Newsletter Archive

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January 15, 2010

Latest News Updates

Keep up-to-date on the latest health and politics news with our regular updates and analysis of the key stories from around the world.

Natural Health News

January 13, 2010

Green tea 'may block lung cancer'
Drinking green tea may offer some protection against lung cancer, say experts who studied the disease at a medical university in Taiwan. The latest work in more than 500 people adds to growing evidence suggesting the beverage has anti-cancer powers.
Read article on the BBC News website (UK)
Comment: Just as with the finding that green tea extracts can inhibit the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the news that green tea may block lung cancer is no surprise to us. To read about Dr. Rath’s research showing how a nutrient combination – including vitamin C, the amino acids L-lysine and L-proline and a green tea extract known as Epigallocatechin Gallate (EGCG) – works synergistically to stop the spread of cancer cells through connective tissue, click here.

January 13, 2010

Multivitamins may cut lung cancer risk in smokers
Multivitamins, folate, and green leafy vegetables may reduce the risk of developing lung cancer in current and former smokers, says a new study from the US.
Read article at foodnavigator.com

January 13, 2010

Calcium, vitamin D reduce fracture risk
People who take daily supplements of calcium and vitamin D significantly reduce their risk of suffering a fracture, irrespective of their age, gender or previous fracture history, the results of a new study indicate.
Read article at irishhealth.com
Comment: The researchers found that vitamin D supplements alone were not effective in preventing fractures. However, calcium and vitamin D given together reduced hip fractures and total fractures. As such, this study provides still further support for the research findings of Dr. Rath, Dr. Niedzwiecki and their researchers at the Dr. Rath Research Institute, who, for some years now, have focused their attention on nutrient synergy as the most effective approach to optimizing cellular metabolism and restoring its balance. The concept of nutrient synergy maximizes the health benefits of micronutrients because of the discovery that they work best in "teams". Thus, it is not the intake of any one single nutrient that ensures full health, but the intake of a complete spectrum of various different micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, amino acids and trace elements. To read about clinical studies conducted by the Dr. Rath Research Institute that utilize nutrient synergy, click here. To read about a study demonstrating reduced fracture-healing time associated with nutrient supplementation, click here.

January 12, 2010

Pine bark extract may ease haemorrhoid problems
Supplements of French maritime pine bark extract may reduce the intensity and duration of haemorrhoidal pain and bleeding, says a new study. A daily supplement of the pine bark extract, Pycnogenol, for seven days reduced pain around the anus from an initial average of 3.2 points on a four-point pain scale to about 0.8 at the end of the study, according to findings published in Phytotherapy Research.
Read article at nutraingredients.com

January 11, 2010

Blueberries may boost memory in older adults: Study
Supplemental blueberries for only 12 weeks may boost memory in older people with early memory problems, says a new study from the US. A daily drink of about 500 mL of blueberry juice was associated with improved learning and word list recall, as well as a suggestion of reduced depressive symptoms, according to findings published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Read article at nutraingredients.com
Comment: The results of this study add to similar findings by other researchers, who have found that blueberries can increase attention span and reverse memory loss.

For more natural health news, click here.

See also our 2001-2009 news archive, by clicking here.

Pharma "Business with Disease" News

January 12, 2010

"Extraordinary" increases in drug prices: report
Prices for hundreds of brand-name drugs have soared since the beginning of the decade, especially those that treat depression, infections and heart disease, according to a U.S. government report on Monday. The nonpartisan General Accountability Office said it found "extraordinary price increases" for 321 brand-name drugs, with prices jumping by 100 percent to 499 percent - and in a few cases by more than 1,000 percent.
Read news report at reuters.com
Comment: The pharmaceutical industry is an investment industry driven by the profits of its shareholders. Improving human health is not its driving force. Artificially created and strategically developed over an entire century by the same investment groups that control the global petrochemical and chemical industries, its 12-month global sales amounted to 773 billion dollars (over three-quarters of a trillion) during 2008. Overall, the industry’s annual sales have risen by a staggering 380 billion dollars since 2001. Clearly, these latest price rises are designed to ensure that this skyrocketing increase in the industry’s annual income continues.

