I have long said that "flu season" is the annual outcome of  "sugar season" that begins with Halloween and concludes with New Years festivities, when people suppress their immune system with literally pounds of white refined sugar, white flour, and far too much alcohol.   

According to the American Heart Association, adults and children in the US consume an average of 23 teaspoons of refined sugar every day, more than 2 to 3 times the recommended maximum of no more than six teaspoons of sugar for women per day and nine teaspoons for men. Overall, this adds up to around 60 pounds of sugar consumed annually—that's equivalent to setting six 10-pound bowling balls on a scale.

According to the National Retail Federation, American children eat, on average, more than 16 times the daily recommended amount of sugar on Halloween, which can amount to three to four pounds of candy and three cups of sugar. A few weeks later, the United States celebrates large, sugar-laden meals during Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday in November. This annual family event, dating back to 1621, commemorates the first meal shared by America's pioneering pilgrims and Native Americans. And then for the next 30 days, the Christmas holidays provide daily doses of sugar, especially as white refined sugar, in cookies, cakes, pies, chocolates, and more. The overconsumption of refined sugar during this nine-week period is a concentrated assault on the immune system.