|
No Censorship of Life-Saving
Natural Health Information!
Download this Open Letter as a PDF-File
Read the Ad? Quick Access to All Attached Documents:
A*, B*, C*, D*, E*, F*, G*; H*, I*, K*, L*, M*, N*, O*, P*, R*, S*, T*, V*, W*, X*, Y*
The people of South Africa now have the historic opportunity to liberate themselves
from the yoke of HIV/AIDS and many other diseases. The solution to
these health epidemics does not come from high-priced and toxic pharmaceutical
drugs but from public education about the dramatic health benefits of vitamins
and other natural therapies.
In a series of official recommendations UNICEF, WHO and other United
Nations Organizations have encouraged people and their governments – especially
in developing countries such as South Africa – to help spread knowledge
about the health value of vitamins and nutritional medicine. The dissemination
of this information will save the lives of millions of people in South Africa, especially
in the battle against HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases caused by
immune deficiencies. But we all must fight for this health freedom. Its biggest
enemy is the pharmaceutical business with patented drugs – such as ARVs. This
industry promotes diseases as multi-billion dollar markets for their drugs, and
these global markets are threatened by effective, natural, side-effect-free nonpatentable therapies.
The pharmaceutical industry was an economic pillar of the Apartheid regime. To
continue exerting their devastating influence in democratic South Africa today,
these drug corporations currently operate through Trojan Horse organizations to
publicly attack and undermine the South African government. Dr. Rath and his
Foundation have already exposed several of these Trojan Horses including the
Medicines Control Council, whose members are on the payroll of the drug companies,
political parties such as the DA that depend on drug money, as well as
pressure groups, the running dogs of the drug cartel in South Africa. These pressure groups have
received millions of rands from pharmaceutical front organizations such as the
Rockefeller Foundation in return for promoting ARV drugs produced by drug
companies largely owned by the Rockefeller investment group.
Publicly exposed as serving the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical ‘business
with disease’, these interests are now seeking to ban the dissemination of lifesaving
natural health information in South Africa by abusing the Advertising
Standard Agency (ASA) of South Africa – an organization modeled after the
British agency to control the monopoly of drug companies on health information.
Not surprisingly, the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association of South Africa
is listed as the ASA’s most prominent member.
Now we shall see where the ASA stands. Does it side with the interests of millions
of South Africans to have free access to life-saving natural health information
promoted by the United Nations and their own government? Or does it side
with the multi-billion dollar drug business – ready to sacrifice millions of lives
in South Africa? In any case, the people of South Africa must be informed, and
we encourage you to send your opinion about this directly to the ASA.
On 26 November 2004 the
Dr. Rath Health Foundation
Africa jointly with Advocate
Anthony Brink presented
Public Health Information in
relation to the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in the World AIDS
Day Supplement of the Mail & Guardian. This newspaper
had specifically invited us to
place this Public Health
Information, and its content
was approved by its editors.
Surprisingly, after publication
of this important Public Health
Information the Advertising
Standards Authority (ASA)
forwarded a complaint to the
Dr. Rath Health Foundation
challenging the scientific facts
presented and even threatening
sanctions for further spreading
this life-saving information.
Following is the response of
the Dr. Rath Health Foundation
to the ASA (in regular
text). The bold text is the
orginal text as it appeared in
the Mail & Guardian (M&G).
Our Public Health Information
in the M&G stated:
"On 1 July 2004 a landmark
study by Harvard University
was published in one of the
world's leading medical
journals, the New England
Journal of Medicine, summed
up the same day by the
world's most influential and
respected newspaper, the
New York Times: "The study
found that daily doses of
multivitamins slow down the
disease and cut the
risk of developing
AIDS in half.
The question is
why the people of
South Africa have
not been told about
this. For actively
promoting natural
health approaches
to AIDS, the South
African government
has continually
been attacked
by pharmaceutical
interest groups and
received no support
at all from the
medical establishment.
The reason
for this lack of support
is obvious.
Non-patentable
natural therapies
have very low profit
margins whereas patented
synthetic pharmaceutical
AIDS drugs are a multi-billion-dollar business."
This statement relates to the
fact that a clinical study that
documents the effectiveness of
multivitamins in fighting the
HIV/AIDS epidemic has been
published in the New England
Journal of Medicine on July 1,
2004, and reported in the New
York Times the very same day
(Document B*). The fact that
this clinical study was prominently
featured in the New
York Times reflects the global
implications of this study for
improving human health and
its potential to save millions
of lives. It was irresponsible
that this essential health information
was not featured at all
in any newspaper in South Africa
– the country in the greatest
need for this life-saving
information. It is an outright
scandal that the publication of
this Public Health Information
by the Dr. Rath Health Foundation
has become the target
of an ASA complaint. This
obviously serves only the
interests of the pharmaceutical
industry in suppressing lifesaving
natural, non-patentable
health information.
