EFSA approves mineral sources - NewsGrabs 15 June 2008

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EFSA approves bisglycinate mineral sources
Bisglycinates of calcium, magnesium, copper and zinc were deemed safe for use in foods and supplements by the Eurpoean Food Safety Authority's scientific panel on food additives and flavorings. No conclusion was reached on chromium glycinate nicotinate. Bisglycinates are chelates manufactured with glycine, an amino acid.

More than a hundred other mineral sources already in use in supplements for years still remain to be examined under the Food supplement directive's approval system.

All this to "ensure the safety" of food supplements, which are already safer even than foods, while approved and registered medicines continue to kill hundreds of thousands each year.

Legislative priorities these days seem to be determined by (pharmaceutical) lobby power.

US and Japan supplement industry forming health food alliance
The Council for Responsible Nutrition, the Natural Products Association and the National Nutritional Foods Association of Japan yesterday agreed to work together to better deal with regulatory and research issues. The cooperation will target greater efficiency in dealing with issues like health claims, food safety, and producing ingredients and supplements.

Belgium to reclassify herbs in supplements as medicines
The Belgian Federation for Food Supplements, Dietary and Organic Products (NAREDI) said AFMPS intended to delete "ambivalent plants" from a positive list of botanicals authorised for food supplements use under a 1997 Royal decree.

These are plants that have both medicinal and other uses such as food ingredients. Garlic is an example. NAREDI is concerned the Decree will restrict availability to many herbal products such as Valerian and Echinacea.

FDA 'user fee' for domestic and foreign supplement manufacturers proposed
The draft bill's provisions also give the FDA one-sided legal authority to recall contaminated "foods" and "unsafe medications." Currently, the Agency can only ask companies to withdraw a supplement product it deems to be a drug, an adulterated food, or unsafe for consumers. This new legislation would establish a group of inspectors to monitor companies that manufacture nutritional foods, supplements, drugs, and medical devices abroad. To fund these changes, and to pay for the expansion of FDA authority, the bill creates new FDA user fees for domestic and foreign manufacturers. Foreign companies importing supplements for distribution within the U.S. would also be required to register their products and production facilities with the FDA every year, and to pay a user fee.

Proposal: International Coalition For Scientific Integrity & Debate
"I am calling upon Doctors, Authors, Journalists, and Others that I can help promote within this Challenge and others. A Place where all groups can merge. And all Professionals can have a voice."

This organization will be strictly for Professionals. Scientists, Doctors, Researchers, Authors... Anyone with some form of education, participation, credentials, and/or professional standing in any field that can correlate with Scientific Integrity and Debate.

Copenhagen, September 2008: European Quantum Energy Medicine Conference
This year’s unique ”European Quantum Energy Medicine Conference” is being held in Copenhagen – and you are invited!

The terms ”Quantum Medicine” and ”Energy Medicine” include a very broad range of therapy forms, which are either wholly or partly based on measuring or manipulating the body’s energy and information systems. Some examples are acupuncture, homeopathy, bioresonance, healing, reflexology, treatment with sound, light, electro-magnetism and so on.

Irish Health Stores agree with Giscard d'Estaing: vote against Lisbon Treaty
The Irish Association of Health Stores has announced its opposition to the Lisbon Treaty. Heeding the words of one of the main architects of the Lisbon Treaty, Giscard d’Estaing, that ‘If people understood it they would vote against it’, the IAHS unanimously agreed to endorse a No vote in Thursday’s referendum, following a meeting of its National Council today.

“While not against the EU in principle, it is patently clear that Europe has not been good for the natural products industry, or for freedom of choice in healthcare,” said Jill Bell, IAHS President. “The Lisbon Treaty seems set to further facilitate erosion of individual rights and choices,” she added.

Irish EU vote lost, officials say
European Commission head Jose Manuel Barroso said all indications were that Ireland had indeed rejected the treaty. He called for other states to continue their ratification processes and said a solution should be sought.

The treaty must be ratified by all 27 members. Only Ireland has held a public vote on it.

The real scandal in this is that NONE of the 27 member states except Ireland thought it appropriate to ask their citizens before relinquishing substantial shares of national independence to a supernational entity that is itself clearly undemocratic.

Have we become of such little importance to the politicians?

Czech president says EU's Lisbon treaty finished
Czech President Vaclav Klaus said on Friday that ratification of the European Union's Lisbon treaty could not continue after it was rejected by Irish voters.

The reform treaty has hit a potential stumbling block in the Czech Republic, where the upper house of parliament has asked the constitutional court to judge whether the charter is compatible with the country's constitution.

The Irish rejection is a huge setback to the treaty, which must be ratified by all 27 EU member states to come into force.

Video: Thank You Ireland
for voting No to the EU-treaty. "An amusing short video that deserves a wide audience", said a friend about this one.

While governments and parliaments across the continent rush to approve what no one read, we are little by little finding out what's in the treaty... The video by Jo Conrad is three and a half minutes of good information and - perhaps - a wake-up call for those still working to push approval through the "democratic" process...

Wildflower Extracts Easily Kill MRSA Superbug
Researchers found that extracts from Inula helenium (commonly known as elecampane, horse-heal or marchalan) eliminated 100 percent of MRSA colonies upon exposure.

I. helenium and another wildflower, known as Pulsatilla vulgaris or pasque flower, were tested against 300 different varieties of staphylococci bacteria, including MRSA. P. vulgaris also proved "highly effective" against MRSA.

Why Raw Milk is Healthier Than Pasteurized Milk
People, milk, and bacteria can coexist. It is normal for milk to contain some bacteria, and human societies have been benefiting from these bacteria in milk for thousands of years. Fermented milks, for instance, have superior nutrient value and digestibility. Today these products are marketed as containing "probiotics," as if this is something brand new.

Public obsession with killing bacteria misdirects efforts at improving public health -- because relatively few bacteria are pathogenic. By constantly sterilizing, pasteurizing, and disinfecting, the balance is actually tipped in favor of the pathogens.

India: Medicine plant claims to cure cancer
Though the plant, locally known as Zanlung Damdawi was traditionally used by the Hmar tribe inhabiting the southern district of Churachandpur since time immemorial for treating different ailments it was chance discovery by an 82 year old cancer patient, Mr Chawlien Hmar of Saikot village that catapulted it to its present miracle status. Mr Chawlien who was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour growth on his neck by Radiology department of RIMS turned to the herb out of sheer pain and lack of money to undergo an operation. He soon found that his pain disappeared and the swelling subsided and started relating the story to others.

No doubt in time someone in the West will do a study on the plant and find that it's quite useless. Can't have all that competition for the lucrative cancer chemicals market from a lowly plant now, can we?

Get a Little Sun This Summer – It Could Help Save Your Life
“The old theory was that if you had enough vitamin D to prevent rickets and osteomalacia, two skeletal disorders, you were okay,” said Victoria Drake, a research associate in the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University, and manager of its “Micronutrient Information Center. But new research is now raising our awareness about the possible relationships between vitamin D and cancer, particularly colorectal, breast, ovarian and prostate cancers. There are also potential links to cardiovascular disease, and autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis and rheumatoid arthritis.”

Just as with vitamin D, I might add, there are other substances of vital imp