Action Alert - Codex ConferencePlease send this URGENT message to US Government leaders to protect your right to know which foods are made from genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Send an email today to the Secretaries of State (Clinton), Agriculture (Vilsack), and Health and Human Services (Sebelius). They must stop US negotiators at an international (Codex) conference from May 3-7, from pushing an agenda that could make it difficult for anyone, anywhere in the world to label foods as genetically modified (GM) food?or even make non-GMO claims on their product?s label. The US is taking the ridiculous and unscientific position that GMOs are not different from conventional foods, claiming labels that say GMO or non-GMO are misleading. If they succeed at the meeting, the US may then file lawsuits through the World Trade Organization against any country that implements mandatory labeling of GMOs, or even allows non-GMO claims on packages. This is a grave threat to the Non-GMO Tipping Point?We must push back now! The growing evidence and concern about health dangers of GMOs is making waves. A renowned US Medical organization (American Academy of Environmental Medicine) called on doctors to prescribe non-GMO diets for all patients. Consumers are seeking non-GMO brands, and the fastest growing claim among store brands in 2009 was "GMO-Free" (Neilson Survey). The trade journal Supermarket News predicts GMO concerns will erupt this year, specifically because consumers are now given choices by the new Non-GMO Shopping Guide website, and the new, and the Non-GMO Project?s third-party verified standard for making non-GMO claims. Most Americans (53%) say they would avoid GMOs if they were labeled. But even 5% would likely be enough to create a tipping point of consumer rejection, forcing all GM ingredients out of our food supply. We can see the tipping point just over the horizon, but it is now threatened by the US position at Codex. Tell our government leaders that you will not stand for this outrageous obstruction of our democracy and human rights. Demand that the US support the right for countries everywhere to label GMOs. And remind them that 9 out of 10 Americans want mandatory GMO labeling, and that President Obama actually made a campaign pledge to implement it?which are all waiting for. Try to do this before Wednesday, May 5th, but don?t stop until the come around. European Health Directive - CODEXIs The World Being Set Up To Accept Draconian Codex Standards? New Developments Paint A Grim Picture!
Video: "Nutricide - Criminalizing Natural Health, Vitamins, and Herbs" by Dr. Rima Laibow of Natural Solutions FoundationFlawed Codex Guidelines PassedI'm sad to report, despite some superficial changes and the last-minute efforts of some consumer groups, global standards for vitamin and mineral supplements -- debated for more than a decade -- were unfortunately adopted as expected by the Codex Alimentarius in Rome yesterday (download them at this link). Even worse, these guidelines will now serve as a model for many countries that do not currently have supplement regulations in place and may be used under World Trade Organization agreements to force countries to allow the importation and sale of products that conform to those guidelines. The effect of these new rules is very bad news to Americans and many other people, considering some 60 countries -- including more than half of the world's population -- are currently looking at introducing new or amended regulations for vitamin and mineral supplements. Of the greatest concern in these new guidelines is a new ceiling on the maximum level of vitamins or minerals based on a scientific risk assessment rather than recommended dietary intake, better known as RDA, that result in significantly lower amounts than those based on risk assessment. Opponents of these measures strongly believe these guidelines will force vitamins and minerals offered in higher dosages to be classified and regulated as drugs. Dr. Robert Verkerk, executive director of the Alliance for Natural Health, really nailed my objections to Codex: It appears that the Codex guidelines for food supplements include faulty procedures that contradict Codex's own rules, as pointed out by the U.S.-based National Health Federation, itself a Codex participant. We have also demonstrated that the risk assessment system being considered by Codex is scientifically flawed... Of course, you know there was one group who was extremely happy about the passage of these regulations: The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), a Washington, D.C.-based trade association/lobbying group representing dietary supplement industry ingredient suppliers and manufacturers. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is expected to produce a report in a few months on its risk assessment methodology, but it will be several years before this is adopted. That could very well mean there's still some time to have Codex reconsider these measures. And, besides, do you want to let foreign interests dictate what you can do with your body? And, if you're not sure why people like me are gravely concerned about this issue and want to get your blood boiling even more, you'll want to watch the documentary "We Become" Silent," produced by International award-winning filmmaker, Kevin P. Miller in an attempt to raise public awareness about these misinformed guidelines. I believe Americans must never lose the right to choose and buy supplements. If you agree with this - and if you read my eHealthy news You Can Use newsletter regularly I'm sure you do -- I urge you to take a little time to let Congress know how you feel, by sending the letter provided by the Health Action Center. Food Navigator.com July 5, 2005
The reality of the situation is that the entire health supplement industry worldwide is in serious trouble. What's happening is quite alarming. The postponement of the EU Court's ruling shows me that ominous storm clouds are on the horizon.