Our Public Health Information
stated:
"The Harvard study, conducted
in Tanzania over a
period of eight years, involved
more than a thousand
HIV-positive pregnant women.
It was a placebo-controlled
and double-blind trial
conforming to the highest
standards. The study
showed that inexpensive
multivitamin treatment is
more effective in staving off
disease among HIV-positive
women then any toxic AIDS
drug."
An editorial accompanying the
publication of this important
clinical study in the New England
Journal of Medicine
(Document A*) stated: "The
credibility of these data is supported
by sound study design
and methods, appropriate analyses,
and compatibility with
the limited existing data, such
as those showing decreased
mortality among HIV-infected
Thai adults who received multivitamins."
The key findings
of this important study (Document B*) are:
- The progression of AIDS
to stage 4 (according to the
World Health Organization’s
grading), which corresponds
to full-blown manifestation
of the disease, was
reduced by 50% in patients
receiving multivitamins.
- The progression of AIDS
disease to WHO stage 3 or
higher was reduced by
28% in patients receiving
multivitamins.
- The relative risk for patients
to die from AIDS was lowered
by 27% in patients
receiving multivitamins.
- The study found that
"Multivitamins also significantly
reduced all signs of
complications" including:
- Oral lesions (ulcers)
reduced by 48%
- Lip infections reduced
by 56%
- Difficult or painful swallowing
reduced by 53 %
- Diarrhoea reduced by
25%
- Fatigue reduced by 24%
The most important findings of
this study were summarized by
major news agencies around
the world such as MSNBC:
"The study found that daily
doses of multivitamins slowdown
the disease and cut the
risk of developing AIDS in
half" (Document C*).
The accompanying editorial in
the New England Journal of
Medicine (Document A*)
leaves no doubt about the global
implications of this study for
human health. Acknowledging
the dramatic situation in Africa
specifically, the editors stated:
"Nutrition will have to be
addressed in the treatment of
HIV disease and AIDS."
Finally, the following fact
deserves particular attention:
The above-mentioned study
was conducted over eight
years and it is the only longterm
clinical study available to
this day – whether with multivitamins
or ARVs – that shows
any extension of survival of
patients infected with
HIV/AIDS.
Our Public Health Information
stated:
"More than a decade ago, a
study co-authored by twotime
Nobel Prize winner
Linus Pauling, published in
the official journal of the US
National Academy of Sciences,
found that an optimal
dose of vitamin C alone can
block the replication of HIV
by 99%."
The relevance of the study
referred to in the above statement
(Document D*) cannot
be overestimated. No chemical
substance and certainly no currently
promoted ARV drug has
been shown to have such a pronounced
effect on inhibiting
the key enzyme for the multiplication
of the HI virus
(‘reverse transcriptase’).
The clinical relevance of this
landmark research is supported
by the fact that the vitamin
C concentrations effective in
blocking HIV replication are
attainable in human blood by
an optimal daily intake of this
vitamin (Documents E*, F*, G*).
One of the researchers of these
landmark studies, Dr.
Aleksandra Niedzwiecki, a
world-renowned biochemist,
now heads the Dr. Rath Research
Institute. Even more
significantly, these studies
showed that – as opposed to
AZT – vitamin C can prevent
HIV infection and also
decrease the viral load in
chronically HIV infected
cells. In contrast, AZT is
unable to inhibit virus production
in chronically HIV infected
cells.
The clinical relevance of these
important research findings
has been established beyond
doubt. Following is a selection
of the available clinical studies
documenting the value of
micronutrients in the prevention
and treatment of
HIV/AIDS:
- "Randomized trial of effects
of vitamin supplements on
pregnancy outcomes and Tcell
counts in HIV-1- infected
women in Tanzania" by
Dr. W. Fawzi and colleagues,
was published
in the leading
medical journal
The Lancet. This
study showed the
effectiveness of a
micronutrient combination
composed
of vitamin A (Betacarotene),
vitamin
B-complex, vitamin
C as well as
folic acid on pregnancy
complications
such as miscarriage,
stillbirth,
fetal death, preterm
birth, low
birth weight and
others. This clinical
study concluded:
"Multivitamin
supplementation is
a low-cost way of
substantially decreasing
adverse
pregnancy outcomes
and increasing
T-cell
counts in HIV-1-
infected women"
(Document H*).
- "A randomized
trial of the impact
of multiple micronutrient
supplementation on mortality
among HIV-infected
individuals living in
Bangkok" was published in
the journal AIDS by Dr. Jiamton
and his colleagues.
