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Health news and comment from around the world.

» Archive 2007

August 12, 2008

Push to Amend the FDA Globalization Act Now
Dietary supplements and most nutritional foods are currently regulated under the provisions of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education (DSHEA) law. As proposed, the Globalization bill would eliminate the distinction from conventional food products. If treated as conventional foods, for example, every time a small supplement or nutritional food manufacturer changed or added a new ingredient, they would be required to get advanced FDA approval under the New Dietary Ingredient regulations applying to conventional food products, as opposed to the less-regulated DSHEA provisions.
Read press release on the National Health Federation (NHF) website (USA)

August 11, 2008

Pain 'linked with low vitamin D'
Low levels of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D, may contribute to chronic pain among women, scientists believe.
Read article on the BBC News website (UK)

August 11, 2008

Lack of vitamin D linked to higher death risk: study
Vitamin D deficiency has been linked to 26 percent greater risk of death in men and women, according to a study published Monday that appears to confirm the importance of this essential nutrient. Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, in Baltimore, Maryland, studied 13,000 initially healthy men and women from 1994 to 2000, comparing the mortality rate between those with low and normal levels of vitamin D in the blood. They found that of the 1,800 people who died by December 31, 2000 -- 700 from cardiovascular diseases -- 400 were deficient in vitamin D, which translated to a 26 percent increased risk of death.
Read AFP news report at google.com

August 8, 2008

Codex Alimentarius: Globalizing Food
Codex Alimentarius, according to its website, was created in 1963 by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Program. The stated purposes of this Program are protecting the health of consumers, ensuring fair trade practices and promoting coordination of food standards. At first sight, that seems a worthwhile goal. Unfortunately, the nice words hide a more sinister reality.
Read article by Sepp Hasslberger on the Health Supreme website

August 7, 2008

The real story of vitamin C and cancer
What was all the fuss about?
Tuesday 5th August saw worldwide media headlines claiming that intravenous vitamin C is the new wonder drug for destroying cancer cells. Exciting stuff and hopeful too for the millions of cancer sufferers out there, but is it new and is it the full story?  We would have to say no to both questions.
Read article by Dr Steve Hickey and Dr Hiliary Roberts on the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) website (UK)

August 1, 2008

NHS spends £750m on drugs to treat lifestyle diseases: official figures
The NHS is spending more than £750m on drugs to treat conditions brought on by unhealthy lifestyles, official figures show. Prescriptions for drugs to combat obesity, diabetes, alcoholism and smoking have all increased. For the first time ever, more money is being spent on treating diabetes than any other single disease. It is now one of the biggest health problems facing the UK as increasing obesity levels have caused an explosion in the type 2 form of the disease.
Read article in the Daily Telegraph (UK)

July 28, 2008

Organic food 'good for you' says EU
The European Commission has launched a campaign to inform consumers of the benefits of organic food and support those involved in the ever-growing organic market. The promotional campaign focuses on increasing awareness of organic produce among young people to ensure a future market for organic, under its main slogan: "Organic farming: Good for nature, good for you." Professionals in the industry can use the slogans for marketing purposes. But despite undertones that imply health benefits from organic produce, the European Commission is denying its support for organic farming over conventional, saying is merely seeking to help the organic sector.
Read article at foodnavigator.com
Comment: The European Union is well known to have been designed to protect patents and corporate control – not the health and interests of its citizens. So could the launch of this campaign signal that it is finally beginning to pay proper attention to the health and interests of its citizens? Or will the interests of multi-billion euro European corporations and their patents on health-endangering products such as GMO seeds, pharmaceutical drugs, artificial food additives and pesticides remain its primary focus? Only time will tell…

July 25, 2008

California bans restaurants from using trans fats
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - California on Friday became the first state to ban trans fats from restaurant food, following several cities and major fast-food chains in erasing the notorious artery-clogger from menus. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation that will ban restaurants and other retail food establishments from using oil, margarine and shortening containing trans fats. In a statement, Schwarzenegger noted that consuming trans fat is linked to coronary heart disease.
Read Associated Press news report at google.com

July 23, 2008

Toxic chemicals found in common scented laundry products, air fresheners
A University of Washington study of top-selling laundry products and air fresheners found the products emitted dozens of different chemicals. All six products tested gave off at least one chemical regulated as toxic or hazardous under federal laws, but none of those chemicals was listed on the product labels.
Read article at physorg.com

July 14, 2008

Natural health industry wins fight against government
Health Minister Tony Clement changes his mind about including alternative products in new legislation
OTTAWA -- In a surprising about-face, Health Minister Tony Clement has agreed to key demands of the natural health products industry after the sector launched a grassroots campaign against restrictions on homeopathic medicines and herbal remedies in new legislation. When Clement proposed amendments to the Food and Drugs Act in April, natural medicines were lumped in with pharmaceutical drugs, raising concerns they would be subject to the same type of oversight. He now admits it was a mistake not to create a separate category under the law.
Read article in The Vancouver Sun (Canada)

July 7, 2008

Health Freedom Calls on Labour to Bury the "Anti-Vitamin" Bill
Health Freedom New Zealand (HFNZ) calls on Labour to do the right thing by the New Zealand voting public and get rid of the Anti-Vitamin Bill (Therapeutic Products and Medicines Bill) from the legislative agenda, thereby removing the threat of untold misery for New Zealand citizens.  "The government needs to admit that the Bill is dead and must be finally buried," says HFNZ spokesperson Nicola Grace. The exceedingly unpopular "Anti-Vitamin Bill" has failed to attain the numbers for parliament support.  It has been rejected by two Health Select Committees, an Administration Select Committee, Maoridom, National, Greens, Maori Party, Act, New Zealand First and independents Taito Phillip Field and Gordon Copeland as well as hundreds of thousands of New Zealand voters. Deplorably, instead of dumping the bill, Labour are claiming the Bill has been "put on hold" until they can coerce voting levels to its favour.  Health Minister, David Cunliffe has confirmed Labour will go ahead with ANZTPA and are currently in negotiations with the Australian Government.
Read press release on the Health Freedom New Zealand website

July 4, 2008

Mother's vitamin D status during pregnancy will affect her baby's dental health
Low maternal vitamin D levels during pregnancy may affect primary tooth calcification, leading to enamel defects, which are a risk factor for early-childhood tooth decay.
Read article at physorg.com

July 1, 2008

ANH and Irish delegation urge European Commission to rethink its policy on natural health
JOINT ALLIANCE FOR NATURAL HEALTH / IRISH ASSOCIATION FOR HEALTH STORES PRESS RELEASE
A delegation from the Irish Association of Health Stores (IAHS), the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) and Irish member of the European Parliament (MEP), Marian Harkin, met with senior European Commission officials yesterday to voice their concerns over the severity of likely imminent restrictions on natural health.
Read full press release on the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) website (UK)

June 25, 2008

Native Essence Herb Company Sues FTC
TAOS, N.M. -- For the first time, the Federal Trade Commission is being sued over the use of history. A New Mexico herb company says the First Amendment gives it the right to tell customers the historical use of herbs in treating serious diseases. The FTC says this violates its guidelines. Now the issue is headed to court. Native Essence Herb Company, and its owners Mark and Marianne Hershiser, has sued to strike down the FTC's guidelines.
Read article on the BNET website

June 25, 2008

Canadian's beat Bill C-51 – but watch the back door!
Around a million Canadians made their feelings known about Bill C-51, an amendment introduced by the Harper government to the Canadian Food & Drugs Act. The mass opposition to this Bill forced the Canadian Parliament to call off the second reading last Friday. The Bill, having been successfully through first reading on 8 April 2008, is now dead.
Read article on the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) website (UK)