You can collectively accomplish these five actions by sending the following message to: The Docket Clerk, Docket number 05-003N U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service, 300 12th Street, SW., Room 102 Cotton Annex, Washington, DC 20250 or by e-mail uscodex @ fsis.usda.govMessage: To the FSIS Docket Clerk Docket 05-003N With regard to the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses I strongly urge the U.S. Codex Delegates to advocate for and the Codex Alimentarius Commission to enact post- ponement of the adoption of the Proposed Vitamin and Mineral Guidelines being considered at the 28th meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission. I urge this postponement to be until and unless the guidelines are amended to adopt an international standard based on the principle of the U.S. Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act. The international standard for vitamins, minerals and other dietary supplements should recognize dietary supplements and biochemical individuality as integral to any strategy advancing individual and social nutritional status; use nutrition science principles rather than toxic chemical evaluation principles to determine appropriate and useful levels of nutrients; place the burden of proof of each element of the safety standard on regulatory authorities; and promote widespread use of true, accurate and informative health claims for nutrient supplements. I thank you for your consideration of my comments. Sincerely, [your name and address]Please send additional copies to U.S. Codex Delegate Barbara O. Schneeman, Ph.D. Director Office of Nutritional Products, Labeling and Dietary Supplements Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, FDA (HFS 800) US Food and Drug Administration 5100 Paint Branch Parkway College Park, MD 20740 Phone: (301) 436-2373 Fax: (301) 436-2636 barbara.schneeman @ fda.hhs.gov and To the Weston A. Price Foundation at westonaprice_bill @ verizon.net In addition consumers should email their members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to oppose The Central America Free Trade Agreement/Free Trade of the Americas Agreement
(CAFTA/FTAA) until and unless it recognizes the principles of DSHEA as the international standard for Dietary Supplement Trade. The US Codex official website. U.S. Codex Office Room 4861, South Building Washington, DC 20250-3700 Phone: (202) 205-7760 Fax: (202) 720-3157 uscodex @ fsis.usda.gov This alert was prepared by Jim Turner, general counsel to the Weston A. Price Foundation. Bill Sanda Executive Director Weston A. Price Foundation bsanda @ westonaprice.org Our postal address is PMB #106-380 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW Washington, District of Columbia 20016 United States
The following is one of the best summaries on the European Health Directive commonly known as CODEX and on how it will impact us here in North America and elsewhere. Please seriously read and take action as outlined in Dr. Wright's action plan. Canadians Can also rally in this effort through donating to and becoming members of the Friends of Freedom grassroots organization and repeatedly writing to their MPs. See Canadian Court Case against Health Protection Branch (HPB).
Jury Calls Merck Liable in Death of Man on Vioxx Do you know someone with elevated blood-pressure, "high cholesterol", partially-clogged arteries, "all of the above" or alleged "Alzheimer" symptoms? Is anyone taking a synthetic drug like Vioxx or Celebrex, or other "statin" drug? The references in the enclosure, plus the following info, suggest methods of assisting the body to heal itself. No unfavorable side-effects, and without surgical intervention, which often removes the symptoms as it kills the patient. Similar to the surgical removal of prostate glands, 50% now said by physicians to have been useless. Similar to the prostate-antigen test, for determining cancer. YOU DON`T BELIEVE IT ? Look it up on the internet - . Surgeries and "modern medicines" are "good for the economy" ? Like the illegal invasion of Iraq - if you disregard massive US-public debt, devalued US$, "fat cats" getting "fatter", thousands of innocent adults & children slaughtered, a similar number maimed for life, thousands of US and foreign soldiers killed & maimed unnecessarily, confusion in the "Near East" worsened by US national leadership, etc, etc... Which individual was ultimately scapegoated in the ENRON debacle? For sure, not top-level US politicians who facilitated the colossal mess! All for the "good of America"? What garbage and stale, also! For thousands of years, the Chinese have demonstrated that natural chemicals "aid", sometimes "induce", the healing process. But, NO chemical, NO physician, performs "healing." Although, physicians report that immediate healing occasionally occurs when "faith healers" "lay hands" on an ill person. Nor do synthetic creations by drug companies provide long-term assistance with "healing". If they work at all, they ameliorate symptoms, until the body "habituates" to the synthetic drug. This "habituation process" >ALWAYS< interferes with natural body processes, usually complicates or thwarts the healing process. This interference is one, of several, causations of the over 200,000 "medicine-reaction" deaths reported annually by medical facilities, alone in the US! Some MD researchers suggest over 300,000, clarifying that precise statistics are not available. (WHY NOT ?) Like "aspirin", helpful in its