Fw: Twilight's Last Gleaming? Please Read, Act & Pass on

[Guest guest]

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We have to let our voices be heard - now!

They really are starting to regulate supplements, in a not-good way.

Here's what I sent to my reps (feel free to copy & paste): You might want to title your e-mail: Supplement Regulation, as they screen their e-mail, too.

It seems there are a lot of congressmen and pro-pharmaceutical organizationscalling for more restrictive regulations of supplements. So I want to let you know that I don't want to see any form of the EU directive taking effect in the U.S.I want no part of international "harmonizing" that restricts our access tosupplements. And most importantly, I don't need any government or international organizations to "protect" me from my personal health care choices.How about we step up instead on finding health care availability (at reasonable costs) for all Americans, doing something to slow unemployment and speed employment (here in the U.S.) and taking care of the real issues instead of trying to regulate one small area in the people's lives where they can make their own decisions.Thank you for your time.

Respectfully,

A complete list of government e-mail and postal addresses is

available at a web site called Congress.org

From: "HSI - " <HSIResearch@...>

Twilight's Last Gleaming? Health Sciences Institute e-AlertTuesday July 13, 2004**************************************************************We hope you enjoy this free e-letter from the Health

Sciences Institute e-Alert.

Dear Reader,Is your government doing enough to protect you from the dangersof vitamin supplements? The absurdity of that question would becomical if it weren't the basis of an international drive to severelylimit our access to dietary supplements.In yesterday's e-Alert I gave you some background on the"European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements" that willbecome law in August of 2005. Among the 25 European Union(EU) nations (representing more than 450 million people), thisdirective reclassifies vitamin supplements as "medical drugs,"mandates low dosage levels, and outlaws many supplementingredients that are currently widely available. Created to "protect"consumers, the directive will do exactly the opposite by denyingconsumers 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 tothe U.S. and many other countries.------------------------------------------------------------------------Trying to stay positive------------------------------------------------------------------------Under the EU directive, a "positive list" has been created tomandate which dietary supplements will be allowed for sale. Thelist does not include about 350 supplement ingredients, such asboron, a mineral that helps manage symptoms of menopause.So if you're a supplement manufacturer in an EU country, and youproduce a supplement that contains boron, you'll be required toremove it from the supplement by August 2005. But there isanother option. You can submit a "technical dossier" to argue thecase that a particular ingredient (such as boron) should be includedon the positive list. Ah, but there's a catch: The EuropeanCommission has made this process so expensive and timeconsuming that many manufacturers simply can't afford the costsinvolved. As a result, many safe formulas and nutrients that havebeen 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 thesynthetic form should be avoided for internal use. But according toEuromonitor International, the ONLY form of vitamin E on thepositive list is the synthetic form.And then there's selenium. Besides the fact that selenium hasexcellent antioxidant properties that have been shown to help

increase insulin efficiency, selenium also enhances the effect ofvitamin 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 answerthat question with another question: What sort of companyspecializes in manufacturing synthetic forms of natural treatments?You already saw it coming, didn't you? The answer:pharmaceutical companies. Large drug companies can easilyproduce synthetic ingredients at low cost. So the positive list willcertainly be positive for drug companies, while many smallmanufacturers of natural supplements will be forced out ofbusiness.-------------------------------------------------------------------------Decoding Codex -------------------------------------------------------------------------The outlook for the future of dietary supplements in Europe isdecidedly gloomy. But if you're a U.S. citizen you might bewondering how all of this will affect you. In fact, the 2005implementation of the EU directive won't directly affectconsumers outside the EU. But the U.S. and the EU are bothmembers of a much larger club.The U.S. is one of the 165 member countries of the CodexAlimentarius Commission – an international food standardsprogram created by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)and the World Health Organization (WHO). One of the purposesof the Codex Commission is to "harmonize" international foodtrade. 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 DietarySupplements have met with an enormous protest from people whocorrectly see this process as an infringement on their right to maketheir own health care choices. This past February, the High Courtin London ruled that a case challenging the directive should bereferred to the European Court – the only court with the authorityto challenge EU directives. Exactly when that court will handdown a ruling is not known. What is known is that the decisionwill have a profound effect on the availability of dietarysupplements in Europe and beyond.Meanwhile, back on the other side of the Atlantic, manycongressmen and pro-pharmaceutical organizations have beencalling for more restrictive regulations of supplements. So there'sno time to waste in letting our legislators know that we don't wantto 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 ofinternational "harmonizing" that restricts our access tosupplements. And most importantly, tell them that you don't needany government or international organizations to "protect" you

from your personal health care choices.**************************************************************To start receiving your own copy of the HSI e-Alert, visit:http://www.hsibaltimore.com/ealert/freecopy.htmlOr forward this e-mail to a friend so they can sign-up toreceive their own copy of the HSI e-Alert.**************************************************************...and another thingIf you're having trouble sleeping, one small adjustment might help. According to researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer ResearchCenter in Seattle, the time of day you do your exercises may affectyour sleep-wake cycle. Using data collected from a study that examined the effects ofexercise on breast cancer risk, researchers found that women whoexercised in the morning reported getting better sleep than womenwho exercised in the evening. The study wasn't designed to answer why that might be so, butresearchers speculate that morning exercise may prepare the bodyfor a natural cycle of daytime activity and nighttime sleep, whileevening exercise may reset that cycle at exactly the wrong time. Stepanski (a Rush University expert in sleep disorders andresearch) offered another theory why exercise before bedtimemight interfere with dozing off. He told the Associated Press thatbody temperature is raised during exercise, while a slighttemperature drop accompanies sleep. So if you rise and shine and exercise, you might have more luckcatching quality Zs. And this schedule has a hidden bonus: It allows you to enjoy someguilt-free couch-potato time in the evening. To Your Good Health,

Health Sciences Institute

**************************************************************Sources: "Directive 2001, EC of the European Parliament and of theCouncil on the Approximation of the Laws of the Member StatesRelating to Food Supplements" European Parliament SessionDocument C5-0640/2001, 12/10/01"Food Supplements Directive Set to Overhaul Europe" KathrinJungbeck, Euromonitor International, 6/15/04, euromonitor.com"Morning Exercise May Make Sleep Easier" Associated Press,

11/24/03, usatoday.com ************************************************************If you'd like to participate in the HSI Forum, search paste-Alerts and products or you're an HSI member and would like

to search past articles, visit http://www.hsibaltimore.com

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Rehe

Dean's Office

College of Natural Sciences

Colorado State University

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Fax 970-491-6639

Joy increases as you give it,

and diminishes as you try to keep it for yourself.

In giving it, you will accumulate a deposit of joy

greater than you ever believed possible.

Norman Peale, minister and author