by Melissa Diane Smith

Turn on the TV and flip through various news stations these days and you likely will be bombarded with information on flu and H1N1 (swine) flu vaccines and antiviral drugs as defense against a devastating flu pandemic. The news we hear about getting vaccines (and antiviral drugs at the first signs of flu) seems so relentless and definitive, it must be based on solid, universally agreed-upon science, most of us think. But the news we don’t hear is that some top flu experts have serious questions about the use of vaccines and antiviral drugs. We also don’t hear much about nutritional and natural ways that may boost immunity as a defense against flu because companies and health professionals who convey that information get warnings from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) not to.

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The list of hazards associated with high-fructose corn syrup continues to grow. The refined liquid sweetener found in soft drinks, candy and countless foods in our food supply has been implicated in obesity, type 2 diabetes, and metabolic syndrome. Earlier this year, mercury, a metal toxic to human health, was found in close to half of tested samples of high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and nearly one-third of tested foods with HFCS in its top ingredients. (See the Nutrition News & Notes story on that.) Now new research shows that when HFCS is heated, it forms hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), a chemical that can kill honey bees and is linked to DNA damage in humans.

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