natural form, tree bark, chewed by natives of the North American continent. The "Bayer form" is unnatural, typically over-dosed, functions via destructiveness. Of course, Bayer, wanting to maintain it´s world-wide profit margin, neither publishes nor explains aspirin´s "function by destruction"... No statistical report thus far on internal hemorraging and stroke, induced by aspirin. Don´t hold your breath, awaiting one, either. To your very good health, dr.b_helthi@t-online.de ************************************* A Nightmare Come True The FDA's wildest dream -- and our worst nightmare -- is about to come true. Two years ago, I told you about the passage of the European Union (EU) Directive on Dietary Supplements. This directive, which is part of a larger form of legislation called Codex Alimentarius, severely restricts access to natural health products in Europe. At the time, it probably seemed a long way off. After all, the law wasn't to go into effect for several years following the initial passage. Unfortunately, that several years is up, and the EU Directive is on track to take full effect in August 2005 -- less than a year from now -- and by 2007, the scene described above will certainly be a reality for many, many people. Obviously, this is devastating news for Europe. But thanks to some pre-existing international agreements made by the United States, the EU Directive will be just as devastating for the natural health community here. The main difference is that while the directive has been big news in Europe for some time, it's been virtually ignored by U.S. media, which means that the severe restrictions it calls for will sneak up on most people and rob us all of our freedom to choose natural alternatives before we even know what's happening. That's why I and many of my colleagues in the health publishing world have done our best to keep you informed of the directive's developments -- and their consequences for the United States -- over the years. Simply put, we're down to the wire, and if we don't act immediately, we will be facing the same fate as Europeans. There are steps you can take to get the word out and, hopefully, to diffuse this ticking time bomb. But first, let's take a few minutes and recount some of the specifics included in the directive so that you know exactly what it is we're fighting against. 5,000 Products Set to Disappear The EU Directive classifies vitamins and minerals in Europe as "medical drugs" rather than dietary supplements, which means that they're subject to government regulation in terms of dosage and availability. It gets worse: There are many nutrients known to be vital to optimal health that are not on the government's RDA nutrient list including chromium picolinate, lysine, and selenium. Under the directive, these types of supplements are banned from over-the-counter sale. Put simply, it will be illegal to buy them without a prescription. (Can you imagine having to get your regular dose of vitamins from drug dealers?) The supplements that will be available will be restricted to multi-vitamins containing no more than 100 percent of the established RDA amounts, which are usually useless, trivial quantities -- and they'll be far more expensive than what we have now. This directive, for all intents and purposes, makes it illegal for people to keep themselves healthy by supplementing with essential nutrients. Plus, the directive only allows supplements to be made from a list of 15 minerals and 13 vitamins. That leaves out at least 40 minerals important to the human metabolism and forbids the use of the most bio-available forms of vitamin complexes. In essence, it means that all nutritional supplements will be virtually the same. The specific combinations might vary, but the types and amounts of nutrients will be identical, no matter what product they're formulated into. So, for instance, a middle-aged woman in Liverpool, England, who has a dangerously elevated homocysteine level will no longer have the option of reducing her risk of heart disease with a vitamin B dosage of her own choosing. If she's currently taking 5 mg of folic acid daily, under the new directive, she will be legally restricted to a prescription of 1 mg per day. If she's taking a 100-mg dose of B6, she'll be restricted to 10 mg. And her pantothenic acid (B5) intake of 500 mg will drop to 200 mg. These maximum dosage levels have been chosen to "protect" her (so we're told), when, in fact, the protection she needs the most will be unavailable. In addition to these essential B vitamins, low maximum dosage levels have also been set for vitamin C, niacin Approximately 350 supplement ingredients are missing from the list. If they are not added to the list by June 2005, they will be deemed illegal throughout the European Union. Supplement manufacturers may submit "technical dossiers" to support applications for the inclusion of individual elements or formulations on the so-called "positive list." But the EU has made this process so expensive and time consuming that many manufacturers simply can't afford the costs involved. As a result, around 5,000 safe formulas and nutrients that have been on the market for decades will soon be banned. Of course, these regulations were all passed under the guise of "protecting the public." According to the World Health Organization, popular alternative medicines are often "misused" and may "harm patients." They point out that the "incorrect use" of alternative therapies has caused