January 5, 2010

Zambians fume over failed AIDS trial
A Zambian traditional leader has fumed over reports that a number of his female subjects who underwent a microbicide gel clinical trials have contracted HIV, the virus that cause AIDS. Close to a quarter of volunteers that took part in a microbicide gel clinical trials in Southern Zambia contracted HIV, 12 months after the commencement of the trial. Zambian authorities have remained mute over the development while officials from the Microbicide Development Programme in Zambia and United Kingdom have pains to explain what went wrong during the clinical trials. Chief Mwanachingwala who presides over the affected site in Mazabuka of southern Zambia has expressed regret at the leaked results of the trials. The traditional leader has claimed that the Microbicide Development Programme enrolled illiterate and uneducated women who did not understand the nature of the clinical trials and its consequences.
Read article at africanews.com

For more pharma "business with disease" news, click here.

See also our 2001-2009 news archive, by clicking here.

GMO News

January 12, 2010

Monsanto's GMO Corn Linked To Organ Failure, Study Reveals
In a study released by the International Journal of Biological Sciences, analyzing the effects of genetically modified foods on mammalian health, researchers found that agricultural giant Monsanto's GM corn is linked to organ damage in rats.
Read article in The Huffington Post
Comment: This study examined three varieties of Monsanto's GM corn – Mon 863, insecticide-producing Mon 810, and Roundup herbicide-absorbing NK 603 – all of which were approved for consumption by US, European and several other national food safety authorities. The researchers’ conclusion was that their data strongly recommends “that additional long-term (up to 2 years) animal feeding studies be performed in at least three species, preferably also multi-generational, to provide true scientifically valid data on the acute and chronic toxic effects of GM crops, feed and foods.” They added that their analysis highlights “the kidneys and liver as particularly important on which to focus such research as there was a clear negative impact on the function of these organs in rats consuming GM maize varieties for just 90 days.” To read the study, click here.

For more GMO news, click here.

See also our 2001-2009 news archive, by clicking here.

Other Health-related News

January 13, 2010

Proposed dose limits on vitamin supplements in Europe found to be scientifically flawed
New study reveals extensive scientific weaknesses in methods being proposed to limit supplement dosages across Europe
A critical study published in the scientific journal Toxicology casts serious doubts over the methods being considered by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Commission to limit dosages of vitamin and mineral food supplements across the European Union (EU). Lead author of the Toxicology article, Robert Verkerk PhD, scientific and executive director of Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) International, considers the proposed methods for determining ‘maximum permitted levels’ as “fatally flawed”. Dr Verkerk and colleagues have made extensive representations concerning nutrient risk analysis to European and international authorities in the past, however, the Toxicology paper represents the most thorough scientific critique undertaken to-date. Dr Verkerk claims that outputs from the models most favoured by European authorities have never been subject to proper scientific validation. The paper reveals that proposed maximum amounts for some vitamins and minerals are so low they may even be exceeded in a single junk meal.
Read press release on the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) website

January 9, 2010

Chemical in plastic bottles 'poisoning us'
A leading toxicology scientist believes tighter regulations are needed to prevent chemicals leaking into the human body from common plastic drink bottles and packaging. University of Canterbury professor of toxicology Professor Ian Shaw says it is crucially important to decrease the amount of the chemical BPA from New Zealanders' diets. BPA, which leaches from food and drink containers into the body, has consistently been found in overseas tests in blood, urine and even the amniotic fluid protecting a foetus. Such chemicals are linked to health problems that can include reduced sperm count in men, early puberty in girls and increased incidence of breast and testicular cancers - and countries such as the US, the UK and Canada have become alert to potential risks.
Read article in the New Zealand Herald

January 9, 2010

Vitamin D deficiency increasingly common
Today, research suggests that vitamin D does much more than help build strong bones, and the findings come at a time when a high number of people are no longer getting enough of the nutrient, doctors say. "We've become a culture that shuns the sunshine and doesn't drink milk," said Dr. Donald Abrams, chief of hematology-oncology at San Francisco General Hospital. As a result, doctors are seeing a small resurgence of rickets and are concerned about osteoporosis in adults over age 50, especially as Baby Boomers get older. Known for causing bowed legs, fractured bones and poor growth primarily in children, rickets all but disappeared in the United States decades ago as diets improved and vitamin D was added to certain dairy products like milk. To remedy the low vitamin D levels they are seeing, doctors are beginning to recommend supplements to their patients, and more of the vitamin than recommended by national guidelines. That is largely because research over the past decade has increasingly suggested that vitamin D plays a far bigger role in overall health than previously believed.
Read article in the San Francisco Chronicle (USA)

January 8, 2010

US health claims regime under Euro-threat
A powerful, pro-food safety lobby group, known as the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) is pushing hard to eliminate the structure/function and qualified health claims regimes that many Americans see as being central to informed consumer choice in the natural health sector.
Read article on the Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) website
Comment: The legislation that enabled dietary supplements to include the use of structure/function and qualified health claims in the United States – the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994 – is now under attack from the pharmaceutical investment business. If you live in the United States, click here to visit the Save Vitamin Freedom! website and send a petition to your Member of Congress.

