4-12-04 Dangers of Common Vitamins and Supplements

[Guest guest]

4-12-04

 

Dangers of Common Vitamins and Supplements

 

 

Ready to Rumble

 

In the days and weeks before a major earthquake, seismologists

often record tremors –subterranean rumbles, signaling that

something destructive is on the way.

 

Consider today's e-Alert a tremor.

 

Something very destructive is headed our way, and it will have a

deeply negative impact on your right to make your own healthcare

decisions.

 

---------------------------

Dreaming up dangers

---------------------------

 

In the e-Alert I sent you on Friday, 11/19/04, I shared this

comment from an HSI member who goes by the initials PKL: " My

friend, an ND, said 2 years ago that as the date for the USA to

comply with codex alimentarius rules approached (Aug.2005) we

would see scare stories coming out in the media about the

'dangers of common vitamins and supplements. "

 

PKL's friend felt the tremors coming. And his prediction was right

on the money. In recent e-Alerts I told you about two flawed

studies that produced over-the-top scare headlines regarding the

supposed risks of taking vitamins C and E in large doses. But these

studies are not isolated cases.

 

For instance, a recent " long-term study " found that glucosamine

was less effective than a placebo in relieving arthritis pain. But a

closer look at the published research reveals that the actual study

period was only six months long, and all of the subjects had

previously found glucosamine to be effective over a two-year

period. (The researchers were counting those two years as part of

the " long-term " .) Nevertheless, this research was reported as a

failure for glucosamine.

 

Is the timing of these and other deliberately negative studies a

coincidence? Or is it part of a concerted effort to plant the seeds of

doubt in the mind of the public?

 

---------------------------

Harsh harmony

---------------------------

 

As PKL pointed out, the whole point of planting those seeds is to

prepare for the approaching Codex deadline.

 

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 classifies all dietary supplements as drugs

* The Codex Commission intends to limit over-the-counter sales of

dietary supplements while reclassifying others as

pharmaceuticals, available only through a pharmacist

* Under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Codex guidelines

override the regulations of individual countries

* Member countries (including the U.S.) that refuse to accept and

enforce the WTO directives are subject to severe trade sanctions

 

A strong tremor was felt just last month when the Codex

Commission approved draft guidelines that will begin restricting

the sale of dietary supplements as early as next summer. So in spite

of our current laws that make a wide range of vitamins, minerals

and herbal formulations readily available, the U.S. is poised to

simply put those laws aside to conform to the unacceptably

restrictive Codex guidelines.

 

---------------------------

Whose country is it anyway?

---------------------------

 

Incredible, isn't it? Our freedom to make our own healthcare

choices may simply be taken away by an international commission.

But at this point, the imposition of the Codex guidelines isn't

necessarily a done deal. And although the situation is not

promising, it's still not too late to help prevent it from happening.

 

I strongly urge you to join me in taking a moment to send a brief

letter or e-mail to your Senators and Representatives. (You can

easily find Congressional street addresses and e-mail addresses at

congress.org just by entering your zip code. We've heard that snail

mail gets more attention from our public servants than e-mail.)

 

Tell them that you strongly oppose the international

" harmonization " of dietary supplement laws, drafted in another

country, and designed to " protect " you from the choices you make

about your personal healthcare.

 

Jonathan V. Wright, M.D., has written a sobering description of

what life would be like under the Codex regulations. You can find

Dr. Wright's editorial on the web site for his Nutrition & Healing

newsletter: wrightnewsletter.com. Look for the heading titled

" Featured Article. " Dr. Wright offers links to other resources with

detailed information about Codex and he also suggests further

actions we all can take.

 

Finally, tell your friends and let them know what's going on. We

obviously can't depend on the mainstream media to adequately

report this one, so it's time to get the message out by word of

mouth.

 

If we don't act now, these rumbling tremors may develop into

something far worse.