deaths in wealthy countries where more and more patients rely on them. You could also argue that the incorrect use of kitchen knives, water skis, and even plastic bags have all caused deaths. Not to mention the use of AMA-sanctioned medical procedures and FDA-approved drugs. The key phrase here is "incorrect use." The WHO could do everyone a service by first addressing the incorrect use of accepted mainstream therapies that have caused far more widespread death and adverse reactions than natural medicine therapies ever have or ever will. Although they are few and far between, there are mistakes and fatalities associated with alternate therapies, supplements and herbal remedies. It's always important to keep in mind that many of the compounds and herbs used in natural medicine treatments are very powerful. They have risks and potential side effects, which is why I always recommend that you work closely with skilled natural medicine practitioners whenever you use these therapies. But even with their cautions, natural remedies are far, far safer than prescription drugs, and one reason might be the users themselves. An article published in the journal Psychologist noted that people who seek out natural and alternative treatments are generally more health conscious than non-users, and believe that by making sound lifestyle choices they can influence their own health. But not if the EU has anything to say about it. Where's the "Fight for Freedom" When You Need It? You'd think that such blatant abuse of power to restrict people's personal liberty would have our own self-proclaimed freedom-loving government up in arms (literally). But there's an even darker side to all this, and it has little -- if anything -- to do with health or looking out for people's best interests. Even if the American government didn't want to go along with the regulations imposed by the EU Directive, we really wouldn't have a choice. In fact, the United States never has acknowledged or stated any form of acceptance for the EU Directive. But hard as it is to believe, this "directive" can actually override U.S. law if it isn't stopped in Europe. As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. will be bound by any finalized standards put forth in the directive. If we choose to ignore the regulations our WTO-affiliation binds us to, we would face severe trade sanctions with other WTO countries, which could potentially cripple part of our economy. And there's no way that our already anti-natural medicine government is going to let that happen over access to vitamins and minerals. So the best way to ensure it doesn't get to that point is to do everything we can to stop it now -- before it happens. Protect Your Rights With These Three Steps There are three actions to take. The most urgent is to support a case brought by the British Alliance for Natural Health to overturn the European Food Supplements Directive. In January 2004, the alliance's attorneys (a firm which has successfully had another European Directive overturned) won the first round in the High Court of Justice in London. The appeal was referred to the European Court of Justice. (Please visit the alliance's Web site, read about their case and, most importantly, make a donation to support their efforts to protect everyone's supplements, including yours. Even a few dollars will help. A few dollars from each of us will add up. If we can help them overturn this food supplement dictatorship in Europe, it won't ever come here.) The second action I urge you to take is to write, call and e-mail your state's senators and congressmen. Tell your senators to oppose S.722, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, and tell your congressmen to oppose H.R. 3377, the Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act. These two bills put the wheels in motion for restrictions similar to those outlined in the EU Directive to become U.S. law, which would be even more threatening to us than just an international code of standards. These extremely dangerous and misnamed proposals would allow the FDA to "roll back" most of the small amount of health care freedom you and I regained with the 1994 "DSHEA" law we all fought so hard for. Even if we're successful in helping the Alliance for Natural Health defeat the European Food Supplements Directive, if these bills are passed into law, our supplement choices will shrink dramatically anyway. The final step to take is to tell your U.S. senators and congressmen to support U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act. This accurately named (for once) legislation would make the Constitution of the United States the supreme law of the land again, and restore law-making and judging power to our elected representatives and American courts, respectively. Please don't leave this off your list. In the long run, it's the most important action of the three. Please make a donation of any size to the Alliance for Natural Health as soon as you can. Then, please write, call, fax, and e-mail your U.S. Senators and Representatives as often as you can, telling them to oppose S. 722 and H.R. 3377, and to support American freedom by voting for H.R. 1146. For further information on the European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements and on the Codex Alimentarius legislation, contact the American Holistic Health Association (www.ahha.org), the Alliance for Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org), or the International