MP urges Hunt to consider herbal solutions to drug resistance
Ecover puts algal oil trial on hold as activists target brand
Dr Oz under fire from senators over ‘miracle’ claims
camexpo prepares for first show at Olympia
VAT levy would be attack on natural healthcare – IAHS
Keep protein levels up to lower stroke risk say researchers
Statins advice “medicalises” healthy people say doctors
MP urges Hunt to consider herbal solutions to drug resistance
The Conservative MP and natural health supporter David Tredinnick has called on the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to consider herbal solutions to the growing problem of antibiotic resistance.
During questions in the House of Commons, the MP for Bosworth said: “Does my right honourable friend agree that a critical problem that A&E units will face in the future is antibiotic resistance? Is he aware that the Science and Technology Committee, of which I am a member, has been looking at this issue. Can he assure me that he talking to the Prime Minister about how to stimulate new antibiotic research, and will he remember that nature has its own remedies?”
Ecover puts algal oil trial on hold as activists target brand
Ecover says it has put on hold commercial trials of algal oil while it debates with NGOs and scientists on the biotech process used to produce it. But the company has strongly refuted claims by an activist group that it is using synthetic biology – a form of genetic engineering – to produce the ingredient.
Ecover’s announcent comes as the green cleaning pioneer is accused by the ETC Group of employing “extreme genetic engineering” and an online petition calling on it to abandon “synthetic biology-derived ingredients” has gathered over 10,000 signatures.
Ecover announced in April that it had been developing an algae-derived oil as part of a strategy to find alternatives to petroleum and palm oil ingredients. Ecover’s head of research and development, Dirk Develter, told The Guardian at the time: “Algal oils have a much smaller ecological footprint than most tropical oils, such as palm oil, making them ideal for home products, where tropical oils are widely used.”
The development attracted the interest of environment and anti-GM groups in the US (where Ecover-owned brand Method is based) and Canada. It was also picked up by the New York Times, which recently ran a lengthy article headlined ‘Companies Quietly Apply Biofuel Tools to Household Products’. In the article Ecover’s long term innovation manager, Tom Domen, confirms that the algal oil production process used by the company involves the algae’s DNA sequence being changed in a lab.
The Ottawa head-quartered ETC Group, which campaigns for cultural and ecological diversity, describes synthetic biology (shortened to ‘synbio’) as “extreme genetic engineering” and is using the phrase to describe Ecover’s algal oil. The group set up the online petition Synthetic Biology Is Not Natural, which specifically targets Ecover and Method. Its 2 June dated ‘open letter’ to Ecover (signed by a number of north American and international groups) asserts that synthetic biology-derived ingredients are a “false solution” to the problem of unsustainable palm oil, and that their use would disqualify products from using descriptors such as ‘natural’ and ‘green’.
However in a statement Ecover says that the term synthetic biology is “extremely misleading” and “inaccurate” in the case of its algal oil. Acknowledging that “more extreme uses of the technology exist” the company says the process it is using “embraces the natural functions of organisms”. It also points out that its algae-derived oil has been subject to independent assessment for human and environmental health, and that the sugar used as feedstock is grown sustainably on existing agricultural land.
Ecover told Natural Products: “We work with molecular biology and standard industrial fermentation to produce renewable, sustainable oils. We work with microalgae strains that have been in existence longer than we have, and we work within their natural pathways using decades-old molecular biology techniques to produce pure, sustainable oils.”
Ecover says that while it remains committed to identifying sustainable agricultural sources, it also believes it has a responsibility to embrace new technologies to develop “future proof” ingredients resources.
The company told Natural Products: “Assuming because something is natural, it is also more sustainable, is an over simplified view on things. We take inspiration from nature and follow nature’s logic, but we don’t blindly assume that because it is natural it is better. We use environmental science to make a well informed decision.”
Questioned about the current status of products containing algal oil, Ecover said: “We are in the early stages of a trial using algal oil in our products. It has been tested in a single product, in one batch of 6,000 bottles, in Europe alone and with algal oil included in the ingredient list.”
Following concerns raised by certain NGOs, the company says it has “put on hold” further steps to use algal oil until these concerns have been debated. In its statement it says: “.. only after this debate and with broad stakeholder support will we consider starting to use it more widely. In this event we will label it clearly and support the decision with a clear statement about the technology on our website.”
• Ecover has replied more fully to criticism from the ETC Group in an article in The Ecologist.
Dr Oz under fire from senators over ‘miracle’ claims
The American TV host and natural health champion Dr Mehmet Oz has faced a grilling by senators for allegedly spreading “false hope” and “perpetuating scams”.
Oz, whose TV shows are seen by up to 4 million a viewers day, was called last week to answer questions by the Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Product Safety about a promotion of weight loss supplements on ‘The Doctor Oz Show’
During recent shows Oz has used phrases such as “miracle pill”, “magic pill” and “lightening in a bottle” to describe to diet supplements including green coffee bean extract and garcinia, for which scientific evidence is limited or contradictory.
The chairwoman of the committee, Senator Claire McCaskill, told the cardiac surgeon and TV host: “The scientific community is almost monolithic against you in terms of the efficacy of the three products you called ‘miracles’.” She said she was discouraged by the “false hope” such claims created and questioned his role “intentional or not, in perpetuating these scams.”
The ‘Oz effect’ continues to have a major impact on the sales of supplements and health foods that get mentioned on the Dr Oz shows. The high profile TV doctor is even having an effect on sales on this side of the Atlantic – Holland & Barrett’s head of supplements told The Grocer (14 June) that the ‘Oz effect’ was helping to fuel the UK diet pill boom. Oz is also regularly featured flatteringly in the health pages of the UK media, although this week Mail Online branded him the ‘Father of weight loss CONS’.