June 23, 2008

Study shows more benefits of sunshine vitamin
People with a vitamin D deficiency are as much as twice as likely to die compared to people whose blood contains higher amounts of the so-called sunshine vitamin, Austrian researchers said on Monday. Their study -- the latest to suggest a health benefit from the vitamin -- showed death rates from any cause as well as from heart-related problems varied greatly depending on vitamin D.
Read news report at reuters.com

June 18, 2008

Calls to copy as island stops fluoride plan
HAMPSHIRE campaigners have hailed a decision by the Isle of Man government to scrap plans to add fluoride to tap water - and called on the county's health chiefs to follow suit. Manx residents torpedoed the proposals after a poll of 1,000 residents found a majority were opposed. Activists say Southampton health chiefs should back down now before the launch of a £178,000 public consultation in August.
Read article in the Daily Echo (UK)

June 17, 2008

100s of UK herbals face ban as registration deadline looms
Hundreds of botanical products face removal from the UK market if their manufacturers do not submit applications to have them registered under the European Union Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD) directive. The British Herbal Medicines Association (BHMA) has urged companies to begin the registration process or allow products to face market extinction come the April 2011 deadline. At that point all herbal products not deemed foodstuffs such as 'spice rack' herbs like garlic or rosemary or, at the other end of spectrum, those that are deemed medicines, must be registered under the THMPD. In the UK, this process is being conducted by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) which has approved 14 applications since 2005 and has another 21 applications in lieu.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: The high financial cost of preparing the application dossiers required for the registration of herbal medicines under this European Union legislation is clearly now proving to be prohibitive for the vast majority of herbal manufacturers, just as we have always said it would be. Significantly, therefore, of the 14 approvals that have been granted in the UK, half of them have been being handed to a German pharma group-owned company. Unless something changes very soon, therefore, the vast majority of herbal alternatives to the pharmaceutical industry's toxic patented chemical drugs will be banned after April 2011 - not just in the UK, but right across Europe. To find out what you can do to help prevent this happening, click here.

June 16, 2008

Irish health group welcomes 'no' to Lisbon treaty
Ireland's rejection of the European Union Lisbon Treaty has strengthened the resolve of the country's independent health store retailers as well as food supplement manufacturers and wholesalers in their campaign against EU regulations. The Irish Association of Health Stores (IAHS) has for many years been campaigning against what it perceives as "highly restrictive" laws that have been implemented - or are in the process of being implemented - across the 27-member state bloc in regard to food supplement and functional foods.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: If you live in Europe, click here to sign the European Referendum Initiative petition demanding a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.

June 15, 2008

Bastyr University's St. John's Wort Article in JAMA: CAM Research Breakthrough Or Big Pharma Sell Out?
The biggest health story in the United States media during the second week of June 2008 involved a major study published June 11, 2008 in the Journal of the American Medical Association - JAMA - one of the most prestigious mainstream medical journals in the world. The study was the subject of hundreds of print articles, television and radio broadcast reports, and Internet items. The title of the Washington Post's article published June 11, 2008 was typical: "St. John's Wort Doesn't Work for ADHD."
Read article by Peter Barry Chowka at google.com
Comment: It is notable that one of the co-authors of this study was Dr. Joseph Biederman, a Harvard child psychiatrist who reportedly earned at least $1.6 million in consulting fees from numerous drug companies from 2000 to 2007 but did not report much of this income to university officials. As Peter Barry Chowka's article describes, this laundry list of Big Pharma financial affiliations by a principal author of an herbal nutritional supplement study should raise major alarms by itself.

June 9, 2008

IAHS HEEDS D'ESTAING'S WORDS
The Irish Association of Health Stores has announced its opposition to the Lisbon Treaty. Heeding the words of one of the main architects of the Lisbon Treaty, Giscard d'Estaing, that 'If people understood it they would vote against it', the IAHS unanimously agreed to endorse a No vote in Thursday's referendum, following a meeting of its National Council today. "While not against the EU in principle, it is patently clear that Europe has not been good for the natural products industry, or for freedom of choice in healthcare," said Jill Bell, IAHS President. "The Lisbon Treaty seems set to further facilitate erosion of individual rights and choices," she added. "All EU regulations which have affected our industry over the past six years have originated with the Commission itself, rather than with our elected political representatives," said Ms. Bell. "Increasing EU efficiency may mean a more smoothly-run Europe, but at what price?" she asked. The introduction of harmonising measures, such as the Food Supplements Directive and the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, is further evidence that, within the EU, trade regulations are drawn up to favour big business, at the expense of small enterprises. These regulations are so onerous, that for the natural products sector, which is made up almost exclusively of small enterprises, compliance presents an almost impossible task. Ms. Bell commented, "Efficiency and democracy are unhappy bedfellows." She continued, "The future viability of health stores is seriously under threat as a direct result of EU regulation which, we are told, is to facilitate the smooth workings of the internal market." Ms. Bell concluded, "The David and Goliath situation within the EU, where the commercial regulatory environment is biased in favour of large corporations, looks set to continue, and even worsen, under this Treaty."
Read press release on the website of the Irish Association of Health Stores (IAHS)

June 9, 2008

Emergency Pesticide Ban for Saving the Honeybee
Prof. Joe Cummins' warning against neonicotinoid pesticides in the killing of honeybees was dramatically confirmed, resulting in swift action on the part of the German Government.
The German Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) suspended the registration of eight neonicotinoid pesticide seed treatment products used in oilseed rape and sweetcorn a few weeks after honeybee keepers in the southern state of Baden Württemberg reported a wave of honeybee deaths linked to one of the pesticides, clothianidin.
Read press release on the website of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) (UK)
Comment: Produced by the pharmaceutical and chemical giant Bayer, the incriminating evidence against clothianidin was so convincing that a press release from the Julius Kuehn Institute (JKI), the German federal agricultural research agency, stated: "It can unequivocally be concluded that a poisoning of the bees is due to the rub-off of the pesticide ingredient clothianidin from the corn seeds."

June 6, 2008

Teen Refused Chemo, Beat Cancer With 'Alternative' Therapies
Starchild Abraham Cherrix has plenty of reason to celebrate his 18th birthday Friday. His latest blood results show no indication of the Hodgkin's disease he's battled since 2005, and for the first time in two years he doesn't have to report those results to the Accomack County court. Cherrix won a court battle against state officials who tried to force him to undergo chemotherapy for his lymphatic cancer. He was allowed to treat the disease using alternative therapies, but his family was required to keep the court updated as to his progress.
Read article at foxnews.com (USA)

June 6, 2008

Niacin's cholesterol-lowering mechanism proposed
The cholesterol-lowering effects of niacin may by located in the liver, suggests new research that fills in the gaps in our understanding of the heart healthy benefits of the B vitamin. The cell study indicates that niacin may reduce the removal of HDL 'good' cholesterol by about 35 per cent, according to findings published in the Journal of Lipid Research.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

June 5, 2008

Study links vitamin D, type 1 diabetes
Sun exposure and vitamin D levels may play a strong role in risk of type 1 diabetes in children, according to new findings by researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at University of California, San Diego (UCSD) and the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine. This association comes on the heels of similar research findings by this same group regarding vitamin D levels and several major cancers. In this new study, the researchers found that populations living at or near the equator, where there is abundant sunshine (and ultraviolet B irradiance) have low incidence rates of type 1 diabetes. Conversely, populations at higher latitudes, where available sunlight is scarcer, have higher incidence rates. These findings add new support to the concept of a role of vitamin D in reducing risk of this disease.
Read article at physorg.com

June 4, 2008

Personal Genomes May Lead To Personalized Vitamin Supplements
As the cost of sequencing a single human genome drops rapidly, with one company predicting a price of $100 per person in five years, soon the only reason not to look at your "personal genome" will be fear of what bad news lies in your genes. University of California, Berkeley, scientists, however, have found a welcome reason to delve into your genetic heritage: to find the slight genetic flaws that can be fixed with remedies as simple as vitamin or mineral supplements.
Read article on the Medical News Today website
Comment: The scientists found that there are many genetic differences that make people's enzymes less efficient than normal, and that simple supplementation with vitamins can often restore some of these deficient enzymes to full working order.