Advocates for Health Freedom (www.iahf.com). Don't wake up next August to find your supplements gone for good. Join me in taking action now, and recruit everyone you can to join the battle. While our troops are fighting for your freedom and mine overseas, you and I can literally fight for American freedom right here at home. Dr. Jonathan Wright is the Medical Director and founder of the Tahoma Clinic in Renton, Wash., where he also practices medicine. A Harvard University (A.B. 1965) and University of Michigan graduate (M.D. 1969), Dr. Wright has taught natural biochemical medical treatments since 1983 to thousands of physicians in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. In 1973, Dr. Wright founded the Tahoma Clinic, which focuses on disease prevention and treatment by natural biochemical and bioenergetic means. ************************************* July 1, 2005: The Day CODEX Will "Protect" You From High-Dose Dietary SupplementsBy Bill Sardi Advances in dietary supplementation are about to take a giant step backwards. About 18 months from now the dreaded CODEX rules will go into force regarding dietary supplements. Out of ignorance, the vitamin supplement industry has completely caved in to the regulatory process, with one scientific officer for an organization that represents the vitamin supplement manufacturers saying the soon-to-be-implemented CODEX regulations are "broadly welcomed." The industry has been badgered into accepting the false notion that the world must be protected from the imagined side effects of high-dose vitamins and minerals. "We are sure Codex will go through in July, 2005 and will be similar to US law. The guidelines are not perfect, but this is an excellent document that has been a long-time in coming," says John Hathcock, scientific officer for the Council for Responsible Nutrition. Instead of deciding upon a percentage of the outdated Recommended Dietary Allowance for the upper limit of supplemental nutrients, which vitamin supplement advocates feared, now the maximum levels will be determined by "scientific risk assessment." The problem is that the published science behind dietary supplement is often flawed, biased, outdated and in bad need of revision. For example, the upper limits previously proposed for Vitamin C Universal limit on vitamin DAs early as 1989 health authorities questioned whether it was even possible to establish an upper limit on Vitamin D Furthermore, there is no practical risk of toxicity from Vitamin D "No more expensive urine:" high-dose vitamin CDrs. Steve Hickey and Hilary Roberts from Manchester, England, authors of ASCORBATE: The Science of Vitamin C (www.lulu.com/ascorbate), have exposed the flaws in the government-sponsored science that fallaciously claims Vitamin C Virtually all healthy adults who supplement their diet with 500 milligrams of vitamin C taken 5 times a day (2500 mg total) will achieve blood levels that can significantly reduce the risk of mortality and morbidity compared to adults with low Vitamin C Mega-dose B vitaminsJust when researchers are finding high-dose Vitamin-B, at least 1000-5000 micrograms, may prevent Alzheimer's disease, birth defects, cancer, and replace prescription antidepressant drugs, CODEX may set a flawed upper limit that will inhibit consumers from purchasing high doses. B-100 Complex Is CODEX that bad?Since CODEX doesn't outlaw dietary supplements outright, it only establishes maxims on vitamins and minerals in one dose (a serving size), it doesn't appear to be too onerous. "We're not taking your vitamins away," say authorities for CODEX. But now Vitamin C CODEX will likely mandate the maxims be printed on labels, which will further frighten consumers away from high-dose supplements. Consumers will have to be educated to ignore the labels. (Consumers should be educating themselves NOW about every lie and deceit rising from corporate control their health.) CODEX maxims on vitamins and minerals are supposed to protect the public from side effects due to over-dosage. But without CODEX there have been no reported deaths and only a small number of adverse reactions reported to poison control centers in the USA in the past few years. [Am Journal Emergency Med 20: 391-452, 2002] Who is CODEX protecting? Anticipate an all-out barrage of misinformation in the news media on the safety of high-dose dietary supplements between now and July 1, 2005. (For TV watchers: What about that commercial where the news media keeps reporting how "you may die from something you eat" which finally scares the couch potato into calling some 'health' organization? That's just the beginning...) The vitamin supplement industry will surely be on the defensive and in the past has not adequately refuted factitious arguments about mega-dose supplementation. Copyright 2008 Bill Sardi Bill Sardi is a consumer advocate and health journalist, writing from San Dimas, California. He has written numerous health books including THE NEW TRUTH ABOUT VITAMINS AND MINERALS. His website is www.askbillsardi.com. ************************************* SQUEEZE PLAY ON SUPPLEMENTSJON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.comJANUARY 14, 2004. A new report from a prestigious government-connnected medical institute is calling for tighter regulation of nutritional supplements. This report is timed to coincide with the final Codex push to place heavy restrictions on what supplements can be traded across national borders. I'm told that the FDA is working