Does trying to live healthy make sense considering an imminent bird flu outbreak?

[The Grand Nudger]

It would be hard to imagine how my vegetarian friends managed to catch fewer germs in their lives, particularly with all the growing up drinking from the same cups playing in the same pools shaking the same hands and just generally breathing the same air, though, I suppose it could happen.

I've never known vegetarians to be a particularly hygenic bunch in any traditional sense, but that's probably down to the few vegetarians I know being back to the land types.  Convinced that detergents, disinfectants, deoderants, and even showering itself..are ruining the planet.

And what exactly do you think could cause weaker immune system in vegetarians? Lysine deficiency? Seems rather implausible. It is obvious what could cause stronger, if nothing else, then lower rates of Vitamin C deficiency.

Oh, I wouldn't know bud.  I don't even know that vegetarians have a weaker immune system.  Vitamin c doesn't reduce our chances of getting sick, but you'd be unlikely to find a difference in vitamin c levels between the people where I grew up based on who was or wasn't a vegetarian.   Citrus, strawberries, peppers....these are pretty common things to see on a plate where they're grown. I would guess that the difference in immune system response between individuals, at least the part that we can change by our habits, comes down to who eats well and gets good rest. Not who does or doesn't eat meat.