June 4, 2008

Brief, intense exercise benefits the heart
Short bursts of high intensity sprints -- known to benefit muscle and improve exercise performance -- can improve the function and structure of blood vessels, in particular arteries that deliver blood to our muscles and heart, according to new research from McMaster University. The findings support the idea that people can exercise using brief, high-intensity forms of exercise and reap the same benefits to cardiovascular health that can be derived from traditional, long-duration and moderately intense exercise.
Read article at physorg.com

June 4, 2008

Long-term pesticide exposure may increase risk of diabetes
Licensed pesticide applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The associations between specific pesticides and incident diabetes ranged from a 20 percent to a 200 percent increase in risk, said the scientists with the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
Read article at physorg.com

June 4, 2008

Mercury teeth fillings may harm some: U.S. FDA
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Silver-colored metal dental fillings contain mercury that may cause health problems in pregnant women, children and fetuses, the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday after settling a related lawsuit. As part of the settlement with several consumer advocacy groups, the FDA agreed to alert consumers about the potential risks on its website and to issue a more specific rule next year for fillings that contain mercury, FDA spokeswoman Peper Long said. Millions of Americans have the fillings, or amalgams, to patch cavities in their teeth. "Dental amalgams contain mercury, which may have neurotoxic effects on the nervous systems of developing children and fetuses," the FDA said in a notice on its Web site.
Read Reuters news story at yahoo.com
Comment: After decades of denials of the adverse health effects of dental amalgams containing mercury, this admittance by the U.S. FDA of their neurotoxic effects is clearly highly significant. Whilst it is expected that the FDA is not yet likely to outright ban the fillings but will instead call for restrictions upon their use, it would seem reasonable to presume that an eventual outright ban is no longer a matter of "if" but a matter of "when."

June 4, 2008

Emergency Alert: Bill C-51 – Canada
Today, June 4th 2008 Bill C-51 was quietly sneaked onto the Order List for the House of Commons in Ottawa.
Read alert at ymlp.com

June 3, 2008

Supplement breast-fed babies with vitamin D: study
US researchers have found more than 12 per cent of 365 healthy infants and toddlers in the Boston area had vitamin D deficiency, some of which were breast-fed, and recommended supplementation to compensate. Forty per cent of the 8-24 month-old infants had "suboptimal" vitamin D levels - responsible for the onset of conditions like rickets.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

June 3, 2008

Farmers bringing message to the Food Crisis Summit in Rome expelled
"Stop corporate control over food!"
Farmer and civil society leaders carrying out a peaceful action today in Rome, Italy at the FAO Summit on the Food Crisis were forcefully removed from the premises. At around 1:30pm farmers and representatives of civil society organisations staged an action at the press room to deliver a message that millions of additional people are joining the ranks of the hungry as the corporations that control the global food system are making record profits.
Read article at grain.org

June 2, 2008

Low vitamin D levels appear common in healthy children
Many healthy infants and toddlers may have low levels of vitamin D, and about one-third of those appear to have some evidence of reduced bone mineral content on X-rays, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Reports of a resurgence of vitamin D deficiency and rickets, the resulting bone-weakening disease, have emerged in several states, according to background information in the article. Vitamin D deficiency also appears to be high in other countries, including Greece, China, Canada and England.
Read article at physorg.com

June 2, 2008

First study to examine vitamin D insufficiency in pediatric patients with low bone density
Vitamin D insufficiency is common in adults and is emerging in the world of pediatrics. A mild degree of vitamin D deficiency, also known as vitamin D insufficiency, causes rickets in children and can be treated with increased amount of nutritional vitamin D intake as well as increased sun exposure. A new study conducted by physicians and researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital, is the first study to investigate vitamin D insufficiency in pediatric patients with low bone density. According to the study, published in the June issue of Pediatrics, among the 85 patients studied, 80 percent had a vitamin D insufficiency.
Read article at physorg.com

May 30, 2008

Copenhagen Consensus 2008
The world's best investment: Vitamins for undernourished children, according to top economists, including 5 Nobel Laureates.
Over two years, more than 50 economists have worked to find the best solutions to ten of the world's biggest challenges. During the last week of May, an expert panel of 8 top-economists, including 5 Nobel Laureates, sat down to assess the research. The result: A prioritized list highlighting the potential of 30 specific solutions to combat some of the biggest challenges facing the world. Combating malnutrition in the 140 million children who are undernourished reached the number one spot, after economist Sue Horton of Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada made her case to the expert panel. Providing micronutrients for 80% of the 140 million children who lack essential vitamins in the form of vitamin A capsules and a course of zinc supplements would cost just $60 million per year, according to the analysis. More importantly, this action holds yearly benefits of more than $1 billion. In effect, this means that each dollar spent on this program creates benefits (in the form of better health, fewer deaths, increased future earnings, etc) worth more than 17 dollars.
Learn more at copenhagenconsensus.com

May 30, 2008

British Cabinet had warning of cancer-smoking link
The British Cabinet discussed the early warnings about a link between smoking and lung cancer more than 50 years ago, but viewed the threat as minor and did little for fear of losing tax revenue, according to documents released Friday. The grim portrait is drawn from previously secret reports of an April 19, 1956, Cabinet meeting.
Read article at physorg.com
Comment: Evidence that public health care decisions are often driven by money rather than by the health needs of the people. Yet another example of the business with disease.

May 28, 2008

Vitamin D levels should be multiplied by ten for children: study
Raising current vitamin D levels from 200 International Units (IU) to 2,000 IU could boost bone health amongst children and have long-term health benefits, says new research. Only children given the equivalent of 2,000 IUs a day of vitamin D3 increased their blood levels of the vitamin to the level considered optimal for adults, according to results of a placebo-controlled study to be published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. "Our research reveals that vitamin D, at doses equivalent to 2,000 IUs a day, is not only safe for adolescents, but it is actually necessary for achieving desirable vitamin D levels," said lead researcher Ghada El-Haff Fuleihan from the American University of Beirut-Medical Center, Lebanon.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

May 27, 2008

FDA Dietary Supplement Disease Claim Petition
Dietary Supplement Disease Claims
The American Dietetic Association, the American Diabetes Association, the Obesity Society, and pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) have filed a Citizen Petition with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to reclassify all dietary-supplement weight-loss claims as disease claims. It should be noted that in the Petition, GlaxoSmithKline freely states that it has and provides unrestricted grants to all of these groups.
Read press release on the website of the National Health Federation

May 26, 2008

The Truth About Homeopathy
By Louise Mclean, Editor, Zeus Information Service.
Read article at zeusinfoservice.com (UK)

May 23, 2008

Make additive removal usual for hyperactive kids, says professor
Cutting out colours and preservatives from the diets of hyperactive children should be standard part of dealing with the disorder, says a professor who takes a more stringent view than the FSA following the Southampton study publication. Certain artificial colours and the preservative sodium benzoate have been under the spotlight in the last year since a study conducted at Southampton University and funded by the UK's Food Standards Agency (FSA) found an adverse link between certain cocktails of additives and behaviour in children drawn from the general population. In its initial advice following the study's publication in The Lancet, the FSA issued mildly worded advice to parents - that eliminating the suspect additives from the diet could have some benefits for hyperactive kids or those with ADHD.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

May 22, 2008

Firms assume increased longevity
Many UK companies are now assuming their male pensioners will live, on average, one year longer than they assumed in 2006. The figures were drawn from a survey of 270 company reports carried out by the accountants KPMG. The assumed life expectancy has steadily risen in recent years to 86. However KPMG warned this might not satisfy the Pensions Regulator which wants employers and pension schemes to assume that men will live to 89.
Read article at BBC News (UK)
Comment: According to KPMG, the assumed life expectancy of pensioners in these firms' pension schemes has now risen by one year in each of the past four years. It was 83 in 2004, 84 in 2005 and 85 in 2006.

