Are some people more genetically prone to being ill?

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I have three children of my own and my best friends children live with me.

My own children rarely ever vomit. In fact they've only ever had one or two bouts of d and v. Yet they always seem to have colds.

My friends children get d and v on average every 4 months... it passes between the three and can linger for 2 weeks at a time. My kids never get it. My husband has caught it a few times but not every time and I've never caught from them. However they rarely get colds!

Is there a known reason for this? My first two were never breastfed, my youngest was for 8 months. Friends kids never breast fed.

One of mine throws up every time they get a cold. It's ridiculous.

Stress can lower the immune system I think. Perhaps living with another family is causing them chronic low level stress?

They've been with me 3 years and I've k own them all their lives... They've always been sickly kids!

I can count on the fingers of one hand the total number of times my three DC have ever vomited. I'm also very rarely ill myself, so yes, maybe there is something genetic.

Some people definitely seem more prone to certain illnesses, as a child I rarely suffered from colds but got tonsillitis /sore throats at the drop of a hat. My nephew seems to permanently have a cold whereas my two never seem to get them. Dp's guts give him bother in a way mine never do.

Having said that his guts give him bother it's never really bad. Dp has never had a day off sick. Not primary school, secondary school, uni or work, not a single day off sick!

My DC have never vomited and have only had a couple of colds in their lives. My 12 year old has had 2 days off school since he started. My 6 year old has never had time off for sickness. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time DH was sick and I am never sick. The last time I was ill was when I was pregnant with my eldest, and that was a pregnancy-related complaint.

We are a vegan family and I always tell people it is because of that . Not sure if that's why, but I get so sick of people telling me our plant-based diet is unhealthy when in fact we're never ill.

I very rarely get sck but do get colds. My DDs are similar, only they fight the colds off far quicker than I do.

Me, DH and 2 DDs are rarely ill . DDs are 6 and 3 and have each only needed anti bs once. DD1 got 100% attendance last year at school. I've had one day off sick from work since before DD2 was born and DH hasn't had a sick day since I can't remember when! Nothing we do particularly to stay well, it just seems that's how we are.
My sister otoh has a chronic illness and is quite frequently knocked back by side effects etc. Her kids are ill every other week, in and out of the GP and it seems like every time I see them they're on different meds.
The only real difference in our lifestyles is that my kids are grubby little buggers who spend hours outside and have eaten quite a lot of dirt over the years whereas DNs are kept cleaner and don't spend time outside very often.

I think it must be genetic. I have by no means wrapped DD in cotton wall, fed her organic food, pampered to every suggested food fad or instructions from anyone in authority. Neither have I stopped her eating sweets or making sure she eats 5 a day etc, etc.

However, she is 23 and has never had D&V and neither has she got any fillings. This is not because I am a perfect mother!! . It's a fluke!

Some stuff is genetic but some people get ill due to lifestyle. When I get anaemia I am more prone to getting ill and colds etc....so I have to improve my diet.
Likewise if you do exercise and eat super well I expect you wouldn’t get sick as frequently.
Being unwell and dying young is also linked to poverty so eating badly and having a poor lifestyle will also impact. You won’t be getting the same amount of nutrients of someone richer.
For children it depends on what they are fed, their genetics and of course breastfeeding is linked to less ear infections etc.

I think illness perpetuates illness in ways you might not guess at first. If you are forced to have antibiotics, that clears out the good bacteria as well (the 'hygiene hypothesis', which is really about gut hygiene, not clean houses). It's known now that having good bacteria and a variety of bacteria is a major part of the immune system, so if the gut is all sterilised by antibiotics, that lowers resistance to illnesses. Also, C-section births do not 'seed' the gut with bacteria from the mother, usually transferred in the birth canal, so that may be another source of lowered immunity.