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DANGER SIGNS:Supplements may soon be regulated as drugsby Gail Adrian |
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"Health food stores and vitamin companies are being lied to on the Codex issue by Citizens for Health and by NNFA (National Nutritional Foods Assn.) who have been calling it a 'non issue.'" John Hammell, founder, International Advocates for Health Freedom. |
Unbelievable as it may sound, the growing popularity of vitamins and supplements is likely to lead to their re-classification -- and regulation -- as drugs. If these regulations are approved, you will have to get a prescription to buy Vitamin C . . .
From prenatal to geriatric formulations, supplements have long been a staple of the American diet. But in recent decades, the practice of taking vitamins to maintain health, ward off simple colds and treat serious illnesses such as cancer and heart disease has become an integral part of a holistic health program. Most of us do not have the time to cook nutritious meals three times a day. In addition, the stresses of modern life deplete the body of valuable nutrients. Exposure to pesticides, heavy metals, and other pollutants may be mitigated by the use of high quality vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients to our diet. While many Americans find that a simple one capsule a day supplement is sufficient to create a feeling of well being, some of us go a step further. We research individual vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients to fine-tune our bodies. Many health professionals recommend the use of high potency vitamins and herbs to treat a variety of conditions. Dr. John Heinerman, PHD, in his book, Nature's Vitamins and Minerals (Prentice Hall Press, 1998) recommends a number of high potency vitamins to ward off colds. He goes on to suggest that high potency vitamins can assist in treating skin ailments, depression, cancer, and hypertension. Gary Null is a leading expert in the field of health and nutrition. He has written a number of articles and books on health issues. He also leads workshops all over the country advocating a natural life style. He maintains that healthy living can reverse aging, treat cancer, heart disease, and generally revitalize the entire body. Mary Ann Copson is a skilled wellness consultant and life coach who has devoted her life to all aspects of family health. Her practice involves an intricate series of consultations and follow up sessions. Her wellness practice is also firmly rooted in diet and nutrition along with exercise and stress reducing techniques. Vitamins play a large part in her programs. The growing consensus on the health benefits of high quality and sufficient dosages of vitamins, minerals, and other micro-nutrients has produced a new industry which has been growing exponentially for the past thirty years. The natural health supplements industry threatens to take a big bite out of the market for America's most profitable commodity: pharmaceuticals. As a result, our ability to obtain these treatments without a prescription may soon be curtailed -- thanks to the workings of the global economy.
"Harmonization" threatens to limit choice Most people have not yet heard of the group, "Codex Alimentarius" (Latin meaning Food Code). This group is part of the World Trade Organization, a group of countries belonging to the United Nations. Codex Alimentarius is very strong in the European Union, which is working to create a more homogeneous and corporate structured Europe. Codex is leveling a systematic attack against the individual consumer's right to obtain natural health information. Codex has stated that it is "Interested in protecting consumer health, and maintaining fair practices in food trade," and that its intention is to create "coordination in the standards of food trade by both government and non-governmental organizations. (Codex Alimentarius standards, July 7, 1997, vol 62#129 available at iahf) But this group is not a citizens action group with a vested interest in the health of human beings. The Codex Alimentarius is composed of European trade organizations, American agri-business, and the European pharmaceutical cartel. And the Codex Alimentarius also calls for the "harmonization" of all vitamin supplements, and that's where the trouble begins. Harmonization does not mean the unified working together of all peoples to effect optimum health. On the contrary, harmonization is the deliberate and systematic regulation and standardization of all vitamin supplements. Codex wishes first to limit the potency levels of vitamin supplements to negligible amounts. This would destroy their therapeutic effects. Codex is also seeking to eliminate the terms "therapeutic and preventative" from all labels on vitamin supplements. Natural supplements are in direct competition with pharmaceuticals. Codex cannot be unbiased if it is made up of a group that has a vested interest in pushing vitamins off the market so that pharmaceuticals can capture the health market. In England and France, it is still relatively easy to obtain vitamins, but in Germany, which was once the vanguard for nontraditional therapies, it