May 21, 2008

Canadian industry continues supplements bill protests
The Canadian natural foods industry has embarked on a major lobbying campaign, calling for an overhaul to legislation that could place pharmaceutical controls on dietary supplements. The campaign is aimed at addressing amendments to the Food and Drugs Act (Bill C-51).
Read article at nutraingredients-usa.com

May 21, 2008

Supplements a solution for B6 deficiency, says study
Researchers at Tufts University have suggested deficient vitamin B6 levels across large sections of the US population which could be reduced via supplementation. The results contradict National Institutes of Health (NIH) findings that B6 deficiencies are rare in the US. It is one of the largest epidemiological studies to evaluate B6 levels. The study identified four groups as being particularly deficient in the nutrient: women of reproductive age especially current and former users of oral contraceptives; male smokers; non-Hispanic African-American men; and over-65s. "Across the study population, we noticed participants with inadequate vitamin B6 status even though they reported consuming more than the Recommended Daily Allowance of vitamin B6, which is less than two milligrams per day," said Martha Savaria Morris, PhD, an epidemiologist at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

May 19, 2008

DNA damage 'caused by pesticides'
New research in India suggests exposure to pesticides could have damaged the DNA of people in farming communities, leading to higher rates of cancer. Scientists at Patiala University, Punjab state, did the study, tracking a group of farmers for several months.
Read article at BBC News (UK)
Comment: Many pesticides are manufactured by some of the same pharmaceutical and chemical companies that would like to ban vitamin supplements and force GM foods onto our dinner plates.

May 19, 2008

ANH founder recognized for natural health campaign
Dr Robert Verkerk, founder and director of the Alliance for Natural Health, has been awarded for his work to protect natural healthcare across Europe. The award, presented at the 39th Anniversary of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights United Kingdom (CCHR), was awarded in recognition of Verkerk's "work to expose the multinational pharmaceutical interests and giant food companies to limit the public's access to herbs". In the presence of ambassadors and high commissioners representing their countries from around the world, as well as the mayor of East Grinstead, fraud expert Bill Trueman made the presentation to Verkerk at Saint Hill Castle in East Grinstead for "taking the lead in challenging fundamental rights to take vitamins and minerals, and for having brought a landmark legal challenge to the EU Food Supplements Directive".
Read article on the Natural Products online website (UK)

May 14, 2008

NAFDAC bans 30 agrochemical products
THE National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has banned the sale and supply of 30 different agrochemical products in the country. NAFDAC Director-General, Professor Dora Akunyili, explained in Abuja that the ban became necessary when it was discovered that the pesticides were causing food poisoning that had resulted in the death of many after they consumed food crops preserved with the chemicals.
Read article in the Vanguard newspaper (Nigeria)

May 13, 2008

saveoursupplementsireland.com
A short video to highlight the fact that the Irish government and E.U. want to ban all vitamin supplements.
Watch video on youtube
Comment: Is it fair or logical that whilst we have the choice to destroy our own health and be a burden on our national health services by smoking, binge drinking and eating fatty foods, national governments and the European Union do not want us to have the choice to stay healthy by supplementing our diet with vitamins? Click here to learn more.

May 10, 2008

Natural health products unfairly hit, critics say
Drug legislation before Parliament has the potential to destroy the industry, say opponents, who plan a Vancouver rally today to protest the bill
Legislation making its way through parliament has the potential to destroy the natural health product industry, say critics, many of whom plan to attend a rally today at the Vancouver Art Gallery to oppose the bill.
Read article in the Vancouver Sun (Canada)

May 4, 2008

Multinationals make billions in profit out of growing global food crisis
Speculators blamed for driving up price of basic foods as 100 million face severe hunger
Giant agribusinesses are enjoying soaring earnings and profits out of the world food crisis which is driving millions of people towards starvation, The Independent on Sunday can reveal. And speculation is helping to drive the prices of basic foodstuffs out of the reach of the hungry. The prices of wheat, corn and rice have soared over the past year driving the world's poor - who already spend about 80 per cent of their income on food - into hunger and destitution.
Read article in The Independent (UK)

April 30, 2008

Canada's C-51 Law To Outlaw 60% of Natural Health Products
Don't Let Big Pharma Do This To Canada
A new law being pushed in Canada by Big Pharma seeks to outlaw up to 60 percent of natural health products currently sold in Canada, even while criminalizing parents who give herbs or supplements to their children. The law, known as C-51, was introduced by the Canadian Minister of Health on April 8th, 2008, and it proposes sweeping changes to Canada's Food and Drugs Act that could have devastating consequences on the health products industry.
Read article at globalresearch.ca

April 30, 2008

Europe may ban 120 food nutrients
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected dossiers backing 120 nutrient sources for ongoing use within the European Union because they were deemed "not to be adequate".
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: EFSA's rulings may lead to the removal of nutrients including forms of boron, selenium, magnesium and calcium from supplements. As such, whilst we were accused of scaremongering in 2002 when we said that the passing of the European Union's Food Supplements Directive would lead to some supplements and supplement ingredients being banned completely, this latest development proves once again that we were right all along.
Further information: To read EFSA's press release, click here. To read the statement of EFSA's Scientific Panel on Food Additives, Flavourings, Processing Aids and Materials in Contact with Food (AFC), upon which EFSA's rejection of these nutrient sources was based, click here.

April 29, 2008

A Too-Good-to-Be-True Nutrient?
Imagine a nutrient that could help prevent cancer, heart disease and tuberculosis, preserve bones, and thwart autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and juvenile diabetes. Sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? But that's the potential now being attributed to Vitamin D, whose usefulness was once thought to be limited to prevention of rickets in children and severe bone loss in adults. Known as the sunshine vitamin because it is produced when the skin is exposed to ultraviolet light, Vitamin D has been garnering increasing attention recently, because of what it may be able to do and because many people appear to be getting too little of it.
Read article in the Washington Post (USA)

April 28, 2008

Beijing-The Codex Food Additives Committee Meeting
Seventeen hours after the tires of my Air China jet settled comfortably onto the runway at Beijing International Airport, I was sitting at the National Health Federation's place in the 40th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Additives (CCFA) week-long meeting at the Asia Hotel in downtown Beijing on Monday morning, April 21st. The weather had not cooperated as it rained incessantly, making available taxis as scarce as condom dispensers in the Vatican. Nor did it help that I could not speak a word of Mandarin Chinese; English, French, and bad German can only get you so far, even in this international city. But, I made it, sliding into NHF's seat in time to hear CCFA Chairman Dr. Junshi Chen's opening remarks.
Read press release on the website of the National Health Federation (NHF) (USA)