with and watching Codex with great interest, as a possible prelude to trying to lower the boom on supplements sold within the US. Reading the AP article below, you'll see that several key issues are being folded into the new report and the consequent follow-up from "medical experts": nutritional manufacturers need to step up their quality control procedures (what's actually in the capsule and how much of it is in there---this is a legitimate concern for consumers---although the US regulatory system that could govern this area will go about it in the wrong way); the inherent safety of supplements needs to be investigated in full (this is mostly nonsense because the overwhelming number of supplements are much, much safer than any drugs and have caused very, very, very few, if any, deaths around the world over the last few centuries); the efficacy of supplements in maintaining or restoring health must be tested in the same say that drugs are tested (this is complete crap---efficacy should not be the purview of the government at all, and the cost of studies that could be mandated will drive most supplement companies into bankruptcy); and health claims made by supplement manufacturers should be governed and controlled by the FDA (although some manufacturers make ridiculous health claims, we should err on the side of allowing such claims, since the supplements are inherently safe, and the consumer should be the judge of these claims). There are already laws on the books that handle problems. If a manufacturer places poison in a pill, he is a felon. Drug companies take note. If a manufacturer can't or won't attain standard quality control, he is guilty of false advertising. No regulatory superstructure necessary in either case. What is most alarming about the new report and the follow-up from it in the press---all these issues I listed above are being melded together, as if possible concern about one implies deep concern about all. That's the strategy. Cast a wide inclusive net. Confuse one issue with another. As usual, the medical and government honchos are occupying the high ground, as if they and not the people set the standards and the laws. As if the medical naturally and normally trumps the nutritional. It should, in fact, be the other way around. However, supplement manufacturers and their trade associations have long cowered in fear and abdicated any sense of mission in this struggle. They should be out front exposing the horrendous effects of pharmaceuticals and the sold-out criminal FDA. They should be playing OFFENSE and rocking the drug boys back on their heels every day. They should be paying big PR firms to take the truth to the people through the press. They are not. They are stupid and often corrupt and venal and greedy. They dream that all will be well. They have betrayed their customers through their inaction. They should be hung by their thumbs. De facto, these companies are opening doors and inviting the FDA in to make supplements into drugs, with all the accoutrements attached. ************************************* Panel wants rules for diet supplementsFriday, January 14, 2005 Posted: 11:49 AM EST (1649 GMT)WASHINGTON (AP) -- With nearly one-fifth of Americans taking dietary supplements, the Institute of Medicine has called for tougher regulations to make sure the products are safe and do what they claim. The institute expressed concern about the quality of dietary supplements, saying "there is little product reliability." This makes it difficult for health professionals to guide patients in use of supplements, the report said. The panel urged that Congress take steps to require improved quality control of supplements and to provide incentives to study the efficacy of the products. "Reliable and standardized products are needed," Dr. Stuart Bondurant, chairman of the committee that prepared the report, said at a briefing Wednesday. In a 327-page report, the institute also urged that complimentary and alternative medical procedures, such as herbal remedies and acupuncture, be required to meet the same standards of effectiveness as conventional medical treatments. Dr. Stephen E. Straus, director of the government's National Center for Complimentary [sic] and Alternative Medicine, said requiring the same research standards "will further the scientific investigation of this new field, increase its legitimacy as a research area and ultimately improve public health." Unlike drugs, which must be proven safe before they can be sold, the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act allows sale of supplements unless the Food and Drug Administration can prove them harmful. The law also does not require manufacturers to report adverse reactions, as drug companies must. