Alliance for Natural Health
Encyclopedia
The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) is an advocacy group founded in 2002 by Robert Verkerk and based in the United Kingdom
. The ANH was initially founded to raise funds to finance a legal challenge of the EU Food Supplement Directive. The ANH lobbies against regulation of dietary supplement
s, in favour of alternative medical approaches
, and advocates a healthy diet and other lifestyle approaches to health. It also criticizes scientific research showing that megadoses of vitamins
lack any health benefit.
by the High Court in London
. The European Court of Justice's Advocate General said that the EU's plan to tighten rules on the sale of vitamins and nutritional supplements should be scrapped but was overruled by the European Court, which decided that the measures in question were necessary and appropriate for the purpose of protecting public health
. ANH 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. 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.
. The Directive will be challenged first of all in the High Court in London, on the grounds that it is "disproportionate, non-transparent and discriminatory." ANH then hopes to have the case referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. It argues the new rules could effectively steam-roller ancient medicine cultures such as Ayurveda
out of existence and that the registration costs are affordable for single herbal products with big markets, such as echinacea
, but will drive small producers of medicines containing multiple herbs out of business.
's adoption of new manufacturing regulations. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found that the regulations "did not exceed the FDA's statutory authority, are not impermissibly vague under the due process clause, and are not arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act
." The complaint was filed in 2009 by the ANH, along with Durk Pearson
, Sandy Shaw
and the Coalition to End FDA and FTC Censorship.
and traditional Chinese medicine
.http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns-background In its campaign for “Good Science”, it argues that the current risk assessment
methodologies used by government agencies for the analysis of dietary supplements are flawed.http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns/risk-assessment. It also campaigns against GMO
s, fluoridation of drinking water, corporate control of the agro-industry, electro-magnetic radiation, and the global harmonisation of the food trade by the United Nations
Codex Alimentarius
Commission.http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns-background
The ANH believes that negative media publicity about nutrients such as vitamin E
are merely a result of misinterpretations over the science. It also criticises the latest research proposing vitamin C
supplementation does not protect against the common cold as having a number of fundamental flaws.
Verkerk, the ANH's Executive Director, has stated 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. Verkerk has also been quoted in newspapers criticizing scientific findings from JAMA
and the Cochrane Collaboration
, among others, which found that some antioxidant vitamin supplements may shorten lifespan.
Speaking at the inaugural "Scientific Research in Homoeopathy" 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."
On swine flu
, speaking on the topic of "Pandemics: Fact and Fiction" at a health show in Dublin in September 2009, Verkerk said that he believes "vaccination
may be right in the future – particularly if the virus
becomes more virulent – but at the moment, the risks associated with vaccination outweigh the benefit."
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The ANH was initially founded to raise funds to finance a legal challenge of the EU Food Supplement Directive. The ANH lobbies against regulation of dietary supplement
Dietary supplement
A dietary supplement, also known as food supplement or nutritional supplement, is a preparation intended to supplement the diet and provide nutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids, or amino acids, that may be missing or may not be consumed in sufficient quantities in a person's diet...
s, in favour of alternative medical approaches
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, and advocates a healthy diet and other lifestyle approaches to health. It also criticizes scientific research showing that megadoses of vitamins
Megavitamin therapy
Megavitamin therapy is the use of large doses of vitamins, often many times greater than the recommended dietary allowance in the attempt to prevent or treat diseases...
lack any health benefit.
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 referred to the European Court of JusticeEuropean Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
by the High Court in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The European Court of Justice's Advocate General said that the EU's plan to tighten rules on the sale of vitamins and nutritional supplements should be scrapped but was overruled by the European Court, which decided that the measures in question were necessary and appropriate for the purpose of protecting public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. ANH 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. 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.
Legal challenge to European Union Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive
In March 2011, ANH announced that it intends to launch a legal challenge to the European Union's Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products DirectiveEuropean Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products
The European Directive on Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products formallyThe Directive 2004/24/EC amending, as regards traditional herbal medicinal products, Directive 2001/83/EC on the Community code relating to medicinal products for human use was established by the European Parliament and...
. The Directive will be challenged first of all in the High Court in London, on the grounds that it is "disproportionate, non-transparent and discriminatory." ANH then hopes to have the case referred to the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg. It argues the new rules could effectively steam-roller ancient medicine cultures such as Ayurveda
Ayurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
out of existence and that the registration costs are affordable for single herbal products with big markets, such as echinacea
Echinacea
Echinacea is a genus of herbaceous flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae. The nine species it contains are commonly called purple coneflowers. They are endemic to eastern and central North America, where they are found growing in moist to dry prairies and open wooded areas. They have...
, but will drive small producers of medicines containing multiple herbs out of business.
