Professor Hugh Pennington says there is no evidence 'Man Flu' exists As one of Scotland's leading scientists, Professor Hugh Pennington has seen it all before and has scotched plenty of myths in his time. Now, the Aberdeen-based academic has waded into the thorny subject: Is there such a condition as 'Man Flu' or do women just put up with illness better? The professor says he doesn't have an absolutely definitive answer. Yet, when we spoke to him, it was pretty clear what he thought about the subject. He said: "We have studied this for a long time and I don't think there is any evidence of a difference in the immune system between men and women. I always keep an open mind about these things, but my view is that gender does not increase your prospect of becoming ill in the winter or any other time. There are factors at work over the Christmas period, which might help colds to spread. You tend to have lots of people in close proximity, at parties, on public transport, and maybe eating and drinking more than is good for them. But, as for the existence of 'Man Flu', it could be simply psychological or it could be that women simply complain less [than men]. Professor Pennington, a leading microbiologist and bacteriologist, doesn't disagree that there tends to be more cases of flu and colds in January and February. But he has advice for those preparing to brave the worst of the Scottish climate. He said: "There is no panacea, but people should eat plenty of fruit, stay warm and keep wrapped up. If they are of an age where they have access to the flu vaccination, they should take it, because age is a much more important factor than gender in these cases. But if you end up getting flu, nothing works much better than a hot toddy.