you’ve ever been tempted to take steps to ‘boost your immunity’, read this first!

Professor Davis unravels one of the most complex and vital elements of human biology: our immune system. Disentangling the science of immunity and addressing the key questions we all want answered, this book is a masterclass in science communication and essential reading for anybody who wants to understand their health

Admirably clear, readable and reliable. Davis writes with infectious enthusiasm about the beauty and complexity of human immunity

The ultimate self-help book - genuinely one of the most worthwhile books I've ever read. Davis is a captivating and authoritative guide, addressing many seemingly simple questions about our immune health, from vitamins to vaccines, from stress to the microbiome. We learn how to learn about the only thing in the universe that’s arguably more complex than the human brain

This is the clearest, most authoritative and most honest guide I have seen to the kinds of questions about our health and our immunity that we encounter all the time. What is the best diet? Does exercise help? What does our microbiome really do? Is good sleep so important? With patience, humility, humanity and generosity, Dan Davis provides a primer on immunity that should be on everyone’s bookshelf

There is so much misinformation in the health and science arena that it can be really challenging to pick the truth out of all that fiction. Self Defence is a perfect antidote to so many of those assumed truths about immune health that have gone unchallenged for way too long. It is a refreshing, expert examination of health myths, beautifully written, packed with science but always accessible. I learned a lot

SUZANNE O'SULLIVAN, author of The Age of Diagnosis

A clear-eyed, myth-busting manual to managing immune health. I learned a lot about what I was doing wrong for so long – and how to set it right

Incredibly impressive ... Brilliant – a really deep and thoughtful read

LIZ EARLE, founder of Liz Earle Wellbeing

Wellness gets the expert treatment as Davis filters out the bullshit/hype and hearsay in a clarifying sweep to reveal the fascinating complexity around how our body maintains health, and how we can help it

Read this book! Your immune system is notoriously confusing yet vital and thus worth understanding. Fortunately, this succinct, clear, insightful and fascinating book from one of the world’s experts on immunology will answer your most important questions about how best to help your body defend itself and stay healthy

The body is complicated: you need a book, not a slogan, to unravel what helps keep it healthy. Fortunately, Davis has written an excellent and expert guide to navigate us through the minefield of theories and speculations about what might boost our immune system

MARCUS DU SAUTOY, author of Around the World in 80 Games

We all retain some traditional beliefs about what lifestyles and everyday remedies are good for us; this clearly written book by a distinguished expert tells us which ideas are grounded in science, and which are not. An enjoyable read with messages that can improve our health

MARTIN REES, author of If Science Is To Save Us

A brilliantly crafted immunisation against the fads, fixes and fraudsters that seek to improve our immune health. Davis draws on the past, present and future of immunology to inform and explain what we can and importantly cannot do. Ultimately what he shows is that the immune system is wondrously complex and that simple soundbites, however persuasive, will have little real impact

In Self Defence, immunologist Dan Davis explains everything that we know about our immune systems with clear, concise and engaging stories based in the latest science, not hype. So, if you're tired of all the people trying to sell you things that they swear will improve your immune function, but then never do, this book is for you. Dan walks us through the often complicated answers to all our questions and shows us that there is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all solution to immune health

Self Defence uncovers how science can help us truly understand and optimise our immune system - free from hype and misconceptions... Dive in to see how thoughtful, evidence-based exploration can lead to better health, resilience and self-awareness

ROGER HIGHFIELD, Science Director, Science Museum and co-author of The Dance of Life

Why does weight-loss drug Ozempic reduce dementia risk, and what’s the connection between the bacteria living in your gut and risk of allergies? The answer - as in so many parts of biology - is the immune system. Self Defence takes us on a fascinating tour of our bodies, linking happenings inside our cells to everyday practical advice, and dealing with pervasive myths about vitamins, inflammation and more along the way. This book will do more for your health than any bottle of vitamin C tablets!

