Guest guest Posted July 13, 2004 Report Share Posted July 13, 2004 > " HSI - Jenny Thompson " > <HSIResearch > Twilight's Last Gleaming? > Tue, 13 Jul 2004 09:42:31 -0400 > > Twilight's Last Gleaming? > > Health Sciences Institute e-Alert > > Tuesday July 13, 2004 > > ************************************************************** > Dear Reader, > > Is your government doing enough to protect you from > the dangers > of vitamin supplements? The absurdity of that > question would be > comical if it weren't the basis of an international > drive to severely > limit our access to dietary supplements. > > In yesterday's e-Alert I gave you some background on > the > " European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements " > that will > become law in August of 2005. Among the 25 European > Union > (EU) nations (representing more than 450 million > people), this > directive reclassifies vitamin supplements as > " medical drugs, " > mandates low dosage levels, and outlaws many > supplement > ingredients that are currently widely available. > Created to " protect " > consumers, the directive will do exactly the > opposite by denying > consumers access to natural therapeutic supplements. > > > But don't think you're off the hook if you live > outside the EU. > Plans are already underway to bring these extreme > regulations to > the U.S. and many other countries. > > ------ > Trying to stay positive > ------ > > Under the EU directive, a " positive list " has been > created to > mandate which dietary supplements will be allowed > for sale. The > list does not include about 350 supplement > ingredients, such as > boron, a mineral that helps manage symptoms of > menopause. > > So if you're a supplement manufacturer in an EU > country, and you > produce a supplement that contains boron, you'll be > required to > remove it from the supplement by August 2005. But > there is > another option. You can submit a " technical dossier " > to argue the > case that a particular ingredient (such as boron) > should be included > on the positive list. Ah, but there's a catch: The > European > Commission has made this process so expensive and > time > consuming that many manufacturers simply can't > afford the costs > involved. As a result, many safe formulas and > nutrients that have > been on the market for decades will soon be banned. > > ------- > But wait... it gets worse > ------- > > The positive list isn't really as positive as it > sounds. > > For instance: Vitamin E made it on the positive > list. Sort of. As > HSI Panelist Allan Spreen, M.D., has made clear in > several e- > Alerts, there are a number of different vitamin E > forms, and the > synthetic form should be avoided for internal use. > But according to > Euromonitor International, the ONLY form of vitamin > E on the > positive list is the synthetic form. > > And then there's selenium. Besides the fact that > selenium has > excellent antioxidant properties that have been > shown to help > increase insulin efficiency, selenium also enhances > the effect of > vitamin E, making it a perfect match for any vitamin > E regimen. > But the only two forms of selenium that made the > positive list are – > yep – synthetic forms. > > Wondering why the positive list emphasizes > synthetics? I'll answer > that question with another question: What sort of > company > specializes in manufacturing synthetic forms of > natural treatments? > You already saw it coming, didn't you? The answer: > pharmaceutical companies. Large drug companies can > easily > produce synthetic ingredients at low cost. So the > positive list will > certainly be positive for drug companies, while many > small > manufacturers of natural supplements will be forced > out of > business. > > ------- > Decoding Codex > ------- > > The outlook for the future of dietary supplements in > Europe is > decidedly gloomy. But if you're a U.S. citizen you > might be > wondering how all of this will affect you. In fact, > the 2005 > implementation of the EU directive won't directly > affect > consumers outside the EU. But the U.S. and the EU > are both > members of a much larger club. > > The U.S. is one of the 165 member countries of the > Codex > Alimentarius Commission – an international food > standards > program created by the Food and Agriculture > Organization (FAO) > and the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the > purposes > of the Codex Commission is to " harmonize " > international food > trade. And here are a few key elements of that > harmonizing: > > * WHO regards all dietary supplements as " drugs " > * The Codex Commission has made it clear that it > wants to limit > over-the-counter sales of dietary supplements > while reclassifying > others as pharmaceuticals, available only through > a pharmacist > * The U.S. has one vote on the Codex Commission. The > European > Union represents 27 votes on the commission: the > 25 votes of its > member countries and 2 votes of the 2 EU candidate > countries > * Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Codex > decisions > override decisions of individual countries > * Member countries (including the U.S.) that refuse > to > " harmonize " with WTO directives may be subject to > restrictive > trade sanctions > * The European Union is the United States' largest > trade and > investment partner, with a yearly two-way trade in > goods and > services that is estimated to be nearly $600 > billion > > " Harmony " never sounded so awful. > > -------- > Securing the Homeland > -------- > > The remarkably harsh restrictions of the EU > directive on Dietary > Supplements have met with an enormous protest from > people who > correctly see this process as an infringement on > their right to make > their own health care choices. This past February, > the High Court > in London ruled that a case challenging the > directive should be > referred to the European Court – the only court with > the authority > to challenge EU directives. Exactly when that court > will hand > down a ruling is not known. What is known is that > the decision > will have a profound effect on the availability of > dietary > supplements in Europe and beyond. > > Meanwhile, back on the other side of the Atlantic, > many > congressmen and pro-pharmaceutical organizations > have been > calling for more restrictive regulations of > supplements. So there's > no time to waste in letting our legislators know > that we don't want > to see any form of the EU directive taking effect in > the U.S. > > A complete list of government e-mail and postal > addresses is > available at a web site called Congress.org. Send a > message to your > congressmen and let them know that we want no part > of > international " harmonizing " that restricts our > access to > supplements. And most importantly, tell them that > you don't need > any government or international organizations to > " protect " you > from your personal health care choices. > > ************************************************************** > > ...and another thing > > If you're having trouble sleeping, one small > adjustment might help. > > According to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson > Cancer Research > Center in Seattle, the time of day you do your > exercises may affect > your sleep-wake cycle. > > Using data collected from a study that examined the > effects of > exercise on breast cancer risk, researchers found > that women who > exercised in the morning reported getting better > sleep than women > who exercised in the evening. > > The study wasn't designed to answer why that might > be so, but > researchers speculate that morning exercise may > prepare the body > for a natural cycle of daytime activity and > nighttime sleep, while > evening exercise may reset that cycle at exactly the > wrong time. > > Edward Stepanski (a Rush University expert in sleep > disorders and > research) offered another theory why exercise before > bedtime > might interfere with dozing off. He told the > Associated Press that > body temperature is raised during exercise, while a > slight > temperature drop accompanies sleep. > > So if you rise and shine and exercise, you might > have more luck > catching quality Zs. > > And this schedule has a hidden bonus: It allows you > to enjoy some > guilt-free couch-potato time in the evening. > > To Your Good Health, > > Jenny Thompson > Health Sciences Institute > > > To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, > visit: > http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopya.html > Or forward this e-mail to a friend so they can > sign-up to > receive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert. > > ************************************************************** > > Sources: > " Directive 2001, EC of the European Parliament and > of the > Council on the Approximation of the Laws of the > Member States > Relating to Food Supplements " European Parliament > Session > Document C5-0640/2001, 12/10/01 > " Food Supplements Directive Set to Overhaul Europe " > Kathrin > Jungbeck, Euromonitor International, 6/15/04, > euromonitor.com > " Morning Exercise May Make Sleep Easier " Associated > Press, > 11/24/03, usatoday.com > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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