Saving Us From Ourselves

Of course, these regulations were all passed under the guise of "protecting the public." According to the World Health Organization, popular alternative medicines are often "misused" and may "harm patients." They point out that the "incorrect use" of alternative therapies has caused deaths in wealthy countries where more and more patients rely on them.

You could also argue that the incorrect use of kitchen knives, water skis, and even plastic bags have all caused deaths. Not to mention the use of AMA-sanctioned medical procedures and FDA-approved drugs. The key phrase here is "incorrect use."

The WHO could do everyone a service by first addressing the incorrect use of accepted mainstream therapies that have caused far more widespread death and adverse reactions than natural medicine therapies ever have or ever will.

Although they are few and far between, there are mistakes and fatalities associated with alternate therapies, supplements and herbal remedies. It's always important to keep in mind that many of the compounds and herbs used in natural medicine treatments are very powerful. They have risks and potential side effects, which is why I always recommend that you work closely with skilled natural medicine practitioners whenever you use these therapies.

But even with their cautions, natural remedies are far, far safer than prescription drugs, and one reason might be the users themselves. An article published in the journal Psychologist noted that people who seek out natural and alternative treatments are generally more health conscious than non-users, and believe that by making sound lifestyle choices they can influence their own health.

But not if the EU has anything to say about it.

Where's the "Fight for Freedom" When You Need It?

You'd think that such blatant abuse of power to restrict people's personal liberty would have our own self-proclaimed freedom-loving government up in arms (literally). But there's an even darker side to all this, and it has little -- if anything -- to do with health or looking out for people's best interests.

Even if the American government didn't want to go along with the regulations imposed by the EU Directive, we really wouldn't have a choice. In fact, the United States never has acknowledged or stated any form of acceptance for the EU Directive. But hard as it is to believe, this "directive" can actually override U.S. law if it isn't stopped in Europe.

As a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the U.S. will be bound by any finalized standards put forth in the directive.

If we choose to ignore the regulations our WTO-affiliation binds us to, we would face severe trade sanctions with other WTO countries, which could potentially cripple part of our economy. And there's no way that our already anti-natural medicine government is going to let that happen over access to vitamins and minerals. So the best way to ensure it doesn't get to that point is to do everything we can to stop it now -- before it happens.

Protect Your Rights With These Three Steps

There are three actions to take. The most urgent is to support a case brought by the British Alliance for Natural Health to overturn the European Food Supplements Directive. In January 2004, the alliance's attorneys (a firm which has successfully had another European Directive overturned) won the first round in the High Court of Justice in London. The appeal was referred to the European Court of Justice.

(Please visit the alliance's Web site, read about their case and, most importantly, make a donation to support their efforts to protect everyone's supplements, including yours. Even a few dollars will help. A few dollars from each of us will add up. If we can help them overturn this food supplement dictatorship in Europe, it won't ever come here.)

The second action I urge you to take is to write, call and e-mail your state's senators and congressmen. Tell your senators to oppose S.722, the Dietary Supplement Safety Act, and tell your congressmen to oppose H.R. 3377, the Dietary Supplement Access and Awareness Act. These two bills put the wheels in motion for restrictions similar to those outlined in the EU Directive to become U.S. law, which would be even more threatening to us than just an international code of standards.

These extremely dangerous and misnamed proposals would allow the FDA to "roll back" most of the small amount of health care freedom you and I regained with the 1994 "DSHEA" law we all fought so hard for. Even if we're successful in helping the Alliance for Natural Health defeat the European Food Supplements Directive, if these bills are passed into law, our supplement choices will shrink dramatically anyway.

The final step to take is to tell your U.S. senators and congressmen to support U.S. Rep. Ron Paul's H.R. 1146, the American Sovereignty Restoration Act. This accurately named (for once) legislation would make the Constitution of the United States the supreme law of the land again, and restore law-making and judging power to our elected representatives and American courts, respectively. Please don't leave this off your list. In the long run, it's the most important action of the three.

Please make a donation of any size to the Alliance for Natural Health as soon as you can. Then, please write, call, fax, and e-mail your U.S. Senators and Representatives as often as you can, telling them to oppose S. 722 and H.R. 3377, and to support American freedom by voting for H.R. 1146.

For further information on the European Union Directive on Dietary Supplements and on the Codex Alimentarius legislation, contact the American Holistic Health Association (www.ahha.org), the Alliance for Natural Health (www.alliance-natural-health.org), or the International Advocates for Health Freedom (www.iahf.com).

Don't wake up next August to find your supplements gone for good. Join me in taking action now, and recruit everyone you can to join the battle. While our troops are fighting for your freedom and mine overseas, you and I can literally fight for American freedom right here at home.

Dr. Jonathan Wright is the Medical Director and founder of the Tahoma Clinic in Renton, Wash., where he also practices medicine. A Harvard University (A.B. 1965) and University of Michigan graduate (M.D. 1969), Dr. Wright has taught natural biochemical medical treatments since 1983 to thousands of physicians in the U.S., Europe, and Japan. In 1973, Dr. Wright founded the Tahoma Clinic, which focuses on disease prevention and treatment by natural biochemical and bioenergetic means.