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, who has pressed for more FDA attention to supplements, believes that manufacturers should be required to report adverse events and continues to urge action against false or misleading claims, according to spokeswoman Allison Dobson. The Institute of Medicine report said 18.9 percent of Americans reported in 2008 that they had taken a dietary supplement in the past year. The industry was responsible for $18.7 billion in sales in 2002. A study by researchers at Harvard Medical School, also being released Wednesday, found that about 35 percent of Americans have used some form of alternative medicine Dr. Hilary Tindle, lead author of that report, said such widespread use shows the necessity of studying the safety, efficacy and cost-effectiveness of these approaches. The biggest change was an increase in use of herbal supplements over the five years, the study said. The practice of yoga also increased. The Harvard report, published in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, said use of therapies such as acupuncture, biofeedback, energy healing and hypnosis remained essentially unchanged between 1997 and 2002, while the use of homeopathy, high-dose vitamins, chiropractic and massage therapy declined slightly. Both the Harvard and IOM reports cited a failure of a majority of consumers using supplements to tell their doctors. "This is especially critical as more becomes known about the adverse effects associated with individual dietary supplements as well as their interactions with prescription drugs," said Harvard's Tindle. The Federal Trade Commission has reported a flurry of unfounded or exaggerated claims for supplements, the IOM report notes. It calls on Congress and federal agencies to set standards for manufacturing quality. The Institute of Medicine is a part of the National Academy of Science, an independent organization chartered by Congress to advise the government on scientific matters. The National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine, which requested the IOM study, is part of the National Institutes of Health. end of AP article SQUEEZE PLAY ON SUPPLEMENTS, PART 2JON RAPPOPORT www.nomorefakenews.comJANUARY 18, 2004. Thirteen years ago, when I was becoming quite active in the health freedom movement, I punched up several points that I thought were absolutely necessary. Among them: ATTACK THE FDA. Expose that fraud of an agency, every day in every way, for its multiple crimes, including certifying many drugs as safe when in fact those drugs were (and are) causing great damage and death. Reveal that the FDA was (and is) continuing its war against all forms of alternative health, against free choice by the people of America. BEWARE OF CERTAIN PEOPLE FROM THE MEDICAL COMMUNITY POSING AS FRIENDS OF ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE.The recent coordinated effort (covered in part one) to subject alt. med. and nutritional supplements to the same standards the FDA applies to mainstream medical practice and medical drugs has such a friend. It is called the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, and it makes its home at the US National Institutes of Health. Back when I was working flat out in the health freedom movement, this agency was just forming up, and lots of people thought it was a good sign. Finally, the federal government was going to listen to alternative voices. I said no. I smelled a rotten fish. I had no faith in this new agency. Other people told me to calm down. They said, "For the first time, we'll get actual studies that confirm the results of alternative methods." Well, we have gotten a few or some studies. We have gotten a great deal of PR, too. On the surface, it looks pretty good. But the underlying theme is: natural medicine must subject itself to same kind of scrutiny that is applied to conventional medicine. Which means alt. med. and supplements will go down. And I mean down. Because what this new agency and the FDA have in mind is what the government and the drug companies have always had in mind. Making all forms of alt. med., including supplements, into a sub-specialty of conventional practice, regulated to the teeth by the government. Many, many supplements will be regulated as drugs. Doctors will write prescriptions. Prices will rise considerably. All but a few of the largest supplement companies will go out of business, because they don't have the money to run million-dollar studies on every supplement they make, to prove that these substances are safe and effective. This is what the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine is all about. Has always been all about. "Let's integrate conventional and alt. medicine." Some of the best minds in the alt. field are, as we speak, figuring out how to position themselves for the new era. Don't worry about the most famous alternative MDs. They'll survive. They'll do fine. They have their medical degrees, and if the government decides that 70 percent of all supplements now on the shelves of health-food stores have to go, these MDs will adapt. They won't miss a stroke. They'll sail into the future without raising their voices against the FDA. There is one reason, and one reason only, why conventional medical forces have taken an interest in alt. medicine. Their patients have been demanding it. People all over the US and the world have been deserting the ranks of drug users. This is good---except, behind all this, there is the concerted effort to co-opt alternatives and place them "in context." Control them. Weaken them. Outlaw many of them. This is where the rubber meets the road: science versus freedom of choice. The super-educated types keep pushing what they think is science. That is their bent. It will always be their bent. The rest of us have freedom. Freedom to choose, to experiment, to explore, to investigate, to, yes, treat ourselves IN ANY DAMN WAY WE WANT TO. And if that means learning and making mistakes, we have that, too, and we're willing to deal with it. We don't care about having a nanny looking over our shoulders with a gun. We don't want that. We won't abide. I urge you to, among other measures, organize, adopt group names and challenge