A masterful exploration of what we know (and don’t know) about the workings of this most crucial of bodily functions. In a world of sales patter, soundbites and social media videos, scientific rigour, clarity and nuance is much needed. Self Defence provides precisely that. Davis dissects claims and widely held beliefs surrounding the workings of our immune system, and shines a light on what is myth, hype, uncertainty, and scientific truth

GUY LESCHZINER, author of Seven Deadly Sins

Dan Davis' Self-Defence is a thought-provoking, insightful guide to the immune system's vital role in protecting our bodies and minds. With clarity and precision, Davis provides a compelling exploration of how we can harness this incredible system to stay well in our ever-evolving world. A must-read for anyone looking to empower themselves with the science of staying well

Davis’ work shines a light on how immunology can influence our health, demystify the science behind many diet and lifestyle claims, and helps his audiences understand just how complex our biological systems really are

For each topic, Davis presents a story of twisting lanes driving readers towards actionable ways to optimise health

Daniel M. Davis is Head of Life Sciences and Professor of Immunology at Imperial College London. His previous books include The Beautiful Cure, which was shortlisted for the Royal Society Science Book Prize, and The Secret Body, which was described variously as ‘an inspiration’ by Tim Spector, ‘beautifully rendered’ by Brian Cox and ‘masterful’ by Alice Roberts. Davis has published over 150 research papers and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. In 2025, he was awarded an MBE for services to science communication.

Is it true that orange juice can help ward off colds? How does age affect our immune system? Is mental health really connected to inflammation? 
 
We are surrounded by bold claims and quick fixes for ‘boosting’ our immune health. But one thing the science is clear on is that everyone’s immune system is completely unique – what is good for one person may not work well for another. So how do we separate the bogus claims from the useful advice? And given its sheer complexity, is there anything we can do to improve our immune system? 
 
In this expert guide, world-leading immunologist Daniel M. Davis examines the effects of stress, diet, age, exercise, the microbiome and more on the immune system, punctures the key myths, sorts the fact from the fiction and equips us to make informed choices for ourselves.

How the New Science of the Human Body Is Changing the Way We Live

The Secret Body

'A big-picture forecast of how medicine stands on the threshold of a revolution that will radically change all of our lives' The Times 
 
Welcome to a revolution in the science of you. This landmark new book from award-winning scientist Daniel M. Davis explores the future of the human body. 
 
Imagine taking drugs to help you acquire new skills, or knowing years in advance the precise likelihood of developing specific cancers, or following a diet and health regime tailored to your microbiome, or even having continuous monitoring of your body's workings and well-being. 
 
Written by an award-winning scientist, this landmark book shows how these radical and disconcerting possibilities have been made real. It is at once a gripping drama of scientific ingenuity, discovery and collaboration, and a vision of the human body of dizzying complexity and wonder. 
 
'With this stunning book Daniel M. Davis joins the pantheon of truly great science communicators. Everyone who has a body will love it' CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN, author of Ultra-Processed People 
 
'The startling new discoveries...are radically altering our understanding of how we function and what our future holds' BRIAN COX 
 
'Thrilling' BILL BRYSON 
'Brilliant' TIM SPECTOR 
'Extraordinary' ALICE ROBERTS

A brilliant deep-dive into the latest discoveries of human health. An inspiration!

Tim Spector, No.1 bestselling author of Spoon-Fed

With this stunning book Daniel M. Davis joins the pantheon of truly great science communicators. It will change the way you think about your self and the people around you. Everyone who has a body will love it

CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN, No.1 bestselling author of Ultra-Processed People

A big-picture forecast of how medicine stands on the threshold of a revolution that will radically change all of our lives ... Davis is a polar opposite of the typecast propeller-hatted futurologist. He is beguilingly informal and affably humorous

An elegantly written and splendidly concise Cook's Tour of the frontiers of medical biology. It is also an engrossing account of the progress of science

A perfect blend of cutting-edge science and compelling storytelling. Daniel Davis has a rare knack for making complex science comprehensible and thrilling

An extraordinary journey that reveals the magnificence, intricacy and beauty of the human body, fundamentally changing the way we see ourselves. Masterful

A beautifully rendered picture of the startling new discoveries in human biology which are radically altering our understanding of how we function and what our future holds

What we now know about the human body would seem magical to people just a hundred years ago... It often reads like a detective story and anyone interested in biology will learn much from this enjoyable book

VENKI RAMAKRISHNAN, Nobel Prize Winner in Chemistry and author of Gene Machine

Reading The Secret Body is like spending time with an eloquent, well-connected and entertaining enthusiast who has intimate knowledge of the secret worlds that lie within all of us