January 8, 2010

Don’t destroy hard-won health claim freedom, says ANH
The Alliance for Natural Health says a recent missive sent to the FDA by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) calling for the abolishment of structure-function and qualified health claims, would favor large companies and decimate the natural products industry. In a statement published today ANH executive and scientific director, Dr Robert Verkerk, responded to the 158-page CSPI document which highlighted examples of claims abuse, by highlighting the devastating effect revoking the claims would have on smaller players in the industry. “It is the hundreds of much smaller companies that will feel the pinch if CSPI gets its way,” Verkerk wrote. “The US health food industry has for many years enjoyed one of the least restrictive claims environments in the world. This regulatory environment hasn’t come by accident. It’s been hard won,” he said, noting the passage of the 1994 Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act (DSHEA) of 1994. Without it, small and medium-sized companies would have been decimated by drug laws, “leaving only a sprinkling of very large corporations as players in the market.”
Read article at nutraingredients-usa.com

November 30, 2010

Report claims Wikipedia losing editors in droves
The findings of a Spanish study claiming that Wikipedia's editors are leaving at an alarming rate have been refuted by the Wikimedia Foundation and by Wikipedia co-founder Jimmy Wales. The report by Dr Felipe Ortega, a research scientist with Madrid's Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, was published in the Wall Street Journal on 26 November. It reported a ten-fold increase in the number of editors leaving Wikipedia at the beginning of 2009 compared to the number in the equivalent period of 2008.
Read article at physorg.com
Comment: Following our ongoing worldwide exposure of the fact that an elite group of deeply-biased pro-pharmaceutical editors – including MastCell and Keepcalmandcarryon – have essentially taken control of Wikipedia’s natural healthcare-related articles, the fact that the website’s regular editors are leaving in droves is hardly surprising. Moreover, given the inaccuracy of its content, it is particularly noteworthy that the official exams watchdog in the UK, Ofqual, has recently stated that schoolchildren should avoid Wikipedia as it is not “authoritative or accurate” and in some cases “may be completely untrue”.

For more health-related news, click here.

See also our 2001-2009 news archive, by clicking here.

Political News

January 13, 2010

Big tobacco distorted EU treaty, scientists say
One of the biggest tobacco manufacturers in the world led a group of chemical, food, oil, pharmaceutical and other firms in a successful long-term lobbying strategy to shape European Union policy making in their favour, a new study says. After trawling through some 700 internal documents from British American Tobacco (BAT), academics at the University of Bath and University of Edinburgh say they have found evidence that the cigarette giant in the mid-1990s teamed up with the European Policy Centre, the prominent Brussels think-tank, to create a front group to ensure that the EU framework for evaluating policy options emphasised business interests at the expense of public health. According to the study, published in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal and funded by the Smoke-Free Partnership and Cancer Research UK, BAT constructed a policy network of a series of major corporations, including Shell, Zeneca, Tesco, SmithKline Beecham, Bayer and Unilever, to mount a multi-year lobby campaign aiming at shaping the EU's impact assessment system.
Read article at euobserver.com

January 12, 2009

Dutch inquiry says Iraq war had no mandate
An inquiry into the Netherlands' support for the invasion of Iraq says it was not justified by UN resolutions. The Dutch Committee of Inquiry on Iraq said UN Security Council resolutions did not "constitute a mandate for... intervention in 2003". The inquiry was launched after foreign ministry memos were leaked that cast doubt on the legal basis for the war. The Netherlands gave political support to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but has denied having any military role. The report demolishes the Dutch case for supporting the invasion, says the BBC's Europe correspondent Jonny Dymond. It could also be taken to reinforce the international case against the Iraq war, he says.
Read article on the BBC News website (UK)

For more political news, visit the news pages on the website of the International Alliance for Health, Peace and Social Justice, and the news page on the European Referendum Initiative website.

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