April 28, 2008

Organic industry attacks "farcial" and "dictatorial" Euro logo
Leading figures within the UK organic sector have criticized the "farcial" and "dictatorial" situation surrounding the EU's plans to impose mandatory use of a Europe-wide logo on all organic food products. Last month the EU announced it was shelving its original 'Bio' logo after the discount supermarket chain Aldi claimed it was too close to its own organic logo. The Bio logo was meant to have appeared on all organic packs by January 2009. Leading UK certifying bodies and manufacturers have strongly opposed the EU initiative claiming that the word 'Bio' is meaningless to UK consumers and would create unnecessary confusion. Industry also accuses the EU of acting undemocratically and riding roughshod over its concerns.
Read article at Natural Products Online (UK)

April 25, 2008

CAM criticism not justified, says ANH
A pan-European healthy food and supplements trade group has criticised the UK's "first professor of complementary medicine", Edzard Ernst, for taking an "unscientific" approach in a new book.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

April 24, 2008

Antioxidants and Cancer: Researcher admits she got it wrong
It was news when it was first revealed three years ago - and it was news again last week: antioxidant vitamins can speed up the development of cancer. But the researcher who first published the study has now admitted that she got it wrong.
Read article on the What Doctors Don't Tell You (WDDTY) website
Comment: In a week that has seen numerous headlines worldwide making the absurd claim that vitamins 'may shorten your life', it is notable that Big Media has thus far steadfastly refused to draw any attention to this story...

April 24, 2008

Is it time to give up the search for an Aids vaccine?
After 25 years and billions of pounds, leading scientists are now forced to ask this question
Most scientists involved in Aids research believe that a vaccine against HIV is further away than ever and some have admitted that effective immunisation against the virus may never be possible, according to an unprecedented poll conducted by The Independent.
Read article in The Independent (UK)
Comment: Given that the prospects for an HIV vaccine are so low, and that drug treatments for AIDS are highly toxic, the need to take advantage of Cellular Health research in the fight against AIDS has never been higher.

April 23, 2008

Vitamin D Important In Brain Development And Function
In a definitive critical review, scientists at Children's Hospital & Research Center Oakland ask whether there is convincing biological or behavioral evidence linking vitamin D deficiency to brain dysfunction. Joyce C. McCann, Ph.D., assistant staff scientist and Bruce N. Ames, Ph.D., senior scientist at Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) conclude that there is ample biological evidence to suggest an important role for vitamin D in brain development and function, and that supplementation for groups chronically low in vitamin D is warranted. Their conclusions will be published on April 22, 2008 in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Journal.
Read article at sciencedaily.com

April 22, 2008

ARE WE BEING HOODWINKED BY ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE - OR BY ONE OF ITS PROFESSORS?
A leading Harley Street physician, also President of the British Society for Ecological Medicine and Medical Director of the Alliance for Natural Health, claims that Professor Ernst, the UK's first professor of complementary medicine, is unscientific in his approach. Dr Damien Downing, responding to a flood of media last week in advance of a new book by Professor Ernst, which slams the vast majority of complementary medicine modalities, said, "Professor Ernst must know how bad, how unscientific, is much of the literature on which he relies. After all he wrote some of it. He should speak out against the deliberate bias in many studies - but that might not boost sales of his new book."
Read press release on the website of the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) (UK)

April 18, 2008

GM-Free Organic Agriculture to Feed the World
International Panel of 400 Agricultural Scientists Call for Fundamental Change in Farming Practice.
Read article on the website of the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) (UK)

April 18, 2008

Celebrities join industry experts in speaking out against alarmist vitamin story...
Some of Britain's most popular celebrities have spoken out against this week's alarmist and grossly misleading vitamin story, which wrongly questioned the safety of the antioxidant supplements that benefit millions of consumers in this country. Sir Cliff Richard, Gloria Hunniford, Jenny Seagrove and Carole Caplin have joined health industry experts in rejecting the widely publicised antioxidant review and reassuring consumers that concerns over these supplements are unfounded.
Read press release at responsesource.com

April 16, 2008

Low vitamin D levels associated with an increased risk of peripheral arterial disease
Low levels of vitamin D may be associated with an increased risk for peripheral arterial disease (PAD), researchers reported at the American Heart Association's Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology Annual Conference 2008.
Read article at physorg.com

April 16, 2008

ANH rebuts latest anti-vitamin meta-analysis
Today has seen headlines around the world which claim that vitamin supplements can cause more harm than good. Find out here how bad science together with bad media can confuse and mislead consumers - possibly intentionally.
Read article on the website of the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) (UK)

April 16, 2008

Dutch vegetables have fewer vitamins
Over the past 20 years, the amount of essential vitamins in Dutch vegetables has fallen by over 50% in some cases, the Telegraaf reports on Wednesday. The main reason is the use of manure, the paper says, quoting an alliance of environmentally-active farmers and scientists. The over-use of manure means too many dangerous substances are being pumped into the ground, destroying natural organisms, the paper says. Research by the consumers association shows that vegetables grown in the Netherlands contain so few essential minerals such as selenium that they can barely be recorded, the Telegraaf says.
Read article at dutchnews.nl (Netherlands)
Comment: According to the researchers, the average Dutch person is now short of zinc, iron, selenium, copper and magnesium. Moreover, a lot of food grown in fields no longer contains any vitamin C. Significantly, therefore, this research echoes the findings of similar studies conducted in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and other countries which, taken together, suggest that the nutrient content of the global food supply has fallen substantially over the past few decades. To learn more, click here.

April 14, 2008

Vitamin D, calcium's colon benefits pinpointed?
Epidemiological studies supporting vitamin D and calcium for protection against colorectal cancer may be biochemically and biologically plausible, suggests new research.
Read article at nutraingredients-usa.com

April 10, 2008

Shifting health claim criteria may provoke legal challenge
A pan-European industry group has criticised the European Commission for issuing guidance that it will reject scientific health claim dossiers that do not contain clinical data. The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) says the EC has "moved the goalposts" in regard to article 13 health claims of the Health and Nutrition Claims regulation and called for a revision of the guidelines. The ANH has submitted a 16-page document outlining its concerns to the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), after it joined other groups such as the UK Health Food Manufacturers Association (HFMA) at an FSA-chaired meeting on March 27.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

April 10, 2008

Europe-wide food colour ban call
A food safety watchdog has called for a Europe-wide ban on six artificial food colourings after research found a link with hyperactivity in children. A total ban on the use of the colours would have to be agreed by the EU. So the Foods Standard Agency wants UK ministers to enforce voluntary removal of the colours by next year.
Read article at BBC News (UK)

April 8, 2008

Study links magnesium deficiency to faster aging
A lack of magnesium accelerates aging in human cells, which may explain the link between any long-term deficiency and a higher risk of aging-related diseases, a study released Monday said. Magnesium is essential for hundreds of biochemical reactions in the body. It helps maintain normal muscle and nerve function, keeps heart rhythm steady, and keeps bones strong. Yet research has shown that, at least in the United States, more than half the population is lacking in magnesium due to deficiencies in their diet, potentially increasing their risk of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes, osteoporosis and some cancers.
Read article at physorg.com

April 7, 2008

ANH Press Release: European Commission moves goalposts on health claims
It would appear that despite calls for the EC to abandon its 'black box' approach, they've done it again and moved the goalposts on health claims months after the closing date for applications.
European-based consumer and natural health industry group, the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH), claims today that the European Commission has moved the 'goalposts' on the procedure that aims to standardise allowed generic health claims on foods in the European Union by 2010. In addition, the ANH claims that the Commission has not met its obligations with regard to sound administration in providing adequate guidance to interested parties making applications for health claims, which are to be evaluated by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) over the next two years.
Read press release on the website of the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) (UK)

April 5, 2008

Food additives 'could be as damaging as lead in petrol'
Artificial food colours are set to be removed from hundreds of products after a team of university researchers warned they were doing as much damage to children's brains as lead in petrol. Academics at Southampton University, who carried out an official study into seven additives for the Food Standards Agency (FSA), said children's intelligence was being significantly damaged by E-numbers. After receiving the advice last month, officials at the FSA have advised their directors to call for the food industry to remove six additives named in the study by the end of next year.
Read article in The Independent (UK)
Comment: The researchers suggested that some colourings, including tartrazine and sunset yellow, could also affect children's intelligence by up to five IQ points.