This clinical study showed
that multivitamin supplementation
significantly lowered
the mortality rate
among HIV-infected patients
by up to 74% (Document
I*).
- "Effects of micronutrient
intake on survival in human
immunodeficiency virus
type 1 infection" was published
in the prestigious
American Journal of Epidemiology
by Dr. A. Tang and
colleagues. This clinical
study found that supplementation
with various
forms of vitamin B in HIVinfected
patients was associated
with a significantly
improved survival rate of
up to 55% (Document K*).
We include additional studies
documenting the significant
clinical health benefits
of multivitamin supplementation
in HIV/AIDS patients.
All have been published
in leading scientific
and medical journals
including the Proceedings
of the National Academy of
Sciences, AIDS, the British
Journal of Nutrition and
others (Documents L*, M*, N*, O*).
Our Public Health Information
stated:
"Every textbook of biochemistry
recognizes that
vitamins and other micronutrients
are the most decisive
factors determining the
optimum function of the
immune system."
The pathological basis of
AIDS is a dysfunctional
immune system clinically indicated
by abnormally low levels
of white blood cells (CD4). It
is an established scientific fact
documented in science that the following
micronutrients are essential
and indispensable for blood
cell formation: vitamin B-3,
vitamin B-5, vitamin B-6, vitamin
B-12, vitamin C, folic
acid, iron and others. Anyone
questioning these facts is
encouraged to turn to the
respective pages in standard
modern textbooks of biochemistry,
biology and nutrition
(Document P* to R*).
The specific effects of
micronutrient deficiency on
the immune system and its
clinical implications with a
specific focus on HIV/AIDS
are summarized in the review
"Vitamins and Immunomodulation
in AIDS" by Dr. Chandra
et al. This scientific review
describes in detail the impact
of micronutrients on immune
cell activity, their growth, differentiation,
proliferation and
on optimum release of cytokines
and growth factors. This
review also highlights the
important fact that deficiencies
of vitamins A, B-3, B-6, B-12,
and C occur despite consumption
at or above the levels
established by so-called ‘official
guidelines’. (Document S*).
Moreover, it is an established
medical fact that even in otherwise
healthy people vitamin
deficiency is a primary cause
of anaemia, the inability of the
bone marrow to produce
enough properly functioning
oxygen-carrying red blood
cells. For decades doctors have
used vitamin supplements to
correct this imbalance and
even to treat severe disorders
such as megaloblastic anaemia
(Document T*).
With respect to the
toxic side-effects of
AZT, our Public
Health Information
stated the following:
"Hundreds of studies
have found that AZT
is profoundly toxic to
all cells of the human
body, and particularly
to the blood cells of
our immune system."
"Numerous studies
have found that children
exposed to AZT
in the womb suffer
brain damage, neurological
disorders,
paralysis, spasticity,
mental retardation,
epilepsy, other serious
diseases and early
death."
"Incredibly, two weeks
after the publication
of the Harvard study
the Medicines Control
Council proposed new
regulations that will
effectively prevent
free access to life-saving
vitamin therapy
and information
about it, and recommended
that HIV-positive women
take AZT during their pregnancies."
These facts are thoroughly
documented in Advocate
Anthony Brink’s comprehensive
publications:
“Debating AZT: Mbeki and
the AIDS drug controversy”,
“The trouble with nevirapine”
and “Poisoning our Children:
AZT and nevirapine in pregnancy”.
Our Public Health Information
concludes with the following
statement:
The United Nations Childrens Organization UNICEF issued an urgent global warning: “Vitamin deficiency is compromising the immune system of approximately 40% of the developing world's young children and leading to the early deaths of an estimated one million of them each year."
Who benefits from the ASA’s Complaint to ban such life-saving information? Only the multi-trillion dollar pharmaceutical ‘business with disease’. Will the people of South Africa allow such censorship by the ASA? |
|
"Don't you think it is time to
support the South African
government and the traditional
healers of South
Africa and join our nationwide
public information
campaign based on natural
science and medical truth?"
The Dr. Rath Health Foundation,
Advocate Brink and the
Traditional Healers Organization
of South Africa all support
the position of the South
African government on the
need to implement nationwide
natural health programs as a
primary health measure.
This approach is endorsed at
the highest international level
including the United Nations
and its sub-organizations involved
in the control of the
global HIV/AIDS epidemic:
- UNICEF in its global
report "Vitamin and Mineral
Deficiency – a Global
Damage Assessment Report"
stated in 2004:
"Vitamin and mineral deficiencies
affect a third of the
world's people – debilitating
minds, bodies, energies
and the economic prospects
of nations. But for once the
world is confronted by a
problem which could be
brought under control in a
relatively short time and at
a relatively low cost." The
answer is the elimination of
micronutrient deficiency!