As David Attenborough opens our goggling eyes to the natural world without, so Daniel Davis brings us face to face with the stunningly clever and, yes, beautiful world within ... One of those books that makes you look at everything human in a new, challenging and thrilling way

One of the best accounts I have yet come across of the nature of biological science and discovery

Lucid and entertaining … Much as Siddhartha Mukherjee did in his book The Gene, Davis expertly weaves together human stories and scientific endeavour

A terrific book by a consummate storyteller and scientific expert

Daniel M. Davis is Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester and author of two previous books: The Beautiful Cure, shortlisted for the 2018 Royal Society Science Book Prize and a book of the year in The Times, Telegraph and New Scientist, and The Compatibility Gene, longlisted for the 2014 Royal Society Science Book Prize and shortlisted for the Society of Biology Book Prize. His research, using super-resolution microscopy to study the immune system, was listed in Discover magazine as one of the top 100 breakthroughs of the year. He is also the author of over 140 academic papers, collectively cited over 13,000 times, including articles in Nature, Science and Scientific American.

'Thrilling' BILL BRYSON 
'Brilliant' TIM SPECTOR 
'Extraordinary' ALICE ROBERTS 
 
Welcome to a revolution in the science of you - this is the landmark new book from award-winning scientist Daniel M. Davis. 
 
Imagine taking drugs to help you acquire new skills, or knowing years in advance the precise likelihood of developing specific cancers, or following a diet and health regime tailored to your microbiome, or even having continuous monitoring of your body's workings and well-being. 
 
Written by an award-winning scientist, this landmark book shows how these radical and disconcerting possibilities have been made real. It is at once a gripping drama of scientific ingenuity, discovery and collaboration, and a vision of the human body of dizzying complexity and wonder. 
 
'The startling new discoveries...are radically altering our understanding of how we function and what our future holds' BRIAN COX 
 
'A big-picture forecast of how medicine stands on the threshold of a revolution that will radically change all of our lives' The Times

Harnessing Your Body’s Natural Defences

The Beautiful Cure

The New Science of Human Health

A leading expert introduces the revolutionary new science of the immune system with its break-through medical cures and discusses how stress, sleep and ageing affect our health.

Thrilling ... An eye-opening tour de force of scientific writing that reads like the best kind of adventure story

One of the best accounts I have yet come across of the nature of biological science … Daniel Davis’s wonderful book recounts in exceptionally clear and sympathetic prose how research into the immune system has resulted in a health revolution

Thoroughly absorbing ... Davis is a wonderful storyteller

Terrific ... Davis relates the extraordinary modern developments in supercharging the body’s own immune system to fight disease, and one day maybe even eliminate cancer

Thrilling … Do not underestimate the importance of immunology. This field relates to you personally

An inspirational book that not only reveals the secret joys of scientific discovery but is jam-packed full of revelations for non-scientists

Forget AI, robotics, the internet of things. This is where the future feels strange and exciting: in the 'inner universe' of our immune system, and in the radically new therapies that are using it to conquer disease

Highly readable, beautifully researched, backed up with notes, references and interviews by Davis himself, whose status as an immunology professor confers added credibility. He believes that we now know enough about the major components and interactions of the immune system to begin manipulating them to cure diseases such as cancer. We stand, he predicts, on the threshold of a medical revolution

A sweeping tour d’horizon … lucid and entertaining … Much as Siddhartha Mukherjee did in his book The Gene, Davis expertly weaves together human stories and scientific endeavour

New ways to treat cancer, diabetes, arthritis and other age-related diseases … Davis is a sure and engaging guide to these developments

Gives extraordinary new details of an ancient remedy that is already more marvellous, powerful and flexible than any medicine to come out of a lab

The human body is the most complicated assemblage of chemicals in the known universe. It's a huge scientific challenge to understand how we metabolise, how we acquire immunity, and how drugs work. Daniel Davis is a distinguished expert in this field – and he's a fine writer too. He portrays vividly how great discoveries emerge – via prolonged  effort, via cooperation and competition, and sometime sheer luck. This gripping book gives an authentic flavour of how science is actually done – and why it's important for humanity's future

This book is an insight into new, remarkable and almost unnoticed advances in immunology and shows how medicine is moving on from the world of the gene to the world of the antibody