Legal challenge to U.S. FDA's adoption of new manufacturing regulations
In April 2011, a U.S. federal judge ruled against a legal challenge by the ANH to the U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationFood and Drug Administration
The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
's adoption of new manufacturing regulations. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell found that the regulations "did not exceed the FDA's statutory authority, are not impermissibly vague under the due process clause, and are not arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedure Act
Administrative Procedure Act
The Administrative Procedure Act , , is the United States federal law that governs the way in which administrative agencies of the federal government of the United States may propose and establish regulations. The APA also sets up a process for the United States federal courts to directly review...
." The complaint was filed in 2009 by the ANH, along with Durk Pearson
Durk Pearson
Durk Pearson, born in 1943 in Illinois, is best known for coauthoring a series of books on longevity, beginning with Life Extension: A Practical Scientific Approach.- Early life :...
, Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw
Sandy Shaw is an American writer on health. She is an advocate of life extension.-Education:Shaw's father was an engineer and her mother a housewife. She received her degree in chemistry from U.C.L.A...
and the Coalition to End FDA and FTC Censorship.
Positions
The ANH runs campaigns in favor of dietary supplements, "sustainable healthcare", and traditional medicinal cultures such as AyurvedaAyurveda
Ayurveda or ayurvedic medicine is a system of traditional medicine native to India and a form of alternative medicine. In Sanskrit, words , meaning "longevity", and , meaning "knowledge" or "science". The earliest literature on Indian medical practice appeared during the Vedic period in India,...
and traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
.http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns-background In its campaign for “Good Science”, it argues that the current risk assessment
Risk assessment
Risk assessment is a step in a risk management procedure. Risk assessment is the determination of quantitative or qualitative value of risk related to a concrete situation and a recognized threat...
methodologies used by government agencies for the analysis of dietary supplements are flawed.http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns/risk-assessment. It also campaigns against GMO
GMO
A GMO is a genetically modified organism.GMO may also refer to:* Gell-Mann–Okubo mass formula in particle physics* General Medical Officer, a designation for United States Army soldiers* Generalised molecular orbital theory, in chemistry...
s, fluoridation of drinking water, corporate control of the agro-industry, electro-magnetic radiation, and the global harmonisation of the food trade by the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
Codex Alimentarius
Codex Alimentarius
The Codex Alimentarius is a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety. Its name derives from the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus...
Commission.http://www.anhcampaign.org/campaigns-background
The ANH believes that negative media publicity about nutrients such as vitamin E
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is used to refer to a group of fat-soluble compounds that include both tocopherols and tocotrienols. There are many different forms of vitamin E, of which γ-tocopherol is the most common in the North American diet. γ-Tocopherol can be found in corn oil, soybean oil, margarine and dressings...
are merely a result of misinterpretations over the science. It also criticises the latest research proposing vitamin C
Vitamin C
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid or L-ascorbate is an essential nutrient for humans and certain other animal species. In living organisms ascorbate acts as an antioxidant by protecting the body against oxidative stress...
supplementation does not protect against the common cold as having a number of fundamental flaws.
Verkerk, the ANH's Executive Director, has stated that bad diets and lack of exercise could create a cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
timebomb for the future and that junk food
Junk food
Junk food is an informal term applied to some foods that are perceived to have little or no nutritional value ; to products with nutritional value, but which also have ingredients considered unhealthy when regularly eaten; or to those considered unhealthy to consume at all...
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. Verkerk has also been quoted in newspapers criticizing scientific findings from JAMA
Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association is a weekly, peer-reviewed, medical journal, published by the American Medical Association. Beginning in July 2011, the editor in chief will be Howard C. Bauchner, vice chairman of pediatrics at Boston University’s School of Medicine, replacing ...
and the Cochrane Collaboration
Cochrane Collaboration
The Cochrane Collaboration is a group of over 28,000 volunteers in more than 100 countries who review the effects of health care interventions tested in biomedical randomized controlled trials. A few more recent reviews have also studied the results of non-randomized, observational studies...
, among others, which found that some antioxidant vitamin supplements may shorten lifespan.
Speaking at the inaugural "Scientific Research in Homoeopathy" conference held by the Complementary Medical Association (CMA) at the University of Westminster
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. Its origins go back to the foundation of the Royal Polytechnic Institution in 1838, and it was awarded university status in 1992.The university's headquarters and original campus are based on Regent...
in June 2008, Verkerk said that it was "utterly inappropriate" to use randomised controlled trials (RCTs) to assess homoeopathy and other complementary medicines
Alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....
, arguing that "as soon as you put someone into a trial situation, you destroy many of the effects that exist between patient and practitioner."
On swine flu
Swine flu
Swine influenza, also called pig influenza, swine flu, hog flu and pig flu, is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus or S-OIV is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs...
, speaking on the topic of "Pandemics: Fact and Fiction" at a health show in Dublin in September 2009, Verkerk said that he believes "vaccination
Vaccination
Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...
may be right in the future – particularly if the virus
Virus
A virus is a small infectious agent that can replicate only inside the living cells of organisms. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from animals and plants to bacteria and archaea...
becomes more virulent – but at the moment, the risks associated with vaccination outweigh the benefit."