The UNICEF report further
states: "Vitamin deficiency
is compromising the immune
system of approximately
40% of the developing
world's under-fives and
leading to the early deaths
of an estimated one million
young children each year."
As a solution to this global
challenge the UNICEF report
suggests the fortification
and supplementation of
food with micronutrients.
The UNICEF report specifically
recommends "Reaching
out to vulnerable
groups – particularly children
and women of childbearing
age – with vitamin
and mineral supplements in
the form of tablets, capsules
and syrups costing only a
few cents per person per
year“ (Document V*).
- UNAIDS, the United
Nations sub-organization
specifically founded to
meet the challenges of the
global AIDS epidemic, has
issued many recommendations
in support of micronutrient
supplementation,
including a 2002 report
entitled: "Pediatric HIV infection
and AIDS".
Among other measures this
UNAIDS report specifically
recommends: "In developing
country settings, the
implementation of national
vitamin programs is costeffective
and efforts should
be made to include all children,
particularly children
with HIV infection, in these
programmes" (Document
W*).
- The World Health Organization
in a comprehensive
review entitled "Nutrient
Requirements for People
Living with HIV/AIDS"
recommends for the people
of the world (Document
X*):
- "HIV infected 6-59-
month-old children living
in resource-limited
settings should receive
periodic vitamin A supplements."
- "To prevent anemia,
WHO recommends daily
iron-folate supplementation
during six months of
pregnancy."
- "Adequate micronutrient
intake is best achieved
through an adequate diet.
However in settings
where these intakes and
status cannot be achieved,
multiple micronutrient
supplements may be needed
in pregnancy and lactation."
- The United Nations held a
special symposium in Nairobi,
Kenya, in April 2001,
entitled "Nutrition and
HIV/AIDS" (Document
Y*). The recommendations
of this expert meeting specifically
included food
fortification as well as nutritional
supplementation with
vitamins. At this UN conference
the executive director
of UNAIDS, Peter Piot,
stated clearly: "Any discussion
of the very complex
issue of care and treatment
of people with
HIV/AIDS has been narrowed
to the price of antiretrovirals.
This is a shame,
it is also counter productive.
Therefore let me declare
here that the nutrition
voice needs to be heard
louder and stronger in the
HIV field. Let me also call
on all of you to be allies in
taking this message forward."
CONCLUSION
Let your voice
be heard!
Head of the ASA Mervyn King. Does he know what his ASA underlings are doing? Write your opinion to him!
Write to:
Mervyn King, ASA
P.O. Box 41555
Craighall
Johannesburg
2024
Tel.No.:
(011) 781-2006
Fax.No.:
(011)
781-1616
E-Mail: cheryl@asasa.org.za |
|
It should be obvious that
both the position of the South
African government as well
as our Public Health Information
are consistent with
the official policies of the
United Nations, its suborganizations
active in the
field of HIV/AIDS and other
international scientific and
non-governmental organizations.
Any effort to block the
dissemination of this life-saving
information would not
only be unethical but also
directly contradict the efforts
of the United Nations organizations
to control the HIV-/AIDS epidemic in developing
countries such as South
Africa with effective, safe and affordable means.
The fact that the ASA complaint
was filed despite abundant
available scientific
knowledge about the
value of nutrition in
fighting HIV/AIDS
clearly shows that
this complaint was
politically motivated.
Dr. Rath and the Dr.
Rath Health
Foundation are promoting
a new scientific
approach based
on the scientific evidence
for the health
benefits of effective
and safe micronutrient
therapy in the
battle against a variety
of diseases. This
scientific approach is
in open conflict with
the pharmaceutical
industry and its
'investment business
with disease'.
We are aware that the ASA
includes the Pharmaceutical
Manufacturers Association
of South Africa as a member,
which has a vested interest in
blocking the dissemination of
this life-saving health information.
The unsubstantiated
complaint against our Public
Health Information has to be
seen in the context of the
accelerating global exposure
of the unethical practices of
the pharmaceutical industry,
exemplified by the recent
scandals concerning Vioxx,
Celebrex, nevirapine and
other drugs.
The Dr. Rath Health Foundation
has been at the forefront
of exposing these
unethical business practices.
It is no coincidence that
attacks like the ASA complaint,
which aims at discrediting
Dr. Rath and
silencing the Dr. Rath Health
Foundation, occur at precisely
this time. The ASA
complaint, which aims to
silence and ban natural
health information, undermines
the efforts of the South
African government to promote
natural health and
make it the basis of an effective
and affordable health
care system in South Africa.
The lifesaving information
about natural approaches to
the HIV/AIDS epidemic – as
well as many other diseases –
must be disseminated to save
millions of lives! |