April 4, 2008

Conventional wine "systematically contaminated with pesticides"
Many leading brand wines on sale in the European Union are "systematically contaminated with pesticide residues, concludes a new report published by Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe. PAN Europe, together with NGOs from Austria, France and Germany, recently carried out an investigation of 40 different wines purchased inside the EU - including some premium wines from world famous vineyards. 100% of conventional wines in the analysis were found to contain pesticides, with one bottle containing 10 different pesticides. On average each wine sample contained over four pesticides. Of the 24 different pesticide contaminants found in the samples tested, five are classified as being carcinogenic, mutagenic, reprotoxic or endocrine disrupting by the European Union.
Read article on the Natural Products Online website (UK)

April 3, 2008

Micronutrients, education keys to end hunger: study
Governments could take a big step towards ending world hunger by spending just $1.2 billion a year in developing nations on dietary supplements and education about the food needs of babies, a study showed on Friday. Such targeted spending to help a billion of the poorest people in Africa and Asia could save millions of lives and bring annual economic benefits of more than $15 billion in lower health bills and longer and more productive lives, it said.
Read article at reuters.com

April 3, 2008

Review raises questions over aspartame and brain health
Excessive intake of aspartame may inhibit the ability of enzymes in the brain to function normally, suggests a new review that could fan the flames of controversy over the sweetener. The review, by scientists from the University of Pretoria and the University of Limpopo and published recently in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, indicated that high consumption of the sweetener may lead to neurodegeneration.
Read article at foodqualitynews.com

April 3, 2008

EU parliament urged to tackle chemicals' link to breast cancer
Campaigners have called on MEPs to tighten chemicals legislation in the wake of a new report warning that some substances could be linked to the rise in breast cancer. MEPs were told on Wednesday that the rise in new breast cancer cases across Europe cannot be attributed solely to factors such as genetic disposition or when in life women have children. According to Professor Andreas Kortenkamp, head of toxicology at the University of London, there is strong evidence that the rise in breast cancer is linked to environmental influences, such as exposure to hormone-disruptive chemicals - including synthetically produced hormone replacement therapy (HRT) drugs.
Read article at theparliament.com

March 28, 2008

Pesticide Parkinson's link strong
There is strong evidence that exposure to pesticides significantly increases the risk of Parkinson's disease, experts believe. It comes as another study, published in the BMC Neurology journal, has made the link to the neurological disease. The US researchers found those exposed to pesticides had a 1.6 times higher risk after studying 600 people.
Read article at BBC News (UK)
Comment: Many pesticides are manufactured by some of the same pharmaceutical and chemical companies that would like to ban vitamin supplements and force GM foods onto our dinner plates. Surprised? If so, check out the March 14 story about food additives, below…

March 24, 2008

California Targeting Safe Supplements
Don't Let Them Succeed
California - ever known for its luscious beauty, endless energy, and general wackiness - is on the verge of stepping off the edge of the cliff yet again.  A trial balloon is being floated by California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to limit the potency of vitamin-and-mineral supplements under California's Proposition 65 as cancer-causing agents.
Read press release on the website of the National Health Federation (NHF) (USA)

March 17, 2008

Poland panel considers borderline supplements
Poland has established a government-backed group briefed with developing criteria relating to the classification of a range of nutrients under either food or medicine law. The Panel on Dietary Supplements will spend 4-6 months drawing up an electronic database of all on-market supplements and passing opinion on how they should be regulated.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: In Europe , just as in many other areas of the world, the future availability of natural alternatives to the pharmaceutical industry’s toxic patented chemical drug medicines has never been under greater threat. If you live in Europe, click here to learn how you can help to guarantee free access to scientifically based natural health remedies for all European Union citizens, via the holding of a 'Referendum for Natural Remedies' in all 27 European Member States.

March 14, 2008

Campaigners outraged over EFSA's refusal to ban food additives
Food campaigners are up in arms following the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) ruling against Food Commission's calls for a complete ban on food additives. The call for a complete ban was made last week when the Food Commission identified Cadbury as having the most products that contain one or more of the seven food additives that contribute to increased hyperactivity in children. This includes products such as Cadbury Creme Egg, which is coloured with Sunset Yellow (E110), one of the additives that the Action on Additives says should be banned from children's food. The EFSA says that the UK study provides limited evidence that the additives "had a small and statistically significant effect on activity and attention in some children selected from the general population."
Read article in Marketing Week magazine (UK)
Comment: As is also the case with pesticides, many artificial additives are manufactured by some of the same pharmaceutical and chemical companies that would like to ban vitamin supplements and force GM foods onto our dinner plates. If you're now asking yourself whether these companies make any safe products at all, you're on the right track…

March 14, 2008

Ozone Rules Weakened at Bush's Behest
EPA Scrambles To Justify Action
The Environmental Protection Agency weakened one part of its new limits on smog-forming ozone after an unusual last-minute intervention by President Bush, according to documents released by the EPA. EPA officials initially tried to set a lower seasonal limit on ozone to protect wildlife, parks and farmland, as required under the law. While their proposal was less restrictive than what the EPA's scientific advisers had proposed, Bush overruled EPA officials and on Tuesday ordered the agency to increase the limit, according to the documents.
Read article in the Washington Post (USA)

March 10, 2008

Irish retailers win EC investigation on vitamin levels
A petition coordinated by Irish health food retailers, aimed at exposing the dangers of cutting vitamin and mineral supplements to RDA levels, has been ruled ‘admissible’ by the European Parliament. This means it will now have to be investigated by the European Commission. The petition, taken by Jill Bell on behalf of the Irish Association of Health Stores, is being hosted by Independent MEP for Ireland South, Kathy Sinnott.
Read article at Natural Products online (UK)

March 7, 2008

Typical North American diet is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids
New research from the Child & Family Research Institute shows the typical North American diet of eating lots of meat and not much fish is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids and this may pose a risk to infant neurological development.
Read article at physorg.com

March 6, 2008

Royal decree threatens Belgian botanicals
The Belgian government has drafted a law that threatens to reclassify as medicines up to 150 botanicals commonly used as food supplements. The draft Royal decree issued by the Belgian Medicines Agency (AFMPS) seeks to introduce the 2004 European Union Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD) into the Belgian legislature but its "medicinal tone" has raised fears among Belgian industry that an anti-supplements program may result.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: EU legislation such as the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive, and the Food Supplements Directive is strongly anti-supplements and should be opposed by anybody who has an interest in natural health and freedom of choice. If you live in Europe and would like to help guarantee free access to scientifically based natural health remedies for all European Union citizens, click here.

February 29, 2008

U.S. Imprisons One in 100 Adults, Report Finds
For the first time in the nation’s history, more than one in 100 American adults are behind bars, according to a new report. Nationwide, the prison population grew by 25,000 last year, bringing it to almost 1.6 million, after three decades of growth that has seen the prison population nearly triple. Another 723,000 people are in local jails. The number of American adults is about 230 million, meaning that one in every 99.1 adults is behind bars.
Read article in the New York Times (USA)
Comment: Results emerging from studies at the cutting edge of the debate on crime and punishment increasingly suggest that criminal behavior may be attributable at least in part to nutritional deficiencies. To learn more, click here.

