In late January, The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) appeared before the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg to make their case against Codex Alimentarius guidelines. If it goes unchallenged and unchanged, the guidelines will wipe out 5,000 or so supplements and natural health products from the shelves of EU health food stores this coming August.

The only problem is that two of the biggest EU countries -- the UK and Portugal -- didn't bother to show up to hear or counter the ANH challenge.

It's hard to know what to make of these proceedings and maneuverings occurring half a world away. Do they consider any challenge to be useless and not worth their time? Or are they starting to waiver, not feeling confident enough in their position to show up and stand behind it? Or is the entire case merely a distraction, because the final decision has already been made by a higher power than the court system?

One quote by the Advocate General might be construed as ultimately positive for the challengers. Upon reviewing the procedure used for adding nutrients to the positive list, he appeared baffled, and claimed it was "as transparent as a black box."

As the clock continues to tick, the magnitude of what will be lost to our European neighbors, and what may come here and further encroach on our supplement sovereignty, is overwhelming. Access to over 300 vitamin and mineral ingredients (out of a total of 420) is at stake, including the main natural forms of vitamin E, many forms of vitamin C, MSM, and minerals such as vanadium, silicon, and boron -- many of the ingredients we have written about here that have helped hundreds of thousands of people maintain their health naturally, and safely, for years.

There are more "big days" ahead between now and D-Day -- August 1st. As I mentioned in one of my last updates on this subject, manufacturers of supplements not on the current "positive" list could submit a dossier proving their safety by June if they want to remain on the shelves after July 31st. Unfortunately, the latest word is that very few such dossiers are being prepared. The cost -- upwards of a quarter million dollars for each ingredient -- is impossible for all but the biggest supplement makers to pay. And, as one industry insider noted, "it's like having to prove the safety of broccoli."

Also coming in June will be a final judgment on the challenge the ANH presented back in January. And possibly as early as tomorrow, the Advocate General will deliver his opinion on the case, with the full Court's decision expected in June. Perhaps that will give us a clue to what is really going on inside the black box.

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Hormone Help

Q: I've been experiencing the negative effects on my body and libido from early menopause for the last 10 years. I think that bio-identical hormones would help with my symptoms but the problem is, I am a breast cancer survivor and my doctor doesn't think it's safe for me. What do you think?

JVW: Many doctors have become shy of using hormone replacement therapy (HRT) since the overwhelming evidence of risk shut down the Women's Health Initiative study a few years ago. However, the increased risk of cancer found in that study needs to be considered in the context of the hormones they were using -- namely Premarin, which is made from horse urine. It seems that the "experts" still don't understand that these hormones were intended by nature for horses, not women.

Bio-identical hormones -- those that resemble the hormones in your own body, both chemically and in correct ratio -- are not only safer than "conventional" HRT in terms of cancer, but they are also safer when it comes to other side effects like heart disease, blood clots, and stroke. In 2003, the Journal of American Medicine Association published a study involving low doses of bio-identical hormones and their effect on bone density. The three-year placebo controlled study found a significantly positive effect on bone density and no increase in the risk of breast cancer.

It is wise to be cautious considering your history, but that doesn't have to stop you from getting relief from the many changes of menopause through bio-identical hormone therapy. You can have your doctor do a 2/16a hydroxyestrogen test to determine your present risk of estrogen-related cancer before you begin. If your results fall in the abnormal range, there are a number of things you can do to lower that risk. Food and supplements that can help are brassica vegetables, flax seed, selenium, and folic acid.

I advise working closely with a natural health physician skilled in a post-menopausal woman's hormonal needs. To find one near you contact the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) at (888)439-6891 or go to www.acam.org.

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What is...The Alliance for Natural Health?

The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) is a British non-profit organization working to protect the future of natural healthcare in Europe and beyond. Since it's inception in February 2002, the ANH has been working to halt the restrictions placed upon natural supplements by the Codex Alimentarius legislation.

According to the ANH's website, it's primary mission is "to protect natural healthcare using an approach that is rational and underpinned by good science and good law."

To find out more about the ANH and its efforts to defend healthcare freedom of choice, visit www.alliance-natural-health.org.

Yours in good health,
Amanda Ross
Managing Editor
Nutrition & Healing

Sources: Prestwood KM, Kenny AM, Kleppinger A, Kulldorff M, Ultralow-dose micronized 17beta-estradiol and bone density and bone metabolism in older women: a randomized controlled trial. JAMA. 2003 Aug 27;290(8):1042-8.

Maddocks, Ralph. EU's Enlargement, A Bureaucrat's Delight, http://www.quebecoislibre.org/04/040715-6.htm