Food Supplements - Urgent Action Required Now

international | consumer issues | other press Wednesday November 08, 2006 17:47 by Miriam Cotton

Is the EU about to crush the burgeoning interest in the healt benefits of food supplemtns and wholefood diets?

In recent years many people have realised fantastic health benefits from an approach to diet based on whole, organic food supplemented by high quality food supplements to make up for the cumulative loss of vital minerals, vitamins and other essential nutrition resulting from consumption of the denatured food which most of us are forced to buy throughout our lives. There is a huge groundswell of interest in this issue as people convert in droves to a truly healthy way of eating. A prominent UK exponent of this approach to diet who regularly arranges seminars in Ireland on this topic has spoken to capacity audiences of up to 300 people around Ireland who are turning away from pharmaceutical driven medicine to taking control of their own health by learning about how to nourish their own bodies properly - something the medical profession itself is still profoundly and shamefully disinterested in.

I was first drawn to this issue on behalf of my youngest son who has ASD complicated by verbal dyspraxia and borderline intellectual disability. Having researched the issue thoroughly it seemed there was nothing to loose by trying the theory out. I can categorically say that the combined efforts of countless dedicated therapists of all kinds (many of whom made good progress with our son's developmental difficulties) do not add up to the near miraculous changes we saw in him since putting him on the diet that was recommended to us. An essential component of that diet was that we are able to adjust his intake of vitamins and minerals, scientifically proven in countless studies and reasearch projects, to act on specific aspects of his intellectual and physical difficulties. The levels at which he takes these supplements exceeds by far the Recommended Daily Allowance for those nutritional elements in most countries because the RDA is merely the minimum measure of what will keep diseases such as scurvy at bay. RDA has nothing to do with optimising health - let alone preventing and curing health problems.

Hundreds of thousands of people have experienced comparable improvements to their health based on the principles of avoiding processed food, eating organic whole food and self medicating for conditons such as hypothyroidism and diabetes and even cancer by vitamin and mineral supplementation in conjuction with advice from qualified food nutritionists and others. Many GPs, though still a minority, are converting to the idea of food as medicine also - hardly a new idea.

Inevitably, this self- help movement is upsetting a number of powerful corporate interests who would like nothing better than to see it utterly defeated. After all, if we all took control over our health in this way what would it do to the bottom line of the pharmaceuticals who need us all to maintain profitably healthy levels of illness to ensure they continue to make billions out of our ignorance and our disease ridden societies. Equally, increasing demand for organic food is a major threat to pesticide manufacturers, the GM food industry and industrial scale farmers - all of whom stand to loose out if this movement takes off. It will come as no surprise therefore to find that they have been very busy trying to raise false alarms and to pressurise national and EU legislators to introduce laws that will effectively ban this approach to nutrition. Copied below is an article written by the same UK nutritionist referred to above which sets out what the EU is up to and appealing for people everywhere to register their opposition to the imposition of an upper limit on nutritional supplements which will mean that many people, including people with autism and other forms of disability would no longer be able to benefit from the huge advantages of a truly healthy diet. In one study, Down Syndrome children averaged an improvement in IQ levels of between 17 and 40 points after following this diet.

" URGENT ACTION REQUIRED

The European Union is about to set new maximum dose levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements. Depending on the dose levels it sets, consumers across Europe could lose access to safe, higher potency products that they currently use ~ or the exact opposite could happen. Limits could be relaxed so that consumers have access to a wider range of safe higher potency products of their choice. YOU can help influence this process.

Background to the Directive

The Food Supplements Directive (2002/46/EC) came into force on 13th July 2003. The object of the Directive is to harmonise the market in food supplements across the European Union by requiring all 25 Member States to trade only in products that comply with the Directive's provisions; and by instructing Member States to ban products that fail to comply. It applies only to vitamins and minerals that may be contained in food supplements at this stage, but it includes provision for other categories, such as botanicals, to be included in the future.

Effects of the Directive

Prior to the adoption of this Directive, there was neither a definition of the term 'food supplements' nor any specific legislation on food supplements in EU law. In different Member States such products have historically been regulated by different national rules resulting in unequal levels of consumer choice and unbalanced conditions of trade competition.

For Member States that historically imposed restrictions on trading in food supplements by limiting the range of nutrient that could be sold - or by limiting their potencies, the measure could lead to some relaxation/liberalisation of the market. For other Member States, which historically had a laissez-fair approach to regulation, the measure could lead to some significant restrictions on the products that may be sold in the future.

Now that the legislation has been finalised, and is being interpreted and implemented, consumers, manufacturers and practitioners in every Member State have a common interest in pressing for the most liberal interpretation possible of the rules.

Setting Maximum Permitted Levels for Vitamins and Minerals

Article 5 of the Directive is very important and has not yet been implemented. This Article states that maximum amounts of vitamins and minerals present in food supplements shall be set taking into account a number of factors which include scientific evidence of safety, intake of vitamins and minerals from other dietary sources, and the population reference intakes for those nutrients (not a measure of safety, just the amount needed to avoid diseases of nutritional deficiency).

The European Commission is now considering how Article 5 should be implemented. Following a consultation on how it should identify those vitamin and minerals for which it is necessary to set a maximum permitted level for use in supplements and how it should calculate the level at which that nutrient should be permitted, the Commission is now considering the responses from Member States prior to deciding how it intends to proceed with the project of setting maximum dose levels for nutrients.

Now is a crucial opportunity to influence the thinking of the Commission and to stress the importance of three principles:

a. For those vitamins and minerals where there has been no evidence of safety concerns the Commission should not propose that any levels be set as they are unnecessary;

b. For those vitamins and minerals where there is evidence of safety concerns the limits proposed by the Commission should be at the highest possible level based on the scientific evidence; and

c. Promoting consumer choice in food supplements should be given a high priority.

What can you do to help?

Whichever Member State you are based in, you can make a difference to the process of setting maximum permitted dose levels for nutrients in supplements. The views and wishes of consumers can influence the European Commission's proposed levels. By taking a simple step now you can promote consumer choice in higher potency food supplements throughout the European Union."