Any reader completely unfamiliar with the workings of the immune system is likely to be dumbstruck with admiration for its intricacy ... Davis's book is full of enlivening little anecdotes

[The Beautiful Cure] offers fresh perspectives on future research strategies

We all think we know how the immune system works, roughly. This exciting and elegant book on new discoveries shows how wrong we were

An excellent book on our immune system. His lucid prose lets the science speak for itself, and it beautifully illuminates one of the most exciting frontiers of modern medicine

Engaging and lucid... [There is] a compelling human story of the researchers who made the discoveries. The author has gone to great lengths to interview the key players in the story

Daniel M. Davis is Professor of Immunology at the University of Manchester. His research, using super-resolution microscopy to study immune cell biology, was listed in Discover magazine as one of the top 100 breakthroughs of the year. His previous book, The Compatibility Gene, was longlisted for the 2014 Royal Society Winton Science Book Prize, shortlisted for the Society of Biology Book Prize and described by Bill Bryson in the Guardian’s Books of the Year as ‘elegantly written and unexpectedly gripping’. He is also the author of over 120 academic papers, collectively cited over 10,000 times, including articles in Nature, Science and Scientific American.

Understand how our immune system fights disease and enables the body to heal itself. 
 
'Thrilling... Reads like the best kind of adventure story' STEPHEN FRY 
'Excellent' TIM SPECTOR, Sunday Times bestselling author of Spoon-Fed 
 
 Here, Professor Daniel Davis charts the groundbreaking scientific quest to understand how it fights disease and enables the body to heal itself. He explains how it is affected by stress, sleep, age and our state of mind, and reveals how all of this knowledge is now unlocking a revolutionary approach to medicine and well-being. 
 
 The Beautiful Cure tells a dramatic story of detective work and discovery, of puzzles solved and of the mysteries that remain, and of lives sacrificed and saved. 
 
 SHORTLISTED FOR THE ROYAL SOCIETY SCIENCE BOOK PRIZE 
 
 'Wonderful... recounts in exceptionally clear and sympathetic prose how research into the immune system has resulted in a health revolution' HENRY MARSH 
 
 'Thoroughly absorbing... Davis is a wonderful storyteller' BILL BRYSON

The Compatibility Gene

Short-listed for the Society of Biology Book Award 2014 
Long-listed for the Royal Society Winton prize for science books 2014 
 
In The Compatibility Gene, leading scientist Daniel M Davis tells the story of the crucial genes that define our relationships, our health and our individuality. 
 
We each possess a similar set of around 25,000 human genes. Yet a tiny, distinctive cluster of these genes plays a disproportionately large part in how our bodies work. These few genes, argues Davis, hold the key to who we are as individuals and our relationship to the world: how we combat disease, how our brains are wired, how attractive we are, even how likely we are to reproduce. 
 
The Compatibility Gene follows the remarkable history of these genes' discovery. From the British scientific pioneers who struggled to understand the mysteries of transplants to the Swiss zoologist who devised a new method of assessing potential couples' compatibility based on the smell of worn T-shirts, Davis traces a true scientific revolution in our understanding of the human body: a global adventure spanning some sixty years. 
 
'Unusual results, astonishing implications and ethical dilemmas' The Times 
 
'Packed with an insider's knowledge' New York Times 
 
'He makes immunology as fascinating to popular science readers as cosmology, consciousness, and evolution' Steven Pinker 
 
'An elegantly written, unexpectedly gripping account' Bill Bryson Guardian, Books of the Year 
 
Daniel M Davis is director of research at the University of Manchester's Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research and a visiting professor at Imperial College, London. He has published over 100 academic articles, including papers in Nature and Science, and Scientific American. He has won the Oxford University Press Science Writing Prize and given numerous interviews for national and international media. He was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2011.

