BBC Ya' Later!

[Guest guest]

" HSI - Jenny Thompson " <HSIResearch

HSI e-Alert - BBC Ya' Later!

Tue, 19 Jul 2005 06:59:00 -0400

HSI e-Alert - BBC Ya' Later!

 

 

 

Health Sciences Institute e-Alert

****************************************************

July 19, 2005

 

 

Dear Reader,

 

With friends like the British Dietetic Association (BDA), who needs

enemies?

 

That was my first thought when I read the comments made by a BDA

spokesperson in reaction to the recent news about the European Union

(EU) directive on dietary supplements. In a nutshell: A surprise

European court ruling found the directive to be valid. As a result,

next month's scheduled implementation of the directive will go ahead

on schedule. And I'll tell you the good news/bad news about that in a

moment.

 

But first, let's go to the BBC...

 

-----------

Making it up as we go along

-----------

 

A BBC report on last week's court decision noted that when the EU

directive goes into effect the proposals " will ban around 200

supplements from sale and put restrictions on the upper limits of

vitamin doses. "

 

These supplements have been on sale for decades without causing

widespread harm...but never mind. Regulation fever is running high in

Europe. And that's just peachy with the British Dietetic Association.

 

BDA spokesperson Ursula Arens told the BBC that the changes wouldn't

greatly inconvenience consumers. She said, " About 99 percent of

products will not be affected. "

 

With all due respect to Ms. Arens, she's simply making that number up.

She has no way of accurately predicting how may products will be

affected because the EU has not yet set the maximum permitted dosage

levels. When these levels are proposed sometime next year, there's a

very good chance that far more than one percent of all supplements

will be affected.

 

-----------

A couple of howlers

-----------

 

Meanwhile, the BDA is all for regulating dosage levels. Why? According

to the BBC, the organization is " concerned about patients admitted to

hospital suffering liver failure and severe stomach problems after

taking high doses of vitamins. "

 

Oh PLEASE! I would LOVE to see the official UK statistics on the

number of patients who have suffered liver failure and severe stomach

problems from high vitamin doses. I'm willing to bet my house, my car

and my dogs that we'd be looking at one or two patients per year - if

that! You want genuine risk of liver failure? Try over-the-counter

acetaminophen, which is responsible for about 100 deaths per year

(according to the FDA). Severe stomach problems? Just down a few

nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

 

And here's another howler the BBC attributes to the BDA: " In some

cases the supplements are preventing people getting the correct

treatment for other chronic illness. "

 

What!? Someone please tell me how in the world supplements " prevent "

consumers from getting correct treatment. And is Ms. Arens actually

suggesting that the regulation of just one percent of all supplements

will correct this terrible wrong?

 

And what exactly is " correct treatment " ? That wouldn't by any chance

be code for " prescription drugs " would it?

 

-----------

It wasn't broken

-----------

 

Ms. Arens' comments on the EU directive are contradicted by a

statement from the Health Food Manufacturers Association (HFMA) and

the National Association of Health food Stores (NAHS). These

organizations have brought a joint suit against the EU Commission,

stating that the directive may threaten as many as 5,000 supplement

products now on the market.

 

Time will tell whose prediction is correct, the BDA's or the

HFMA/NAHS's. One thing is certain, however: We WON'T know next month

when the directive goes into effect. Just like any true regulatory

bureaucracy, " going into effect " doesn't actually mean " going into

effect. " Supplement makers will have until December 2009 to conform to

the directive. And of course the stipulations of dosage upper limits

won't be confirmed for months or even years to come.

 

As harsh as these restrictions may eventually turn out to be for UK

consumers, there is a little bit of good news here. Italy, Spain,

Poland and other EU countries currently have extremely strict

supplement regulations that will be eased considerably when the

directive eventually takes effect. So it appears that some may win but

some will definitely lose when the EU bureaucrats finally succeed in

" harmonizing " regulations.

 

****************************************************

 

 

....and another thing

 

How do you take your MUFAs and PUFAs? Mixed? Excellent.

 

In the e-Alert " Fat in the Hat " (7/14/05), I told you about a Dutch

study that revealed a significant link between a high intake of

monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fatty acids

(PUFAs) and a reduced risk of Parkinson's disease. MUFAs are found in

olive oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, while one of the primary forms of

PUFAs is omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish, fish oils and grass-fed beef.

 

Now a new study shows that consuming a good mix of these two fatty

acids may also lower cholesterol.

 

Pennsylvania State University researchers evaluated the effects of a

sunflower oil product called NuSun, which contains PUFAs and MUFAs,

but is low in saturated fats and contains no trans fatty acids.

(There's no disclaimer attached to the study, published in the Journal

of the American Dietetic Association, so it appears that NuSun did not

underwrite the study.)

 

When researchers tested three different diets on 12 men and 19 women

with mildly elevated cholesterol, subjects on the NuSun diet reduced

total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol by nearly five percent and six

percent respectively, compared to an olive oil diet and a control diet

described as an " average American diet. "

 

Obviously this is a small study, so I'll be on the lookout for further

confirmation about the benefits of combining PUFAs and MUFAs.

 

Meanwhile, I wanted to share a quote from a NutraIngredients-USA.com

article that reported on this study: " Health care professionals are

increasingly recommending a dietary approach to controlling

cholesterol over prescription drugs such as statins, which may have

serious side effects. "

 

Hmm. Could HSI's long-held position on statin drugs finally be

catching on in the mainstream?

 

To Your Good Health,

 

Jenny Thompson

 

****************************************************

 

 

 

Sources:

 

" Vitamin Controls Backed by Europe " BBC News, 7/12/05, news.bbc.co.uk

" Supplement Directive is Valid, Surprise Court Decision " Dominique

Patton, NutraIngredients.com, 7/12/05, nutraingredients.com

" Balancing Unsaturated Fatty Acids: What's the Evidence for

cholesterol Lowering? " Journal of the American Dietetic Association,

Vol. 105, No. 7, July 2005, adajournal.org

" Mix MUFAs and FUFAs for Best Heart Benefit, Says Study " Jess

Halliday, NutraIngredients-USA.com, 6/7/05, nutraingredients-usa.com

 

*******************