February 28, 2008

Vanadium deemed unsafe in Europe
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has rejected vanadium as an ingredient that can safely be used in foods and food supplements because of overexposure fears to the general population.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: Back in 2002, when the EU’s Food Supplements Directive was being passed by the European Parliament, we were accused of scaremongering when we said that it would lead to some supplements and supplement ingredients being banned completely. This latest development proves that we were right all along.

February 25, 2008

BBC removes complementary medicine web pages
The BBC last week removed all the complementary medicine pages from its BBCHealth website. The corporation has denied allegations that it was reacting to a co-ordinated letter-writing campaign from senior doctors and opponents of “unproven” CAM treatments. It says it removed the CAM section of its health site because it was “editorially unsatisfactory” and “disproportionately time-consuming”. The forty-page complementary health section of BBCHealth included coverage of all the major CAM therapies, their pros and cons, evidence for their effectiveness and how to find a qualified practitioner. In turn, it formed part of one of the most widely accessed websites in the world. Senior representatives of the CAM community are concerned that public access to such balanced and accessible coverage has suddenly been denied.
Read article at Natural Products online (UK)
Comment: If you wish to complain about the BBC’s decision to remove all the complementary medicine pages from its website, you can do so by clicking here.

February 23, 2008

Manto speaks out about traditional medicine
African traditional medicines should not become "bogged down in clinical trials" when being subjected to research and development, Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang said in Pietermaritzburg on Saturday. Addressing members of the presidential task team on African traditional medicine, Tshabalala-Msimang said: "We cannot use western models of protocols for research and development. We should guard against being bogged down with clinical trials."
Read article on the Independent Online website (South Africa)

February 20, 2008

Study shows effects of vitamin D and skin's physiology
Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that previtamin D3 production varies depending on several factors including skin type and weather conditions. The study will appear in the March 2008 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research.
Read article at physorg.com
Comment: Vitamin D is produced in the body through the exposure of skin to sunlight. However, increased skin pigmentation, application of a sunscreen, aging and clothing can all dramatically reduce its production. Whilst the US Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) of vitamin D is 400 IU, and that for the EU a mere 200 IU, most experts now agree that a minimum of 1000 IU per day is necessary.

February 18, 2008

Greening Ethiopia for Food Security & End to Poverty
A remarkable project reversing the ecological and social damages of the past 100 years that have locked the country in poverty. The world's largest single study of its kind now shows that composting increases yields two to three-fold and outperforms chemical fertilizers by more than 30 percent.
Read press release on the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) website (UK)

February 7, 2008

Manto still talking to traditional healers
Health Minister Manto Tshabalala Msimang today vowed to continue engaging traditional healers on health issues, saying they were important partners in the fight against HIV and Aids. "Some people might be resisting traditional healers but I believe we are on the right track," she said. Speaking during a meeting in Cape Town between the Health Department and traditional leaders on initiations and circumcision, Tshabalala-Msimang said no amount of pressure would discourage her from engaging with traditional leaders on crucial issues such as HIV and Aids. "We will not be pushed around for the sake of money and resources," she said.
Read article in The Times (South Africa)

February 5, 2008

Compulsory water fluoridation is dangerous and immoral, says Green Party health spokesperson
While we continue to feed refined sugar to our children in schools, efforts to reduce tooth decay will be in vain. Green Party health spokesperson Stuart Jeffery today slated controversial Government plans to fluoridate national water supplies, claiming that medicating people without permission breaches European Human Rights conventions.
Read press release on the website of the UK Green Party
Comment: British Health Secretary Alan Johnson has recommended that fluoride should be routinely added to UK water supplies. However, consumption of fluoridated water has been linked to a wide range of medical afflictions including severe skeletal problems, fluorosis (discoloration of the teeth), osteosarcoma (a rare form of bone cancer) in boys, and problems affecting the central nervous system.

February 5, 2008

Folic acid 'dementia risk link'
Dementia is three times more common in people whose blood is low in folates, a form of vitamin B particularly found in green vegetables, a study suggests.
Read article at BBC News (UK)

January 31, 2008

Member states agree on minimum vitamin and mineral levels
A working party drawing up levels for supplements and fortified foods have reached a "general agreement" that the lowest levels should be 15 per cent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) - but questions remain on maximum levels. According to the trade group European Health Product Manufacturers, which attended the meeting, said: "There was general agreement that 15 per cent was the appropriate figure, not 30 per cent." The suggestion came from the Commission, which added that 15 per cent should be considered unless any evidence is submitted supporting another level.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: What this article doesn't say, and what the European working party won't admit, is that because of the existence of the Codex Guidelines for Vitamin and Mineral Food Supplements – which were adopted at a meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission held in 2005 – it is now effectively mandatory for all countries to set their minimum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in supplements at 15 per cent. As such, the European Union is misleading consumers by pretending that there is somehow a choice in this matter. More importantly, however, these same Codex Guidelines also stipulate that maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in supplements shall be set. The European Commission is currently expected to submit proposals for maximum amounts to be set in Europe by January 2009. Because Codex guidelines and standards carry binding authority in the WTO system, and act to restrict and structure the policy choices of states, other countries around the world can be expected to follow suit over the next few years. To learn more about Codex, and how it affects you and your health, click here.

January 31, 2008

E-numbers should be banned in food and drink, say MPs
All artificial colourings in food and soft drinks should be banned, a parliamentary committee urged yesterday in a report on the effect of diet on the brain. The associate parliamentary food and health forum - a grouping of parliamentarians and outside experts such as nutritionists, doctors and the food industry - says at the end of a year-long inquiry that the Food Standards Agency should be taking a tougher line on E-numbers and additives, which some studies suggest may over-stimulate children's brains and make them hyperactive.
Read article at in The Guardian (UK)

January 30, 2008

Researchers investigate links between prostate, cadmium, zinc
Cadmium exposure is a known risk factor for prostate cancer, and a new University of Rochester study suggests that zinc may offer protection against cadmium. In an article published in the February 2008 journal, The Prostate, epidemiologist Edwin van Wijngaarden, Ph.D., reports that PSA levels were 22 percent higher among American men who had zinc levels below the median (less than 12.67 mg/daily) and cadmium levels above the median. (PSA is a protein produced by the cells of the prostate gland. The higher a man's PSA level, the more likely cancer is present.) In contrast, among men with a greater than median zinc intake, little evidence of an association between cadmium and PSA was found.
Read article at physorg.com

January 30, 2008

Cancer in EU at 'epidemic' levels
Cancer is at epidemic levels with a million people dying of the disease across the EU every year, according to British MEP John Bowis. The UK Tory deputy was speaking after parliament's environment committee voted in favour of a resolution on combating cancer. Bowis, EPP-ED spokesman on health, said, that "a million of our fellow citizens in the EU die each year from cancer. An average of only three per cent of health budgets are spent on cancer prevention. The links are clear. We have a major epidemic. We could save 330,000 lives a year. We need to get our act together and invest in cancer prevention."
Read article at theparliament.com
Comment: Scientific and clinical evidence shows that the use of vitamins and other essential nutrients are of paramount importance in the battle against cancer and, moreover, that this disease could be largely unknown to future generations if these findings were implemented into public health policies. The biggest obstacles preventing the building of a world without cancer are the multi-trillion dollar pharmaceutical drug cartel and its "Investment 'Business With Disease'."

