Alliance for Natural Health

The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) was founded in 2002 by Dr Robert Verkerk and is based in the UK.

Legal challenge to European Union Food Supplements Directive

In 2004, along with two British trade associations, ANH had a legal challenge to the European Union's Food Supplements Directive [ [http://europa.eu.int/eur-lex/pri/en/oj/dat/2002/l_183/l_18320020712en00510057.pdf EU Food Supplements Directive] ] referred to the European Court of Justice by the High Court in London. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3445503.stm 'Court victory for vitamin firms' BBC News] Published 30 January 2004. Accessed 29 April 2007.] Although the European Court of Justice's Advocate General subsequently said that the EU's plan to tighten rules on the sale of vitamins and food supplements should be scrapped, [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4411929.stm 'EU health foods crackdown 'wrong" BBC News.] Published 5 April 2005. Accessed 29 April 2007.] he was eventually overruled by the European Court, which decided that the measures in question were necessary and appropriate for the purpose of protecting public health. ANH, however, interpreted the ban as applying only to synthetically produced supplements - and not to vitamins and minerals normally found in or consumed as part of the diet. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4670971.stm 'Vitamin controls backed by Europe' BBC News.] Published 12 July 2005. Accessed 29 April 2007.] Nevertheless, the European judges did acknowledge the Advocate General's concerns, stating that there must be clear procedures to allow substances to be added to the permitted list based on scientific evidence. They also said that any refusal to add a product to the list must be open to challenge in the courts. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1526892,00.html 'EU court backs health supplements ban' The Guardian] Published 12 July 2005. Accessed 6 October 2007.]

Ideology

The Alliance believes that negative media publicity about nutrients such as vitamin E are merely a result of misinterpretations over the science. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3998847.stm High dose vitamin E death warning] BBC News, quoted from statement of Dr Rob Verkerk, Executive Director of the Alliance for Natural Health. Published 11 Nov 2004. Accessed 30 Sept 2007.] It also criticises the latest research Douglas RM, Hemilä H, Chalker E, Treacy B. [http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD000980/frame.html Vitamin C for preventing and treating the common cold] . "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews" 2007, Issue 3. Art. No.: CD000980. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD000980.pub3] proposing vitamin C supplementation does not protect against the common cold as having a number of fundamental flaws. [ [http://www.nursinginpractice.com/default.asp?title=VitaminCcampaignerssupportsupplements&page=article.display&article.id=4487 Vitamin C campaigners support supplements] Nursing in Practice. Published 19 July 2007. Accessed 30 Sept 2007.]

Dr Verkerk, the Alliance's Executive Director, has gone on record as saying that bad diets and lack of exercise could create a cancer timebomb for the future and that junk food should be taxed like cigarettes. He also argues that people should be encouraged to look after themselves so that the fewer visits they make to their doctor, the less insurance they pay. [ [http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/life/article227583.ece Laughter key to long life] The Sun newspaper, UK. Published 17 November 2005. Accessed 28 March 2008.] Following a Cochrane Collaboration reviewBjelakovic G, Nikolova D, Gluud LL, Simonetti RG, Gluud C. [http://mrw.interscience.wiley.com/cochrane/clsysrev/articles/CD007176/frame.html Antioxidant supplements for prevention of mortality in healthy participants and patients with various diseases.] "Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews" 2008, Issue 2. Art. No.: CD007176. DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD007176.] based on a previous article in the Journal of the American Medical AssociationBjelakovic G, "et al". [http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/297/8/842 Mortality in Randomized Trials of Antioxidant Supplements for Primary and Secondary Prevention] , systematic Review and Meta-analysis. "JAMA", 2007;297:842-857] which found that some antioxidant vitamin supplements may shorten lifespan, Verkerk was quoted as having "found a range of faults" with it. [ [http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Sunday/Focus/2229232/Article/index_html Your Health: Are vitamins good or bad?] New Straights Times, Malaysia. Published 3 May 2008. Accessed 10 May 2008.] Speaking at the inaugural "Scientific Research in Homeopathy" conference held by the Complementary Medical Association (CMA) at the University of Westminster in June 2008, Verkerk said that it was "utterly inappropriate" to use randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess homoeopathy and other complementary medicines, arguing that "as soon as you put someone into a trial situation, you destroy many of the effects that exist between patient and practitioner." [ [http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=26&storycode=402505&c=1 'Homoeopaths label scientists the 'new fundamentalists'] The Times newspaper, UK. Published 26 June, 2008. Accessed 3 August, 2008.]

Award

In May 2008 Verkerk received an award, presented at the 39th Anniversary of the Citizens Commission on Human Rights United Kingdom (CCHR), in recognition of his “work to expose the multinational pharmaceutical interests and giant food companies to limit the public's access to herbs”. [ [http://www.naturalproductsonline.co.uk/home.asp?ItemID=3806&rcid=70&pcid=69&cid=70 ANH founder recognized for natural health campaign] Natural Products Magazine. Published 19 May 2008. Accessed 31 May 2008.]

See also

* Codex Alimentarius
* Dietary supplement
* Essential nutrient
* Food supplements
* Health freedom movement
* Megavitamin therapy
* Naturopathic Medicine
* Orthomolecular medicine

References

External links

* [http://www.alliance-natural-health.org/ Alliance for Natural Health]