This post came too late for me, just working my way out of a two weeks of suffering.
I read all of the article, but I cannot help wondering - I do not have a healthy lifestyle and yet, I may catch a cold or the flu, once every five years or more (flu even more rarely).
Thats interesting...perhaps you are generally in an environment that is not conducive to the rhinovirus? Hence you generally escape the effects? Im sure that even if youre super healthy the virus would still breed in the cavities that are in the right settings it needs....
If everyone around me had the same results, why would I think of mine as special? No, family and friends go through their suffering on a regular basis, while I do not.
You do not seem to believe that the human body has its own defences, often thanks to our lifestyle.
As for lifestyle, I have been a heavy smoker from 12 years old till 65yo. Am now 76 and still cough every day, so damage was caused - yet that has not made me more susceptible to colds and flu. What if that is so because I almost never eat factory made food and try hard to avoid eating any GMO foods? I also do not eat more than two or three meals per year in a restaurant.
We should analyse and think about why we suffer more or less than others and try to look for what the causes could be in our lifestyle.
There is usually some great wisdom from people that have actually walked through things in their life.
I think every effort we put into our health has a long term effect. In some cases other instances may override that good....like in your case with smoking, but the other benefits will remain.
We will never regret doing good for our physical selves