With the flu season and the recommendation of flu shots to arm ourselves against the winter virus, is there a possibility of a natural way to make our bodies healthier to prevent the flu?  Whether it’s cancer or just the flu, the foods we eat and the foods we don’t eat influence our body chemistry to cause disease or prevent disease.  One of the most common foods consumed by all Americans is sugar.  100 years ago the average consumption annually per capita was 10 pounds.  Today, experts say it exceeds 250 pounds and possibly for some people as much as 300 pounds of sugar annually.  White, refined sugar is addictive and poison to our systems.  With the recommendations of flu shots by your doctor, your pharmacist, and your employer, you can arm your body to prevent the flu equally as effective as the flu shot.  First of all, vitamin D3, based on research at several universities in the U.S,. predicts we could eliminate 90% of influenza by taking 5,000 IUs of vitamin D3 daily.  And if you really want to stay healthy, eliminate white, refined sugar or at least cut way back on sugar.  This is important because simple sugars, those found in sweets and sweetened beverages including fruit juices, block the ability of lymphocytes to fight off viruses.  After the consumption of just 20 grams, a little over 4 teaspoons of sugar, the immune system is depressed within just 30 minutes and remains in a depressed state for more than five hours.  With the 250 pounds of sugar consumed by Americans annually that comes out to a tablespoon every hour.  Researchers have not been able to determine why sugar has such serious effects on our immune system.  There is a theory that elevated blood sugar levels prevent vitamin C from attaching to and entering white blood cells which makes the immune system less effective.  Along with vitamin D3, several of my favorite immune boosting nutrients are freeze dried elderberry extract, vitamin C, vitamin A, and selenium.