Who am I? What makes me different from everyone else? Daniel Davis recounts the remarkable science that has answered one version of these questions

Ostensibly about a set of genes that we all have and need, this book is really about the men and women who discovered them and worked out what they do.  It's a search for the essence of scientific greatness by a scientist who is headed that way himself

The Compatibility Gene cuts through the complexity to reveal the startling truth about perhaps the most important section of the molecule that defines what it means to be human

Steve Jones, author of 'Almost Like A Whale'

Davis weaves a warm biographical thread through his tale of scientific discovery, revealing the drive and passion of those in the vanguard of research

Davis makes the twists and turns all count

Davis ranges energetically through the research. Cultural references and anecdotes abound

The genes that make you a true individual ... Davis provides a well-written and easy-to-read account of the sometimes complicated biology behind the crucial genes that affect our lives so profoundly

Wonderful pen-portraits of the many scientists involved in this fast-moving field ... 5 out of 5 stars

Dr. Davis's readable and informative book takes the reader into unexpectedly interesting corners of both the immune system and the lives of immunologists. It is packed with an insider's knowledge - not just of the field, but of where its bodies are buried

An elegantly written, unexpectedly gripping account of how scientists painstakingly unravelled the way in which a small group of genes ... crucially influence, and unexpectedly interconnect, various aspects of our lives... Lab work has rarely been made to seem more interesting or heroic

Daniel M. Davis is director of research at the University of Manchester's Collaborative Centre for Inflammation Research and a visiting professor at Imperial College, London. He has published over 100 academic papers, including papers in Nature and Science, and Scientific American, and lectures all over the world, including at the Royal Institution. He has previously won the Oxford University Press Science Writing Prize, and has given numerous interviews for national and international media, including The Times, Guardian, Metro, and National Public Radio (USA). A major feature on his research was published in The Times. Experiments filmed in his laboratory were shown in the BBC series 'The History of Medicine' (2008).

A tiny cluster of our genes holds the key to how we combat disease, how our brains are wired, how attractive we are, even how likely we are to reproduce. In The Compatibility Gene, one of our foremost immunologists tells the remarkable history of these genes' discovery and the unlocking of their secrets. Davis shows how the compatibility gene is radically transforming our knowledge of the way our bodies work - and is having profound consequences for medical research and ethics. Looking to the future, he considers the startling possibilities of what these wondrous discoveries might mean for you and me.

Daniel M Davis

A Myth-busting Guide

‘Astounding. Will change how you think about your body and live your life’ CHRIS VAN TULLEKEN 
‘A great book from a world expert’ TIM SPECTOR 
‘The best book on immune health I have ever read’ ALICE ROBERTS 
 
** A DAILY MAIL BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR 2025 ** 
 
Is it true that orange juice wards off colds? Are mental health and inflammation really connected? How do we distinguish bogus claims from useful advice – and what can we actually do to support our immune system and stay healthy? 
 
World-leading immunologist Daniel M. Davis cuts through the noise to reveal the truth about our immune system – from the effects of diet, exercise and the microbiome to stress, sleep and old age. In an era of misinformation and marketing slogans, this ground-breaking guide equips us all with the key insights we urgently need to make wiser decisions for our health. 
 
'Utterly absorbing' BILL BRYSON 
'Beautifully written' BRIAN COX 
'Read this book' SARAH GILBERT 
'Brilliant' LIZ EARLE 
'Fascinating and empowering' RHIANNON LAMBERT 
'Essential reading' RUSSELL FOSTER

Daniel M Davis

Praise for Immune Health

As renowned immunologist Davis argues, the immune system is extremely complicated and widely misunderstood … [Self Defence] offers an illuminating picture of a fascinating area of science

Self Defence ... bridge[s] the gap between the scientific research of [Davis'] day job and what people want to know about immunity .. The immune system can be hard to unravel ... Daniel M. Davis fol ...

Top immunologist Daniel M. Davis separates fact from fiction in this insightful guide

As renowned immunologist Davis argues, the immune system is extremely complicated and widely misunderstood … [Self Defence] offers an illuminating picture of a fascinating area of science

Self Defence ... bridge[s] the gap between the scientific research of [Davis'] day job and what people want to know about immunity .. The immune system can be hard to unravel ... Daniel M. Davis fol ...

Top immunologist Daniel M. Davis separates fact from fiction in this insightful guide

As renowned immunologist Davis argues, the immune system is extremely complicated and widely misunderstood … [Self Defence] offers an illuminating picture of a fascinating area of science

Self Defence ... bridge[s] the gap between the scientific research of [Davis'] day job and what people want to know about immunity .. The immune system can be hard to unravel ... Daniel M. Davis fol ...

Top immunologist Daniel M. Davis separates fact from fiction in this insightful guide

Books by Daniel M Davis

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