is now illegal to sell vitamin supplements in health food stores. Vitamins are now a regulated "drug" and even vitamin C is only available through prescription. In order to obtain this supplement, one must be subject to a rigorous interview by white coated pharmacists. However, even if the medical personnel who interview the applicant decide that vitamin C is warranted, it is next to impossible to find supplements in the pharmacies. Because vitamins are in direct competition with manufactured medications? According to long-time medical researcher Jackie Buchanan, "The pharmaceutical companies are planning a global takeover of the vitamin-herb industry and within a few short years, they will have succeeded by pushing competitors out of the field. They are planning to do it very quietly and carefully through GATT and the Codex Commission." (see Gary Null's website) Codex seeks to standardize all labeling, dosage, and trade rules for supplements. According to Gary Null, it wants to establish a world wide guideline stating that no dietary supplement can be sold for preventative or therapeutic purposes. To support this trend, the FDA and the National Academy of Science have promoted their own privately funded research. It should come as no surprise that these documents, funded with pharmaceutical money, support a plan to severely limit the manufacturing and availability of vitamin supplements, The FDA and NAS suggestions on RDA's (recommended daily allowances) for vitamins are alarmingly low. Furthermore, they have not taken into account the body of work done by practitioners who use and have documented the positive results of high potency vitamin therapy. (See related articles in www.garynull.com, www.laleva.org.) Meanwhile, the initial steps to limit access to high potency vitamins continue. In Greece, one can only purchase vitamins through prescription. In Italy, vitamin E has been banned in dosages over 100 mgs. At this potency, vitamin E's ability to assist the body in fighting heart disease is rendered useless. Germany requires prescriptions for vitamin C over 300mgs. In Ireland, St. John's Wort is illegal, and there is a ban on amino acids. New Zealand has attempted to set limits on B vitamins and folic acid, and has banned melatonin. Suzanne Harris is a journalist and co-creator of Law Loft Report. She feels that "The US has a need to find new markets for agri-business with its rapid high volume production and we are producing (new products) at a level the domestic market can't consume, so it's find new markets or die." "It has been thought that agribusiness is in its best position to compete on a world market. If we competed in a harmonized European market we would do better than even European companies who were not designed to compete in an international marketplace." According to Ms. Harris, the public loses because our interests are not being served. All these decisions are being made by non-elected bureaucrats in off shore countries. (Gary Null Natural Living radio show 12/27/00). Are there untold dangers to consuming large doses of supplements? Not according to Gary Null: "The risk of dying from a properly administered medication is close to 200,000 people per year. The risk of contracting food borne and water borne poisons is 278 million cases per year. This is based only on the RECORDED cases of death. "The number of people dying from taking vitamins is zero with under about 3 to 4000 adverse reactions. Within 12 years there has not been a single death from vitamins. (Natural Living radio show 12/27/00) According to Dr. Matthias Rath, "At present there are 24,000 pharmaceutical drugs on the market without any proven healing effect (according to data from the German health insurance companies)." (for more information, see his website) There is no compelling evidence to prove that vitamins should be treated in the same manner as manufactured drugs. Yet they are being looked at in the same light as medications. According to psychotherapist Tamara Theresa Mosegaard of Denmark, the European Union Scientific Committee on Foods (EUCF) has voted on the upper levels of vitamin levels. It has also decreed that such valuable supplements as CO- enzyme Q10, bio-flavinoids, and a host of amino acids are dangerous. In Denmark, the dosage for Vitamin B6 is set to 25 mgs. (The optimal dosage is upward of 300 mgs) In the Codex meetings in Berlin, the very same arguments brought against supplements are being used to promote manufactured enriched and genetically modified foods. This Alice in Wonderland type of philosophy is being used to hoodwink consumers. For example: France and Germany have proposed an amendment to article 5 (Maximum levels of supplements). They want the maximum levels contained in vitamins to take into account population consumption of fortified foods. For instance, if you are purchasing a highly refined sugar cereal that has processed levels of synthetic vitamins, you will then be restricted in your ability to obtain natural supplements of the same vitamins, on the premise that you have already obtained your optimum level of this nutrient in your food. To get more of the nutrient from a supplement will endanger your health by creating an "overdose". This kind of restriction will only be possible after Codex has succeeded world wide in classifying vitamins as drugs. Also, it is important to bear in mind, there never has been an agreement as to what the top-level potencies of certain vitamins are. Furthermore, only the researchers who have been funded by pharmaceutical companies are using this overdose argument. All this is just a vehicle to further the marketing of manufactured and genetically modified foods. (Natural Living 12/27/00). Just to give a comparison so that you understand the degree of limitation that Codex is attempting, let's look at the recommended dosage for vitamin C. Holistic practitioners recommend 1000 mgs. (One gram). This amount would be outlawed in the US if the pharmaceutical companies that make up the Codex Alimentarius successfully carry out harmonization. Remember Germany. There the allowed dosage for vitamin C is 300 mgs. In Germany, health food stores are not allowed to sell supplements at all. It is quite possible that similar restrictive measures against natural supplements could be enacted in our own country. Since America is part of World Trade Organization, and the World Bank, we are subject to international trade policies. These policies are made to benefit international pharmaceutical companies, and agri-megabusiness. When the United States became a part of the World Trade Organization, we agreed to play according to Global Trade Rules. The USA, along with the other European Union members, can force trade sanctions and nut we may also face them ourselves. If Codex harmonizes the vitamins that are already widely restricted in WTO member nations, we, as a member of the WTO, will have to join the harmonization. If we don't, trade restrictions could be placed upon us. This corporate bullying would override our present standards for the high potency supplements Americans presently enjoy. To not enter into the European Union's harmonization process would mean millions of dollars of lost revenues. American business will not stand for that. Corporations are not interested in freedom of health choice if it interferes with international trade. Many people are under the impression that we are protected from harmonization. This is not true. John Hammell has been fighting the restriction of vitamin dosages for more than a decade. He explains in detail what we stand to lose by harmonization of vitamins and how it could happen even though free trade law theoretically protects us at his website. The WTO dispute settlement panels can put economic pressure on its members which will in turn affect the ability for us as consumers to purchase vitamins. The WTO is a powerful global bureaucracy where non-elected bureaucrats operating in the interests of corporations are empowered to decide the fate of American citizens. If any local, state, or federal law of a WTO member country is found to violate the organization's trade rules, the trade agreements supersede federal law. Taking advantage of WTO agreements and regulations, corporations have attempted to undermine a variety of safeguards against destructive practices from measures to eliminate the use of leg-hold animal traps, to laws protecting dolphins from unsafe tuna fishing practices. Establishment of the WTO was controversial all over the world as it placed international commercial interests above all other values, including consumer safeguards, environmental and labor protections, food safety, and human rights." ("US laws NOT safe" by Chris McGinn at iahf website) Here are some suggestions for Action Democracy is a process. Democracy is an art. We must practice Democracy in order to maintain it. We have a responsibility to protect our freedom of health choices. Unless we band together globally to protect our rights as individuals, we will be swallowed up by corporate greed. Let us learn now to live and work as a global neighborhood and protect our rights as citizens of the world. As global citizens, we can work together to maintain and protect our health. As global neighbors, we can help recover lost health options while working to maintain the precious freedoms we enjoy right now. If we don't put an end to corporate global health restrictions, we could find ourselves bereft of valuable health choices. Sign the petition on the iahf website. Look for the headline on the left menu that is titled: "Sign the Petition" You will find a detailed explanation as to why we are not protected against harmonization, and which WTO trade organizations are the most threatening to our ability to purchase vitamins. The petition includes an urgent request to Senator Dan Burton to conduct a responsible oversight hearing on this issue. You can also log onto www.laleva.com. This is a European site explaining the restrictions already in progress on purchase of vitamin supplements in Europe. The laleva site insists that all the nations involved in Codex Alimentarius be allowed to regain access to vitamins in dosages concurrent with optimum health, taking back the right to purchase vitamins from pharmaceutical companies and putting them back where they belong -- into the hands of individuals.
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