the supplement manufacturers who are sleeping in a state of denial and making back-door deals. Challenge them to hire powerful PR agencies who will splash all over the press the triumphs of supplements and alt. medical cures. Who will splash all over the press the crimes of the FDA and the drug companies. Day after day. Who will make the FDA a pariah. An outcast. An agency back-pedaling and defending itself against multiple streams of attacks. Lives are on the line. From time to time, I get emails from disgruntled readers who demand solutions to the problems we face. As if I'm somehow responsible for the truth they see. Well, here is a solution. Do what's necessary to bring some high-powered PR firms into play, on the right side for once. Monitor their activities carefully. They tend to be slimy types. But they do have press connections. Get the word out. THE FDA IS A CRIMINAL AGENCY. A RICO OPERATION IN FULL BLOOM. Get the word out. Supplements are overwhelmingly safe. As for effective, that is the consumer's choice. We don't need people with badges to come in and tell us what works and what doesn't. They don't care about knowing what works. They only care about controlling and destroying. They are partners with the drug companies. The drug companies have thick skins. They can kill thousands of people every month without losing a moment of sleep. They can hide behind all sorts of garble they claim to be science. Like vampires, they live off of sickness. With widespread health, they would die in the light of day and blow away. ************************************* ANH PRESS RELEASE NEW GERMAN REPORT CLAIMS THAT FOOD SUPPLEMENTS ARE UNSAFEA newly established German institution, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR), released yesterday a 341-page report [1] on risk assessment of nutrients used in food supplements. The report makes recommendations for maximum levels that are well below those that are commonly present in vitamin and mineral supplements sold in health stores in the UK, Ireland, Sweden, other EU countries, the USA and elsewhere. Many people might, understandably, assume, as a result of this report, that commonly availablefood supplements are unsafe. The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), a pan-European body of interests in the natural healthcare field, strongly contests the science used by the German institute. Good science and good law underpin all of the ANH's work, and the scientific reports produced by the ANH are endorsed by many of the world's leading doctors and scientists working in the field of nutritional medicine. The report, for example, recommends a maximum level of vitamin C of 225 mg in food supplements, when many health stores sell 1000 mg tablets, and significant numbers of people consume 2000 mg or more per day. Maximum recommended dosages for vitamin B6 have been set at 5.4 mg, against 25 mg or more commonly found in UK and USsupplements, while vitamin B12 has been set at an astonishing 9 mcg, compared with over 300 mcg in many supplements. Many European countries have for years considered multiples of Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) for nutrients as a means of assessing safety, but this approach has been found to be scientifically unjustifiable as RDAs are minimum levels that guard against the development of deficiency diseases that are uncommon in modern, western societies, such as scurvy, beri-beri, pellagra and rickets. Scientific risk assessment is the recently acclaimed approach that will replace RDAs for evaluation of safety, having been endorsed both by the European Union in its Food Supplements Directive, set to come into force in August this year, and the United Nation's Codex Alimentarius, which develops global guidelines for food safety. Dr Robert Verkerk, executive director of the ANH says:"The maximum levels for vitamins and minerals proposed by BfR are in many cases far lower than those required for optimum health. They have used what is purportedly a scientific method, to produce data that is meaningless for the majority of the population. In December 2004, the ANH submitted a ground-breaking critique [2] of risk assessment methods to the FAO/WHO of the United Nations in response to a consultation on the subject. The ANH report demonstrated the flawed nature of existing scientific risk assessment methods used by the EU's Scientific Committee on Food, in turn used as the baseline for upper levels by BfR. BfR have gone on, as proposed in the EU's Food Supplements Directive, to reduce further the already unnecessarily low `upper safe levels' by taking into account dietary intakes and susceptible population groups, and ended up with meaningless, unreasonably low maximum recommended levels for food supplements. The ANH's landmark case against the EU's proposed ban on 75% of vitamin and mineral forms currently on the UK market is due to be heard in the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg on 25 January. [2] Download ANH consultation response to FAO/WHO ENDSFor further information: Alliance for Natural Health www.alliance-natural-health.org Dr Robert Verkerk - Executive Director Tel: 01252 371 275 Email: robv @ alliance-natural-health.org IKON Associates Adrian Shaw - Partner Tel: 01483 535102 Mobile: 0797 9900733 Email: adrian @ ikonassociates.com Paul Donkersley - Partner Tel: 020 8870 0316 Mobile: 07967 646046 Email: paul @ ikonassociates.com |
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