January 29, 2008

Sedentary lifestyles associated with accelerated aging process
Individuals who are physically active during their leisure time appear to be biologically younger than those with sedentary lifestyles, according to a report in the January 28 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Regular exercisers have lower rates of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, obesity and osteoporosis, according to background information in the article. "A sedentary lifestyle increases the propensity to aging-related disease and premature death," the authors write. "Inactivity may diminish life expectancy not only by predisposing to aging-related diseases but also because it may influence the aging process itself."
Read article at physorg.com

January 17, 2008

Fluoride: Top 10 Scientific Developments of 2007
2007 was yet another important year in fluoride research, with studies not only questioning long-held views about fluoride's benefits, but raising new concerns about its impact on human health. To give an indication of this recent research, the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) has selected the "Top 10" scientific developments of the year.
Read summaries of these scientific developments on the Fluoride Action Network website (USA)

January 25, 2008

Science stacks up for B vitamins and pregnancy
Low maternal vitamin B12 levels in combination with certain genes may have detrimental knock-on effects to the offspring, suggests a new Dutch that reports higher risk of heart problems. A combination of low vitamin B12 levels and certain genotypes for the methionine synthase reductase (MTRR) and transcobalamin II (TC) genes were found to increase the risk of CHD by about 35 and 100 per cent, respectively, report the researchers in the journal Molecular Genetics and Metabolism. "Therefore, it might be favorable to advise women to use a diet rich in vitamin B12 and eventually a vitamin B12 supplement in addition to a folic acid supplement in the periconception period to achieve an optimal vitamin B12 status," wrote Anna Verkleij-Hagoort from Erasmus MC, University Medical Center in Rotterdam.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

January 17, 2008

Poor diets 'kill 3.5m children'
A third of child deaths globally are caused by poor nutrition, experts warn. Around 3.5 million children die every year because of lack of food or poor quality food, a problem which starts in the womb, studies show. Yet 25 per cent of these deaths could be prevented with simple steps such as breastfeeding and vitamin A supplements, the Lancet reports.
Read article at BBC News (UK)
Comment: Research shows that zinc and vitamin A supplements, in tandem with encouraging women to breastfeed for at least six months, would cut deaths and the loss of years through disability by a quarter.

January 16, 2008

Saving the World with Biodynamic Farming
The importance of marginal farmers in India using an emergent agricultural knowledge system against the corporate takeover of farms
What if the world were an apple? One quarter of the apple is land and the rest is water. Cut the land in half and put aside that which is deserts and mountains. Quarter what is left and the peel of one of those quarters represents the topsoil that must feed the whole world. This analogy illustrates how important it is to get the best out of the available soil to provide abundant and nutritious food for everyone on the planet.
Read article on the Institute of Science in Society (ISIS) website (UK)

January 15, 2008

Zimbabwe: Zinatha Seeks Assistance in Traditional Medicine Researches
GOVERNMENT should help traditional healers to conduct research on traditional medicines and herbs that can be used to treat ailments related to HIV and Aids, the Zimbabwe National Traditional Healers Association has said.
Read article at allafrica.com

January 14, 2008

Vitamins plan 'to cut prison violence'
Prisoners will be given vitamins and mineral supplements in an attempt to improve their behaviour and cut down on violence behind bars, The Daily Telegraph has learned. The Ministry of Justice will fund pioneering research into the connection between the diet of young offenders and their behaviour. The pilot scheme comes as a cross-party group of MPs and peers prepares to publish a study showing how greater use of nutritional supplements could improve the education and criminal justice systems.
Read article in the Daily Telegraph (UK)
Comment: The research will be carried out by Natural Justice, a UK-based charity that has been studying the link between nutrition and behaviour for over 20 years. Previous research carried out by the charity found that prisoners given nutritional supplements committed on average 26% fewer disciplinary offences compared to those on placebos, while the reduction was 37% for the most serious offences. These findings have now been replicated in a study by the Dutch Ministry of Justice, who found a 47% reduction in disciplinary offending. To visit the Natural Justice website, click here.

January 8, 2008

We all need a little dose of sunshine, says scientist who sounded alert on skin cancer
Enjoying a little sunshine may not be as bad for you as people think. Research from the scientist who alerted the world to its role in skin cancer has suggested that its health benefits may outweigh the risks. The hazards of moderate sunbathing have probably been exaggerated, according to a study that shows how sunlight's effect of boosting vitamin D production may actually protect the body against cancer.
Read article in The Times (UK)
Comment: Remember the cigarette brand that "more doctors smoke"? The advice to avoid the sun that we have all been subjected to in recent years is increasingly looking to have been just as unwise.

January 7, 2008

Lack of vitamin D may increase heart disease risk
The same vitamin D deficiency that can result in weak bones now has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease, Framingham Heart Study researchers report in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. "Vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased cardiovascular risk, above and beyond established cardiovascular risk factors," said Thomas J. Wang, M.D., assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Mass. "The higher risk associated with vitamin D deficiency was particularly evident among individuals with high blood pressure." In a study of 1,739 offspring from Framingham Heart Study participants (average age 59, all Caucasian), researchers found that those with blood levels of vitamin D below15 nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) had twice the risk of a cardiovascular event such as a heart attack, heart failure or stroke in the next five years compared to those with higher levels of vitamin D.
Read article at physorg.com

January 7, 2008

PM unveils health screening plan
Patients in England will be offered screening for early signs of heart disease, stroke and kidney disease, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said. Such conditions affect about 6m Britons and patients in at-risk groups will be invited to be screened by their GP. Mr Brown said in future NHS care should focus on prevention and not just cure.
Read article at BBC News (UK)
Comment: If Prime Minister Brown was really serious about focusing on the prevention of disease then he would obviously be directing the British National Health Service (NHS) to immediately take advantage of the wealth of scientific evidence showing the paramount importance of micronutrients and nutrition in maintaining optimum health. Instead, however, what will almost certainly happen is that his health screening plan will simply result in more patients being prescribed toxic patented synthetic chemical drug medicines and the pharmaceutical industry's multi-trillion dollar "business with disease" making even higher profits.

January 5, 2008

New laws to govern alternative medicine
Aromatherapy, homoeopathy and other popular complementary therapies are to be regulated for the first time under a government-backed scheme to be established this year. The new Natural Healthcare Council – which is being backed by the Prince of Wales – will be able to strike off errant or incompetent practitioners. It will also set minimum standards for practitioners to ensure that therapists are properly qualified. Patients will be able to complain to the council about practitioners and the new body will be modelled on the General Medical Council and other similar statutory bodies.
Read article in The Times (UK)
Comment: The practices to be covered by this British government scheme include nutrition and naturopathy. As such, if public access to these therapies would be increased by these laws, the implementation of this scheme could potentially be a positive development. However, if public access to these therapies would be decreased - as currently appears would be the case for higher dose food supplements under regulatory proposals by the European Commission - then these laws should be opposed, as the main beneficiaries from their enactment would be the pharmaceutical industry and its "business with disease".

January 3, 2008

Dr Allinson's health essays to be re-published
Essays by a Victorian doctor, who was struck off for claiming that smoking was bad for the health, are to be published again. Dr Thomas Allinson's letters, first published in 1893, were so controversial that the General Medical Council struck him off a year later.
Read article in the Daily Telegraph (UK)
Comment: The story of Dr Allinson - who was also against many of the medical drugs of his day - shows us that the medical establishment's opposition to anybody who threatens the scientific status quo is anything but new. However, just as it now seems laughable that doctors once recommended a cigar as a way to clear the lungs, to future generations it will one day seem just as absurd that doctors in the 20^th and early 21^st centuries attempted to use the pharmaceutical industry's patented synthetic chemical drug medicines to treat diseases that are caused by nutritional deficiencies.