The US trade press has warned that Dr Oz’s use of terminology like ‘magic’ and ‘miracle’ threatens to bring the supplements industry into disrepute. Nutrition Business Journal senior editor Rick Polito wrote that Oz’s “disastrous senate appearance” had invited an “endless assault on supplements” and made the industry an soft target for late night TV comedians like the Daily Show’s John Oliver whopilloried Oz and the US supplements industry in a 16 minute segment.
Commenting on continuing bad practice from parts of the US diet supplements industry Polito continued: “If the industry doesn’t work hard to clean up its act and make regulation part of that, the up-and-coming consumers will see nothing but what the comedians describe: a parade of charlatans and shenanigans and snake oil.”
camexpo prepares for first show at Olympia
Visitor registration has opened for camexpo, the UK’s leading event for complementary healthcare practitioners and therapists.
The show takes place at camexpo’s new home, London’s Olympia, on 4-5 October.
The move to Olympia’s Central Hall marks an exciting new development for camexpo, which has enjoyed continued industry prominence and support throughout its 12-year history. Of the nearly 5,000 people who visited the 2013 event 88% of surveyed exhibitors rated their show experience as excellent/good – praising the quality, enthusiasm, and engagement of the thousands of highly-focused and informed visitors walking the aisles.
For 2014, organiser Diversified Communications UK is looking to build on that momentum. Increasing demand from new companies looking to reach the practitioner market is already heralding the prospect of a sell-out show well in advance of opening day (exhibition space is currently selling 33% faster than 2013, and 90% of stands have already been booked).
From new start-ups with compelling origin stories to well-established brand pioneers championing new formulations backed with clinical efficiency – the CAM market is flourishing with new natural health and beauty products for practitioners and retailers to source.
Big name suppliers keen to repeat their success at camexpo 2013 (which many called their best show yet) include Bionutri, Solgar Vitamins, A Vogel (Bioforce), G&G Vitamin Centre, Koko Dairy Free, Nature’s Plus, Physique Management Company, Premier Research Labs, Really Healthy Company, Rio Trading Company Health Ltd, Springfield Nutraceuticals BV, and The Green People Company.
Nutrigold, one of the UK’s leading suppliers of naturopathic products, also makes a welcome return this year.
Nearly a third of the show’s 200 exhibitors are new to the show for 2014. Among them are Grahame Gardner (workwear/uniforms for healthcare professionals), Jennifer Young (customised natural and organic skin care products); Sukrin (natural and free-from wholefoods, bake mixes and sugar alternatives), and The Chia Company (the world’s largest producer of all natural raw chia seeds).
Supplement specialists PurePharma, lipolife, Bioflavia (organic red wine grape skin powder), and Calm Natural (the bestselling magnesium supplement in the USA) will also be making their first appearances this year.
One of biggest selling point for many repeat visitors to camexpo is its comprehensive array of training opportunities – from its CPD-accredited education programme (including over 100 seminars, workshops and demos) to scores of exhibitors demonstrating their latest techniques, methods, and courses.
The Institute of Sport & Remedial Massage (ISRM), Fertility Massage Training, Integrative Health Education, European College of QINOpractic Medicine, and WellsBeing Technique are just some of the new training providers exhibiting this year. They join The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine, College of Naturopathic Medicine, Myofascial Release UK & Ireland, and Jing Institute of Advanced Massage Training.
Visitors wishing to organise their training schedules well in advance can now register for early bird show entry at www.camexpo.co.uk/register and benefit from first-pick of the show’s 48-session Taster Workshop programme. Please use priority code CMEX269 to register in advance for £6.50 before 1 July (workshops are £18.50 per session until 1 July).
camexpo will take place at the new venue of Olympia, London, on 4-5 October 2014.
VAT levy would be attack on natural healthcare – IAHS
The Irish Association of Health Stores (IAHS) has launched a campaign to overturn Government plans to levy 23% VAT on a range of natural health products.
The IAHS describes Irish Revenue plans to apply VAT to certain food supplements and herbal teas as “bizarre”.
The association says that the resulting price hike would undermine people’s efforts to safeguard and maintain their health, putting even greater strain on a beleaguered health service.
One retailer commented: “Treating people’s attempts to maintain their health as if it was a luxury must be seen as the last straw and has to be resisted”.
The IAHS is asking all health conscious people to make their objections to the policy heard by writing or emailing their local Fine Gael TD. The association said: “People need to let the government know that they cannot get away with this attack on natural healthcare.”
IAHS spokesperson Jill Bell added: “The IAHS is organising a short, sharp campaign, focusing on telling government TDs and Minister Noonan that taxing health food supplements would be a totally illogical step.”
Keep protein levels up to lower stroke risk say researchers
Scientists in China say that increasing the amount of protein in a person’s diet appears to lower their risk of suffering a stroke.
As little as one chicken breast or salmon fillet – the equivalent of 20g of protein – could reduce the risk of stroke by 20%, say researchers from Nanjing University School of Medicine, who followed 254,489 people for an average of 14 years and monitored their diets and health.
Just as strikingly, the researchers found that for every additional 20g per day of protein that people ate, their risk of stroke decreased by 26%.
Lead researcher Xinfeng Liu said in a news release from American Academy of Neurology: “If everyone’s protein intake were at this level, that would translate to more than 1.4 million fewer deaths from stroke each year worldwide, plus a decreased level of disability from stroke.”
But the researchers say that that choosing the right source of protein is important. They specifically caution against increasing consumption of red meat, itself associated with increased stroke risk. Two of the studies that the Chinese researchers reviewed were conducted in Japan, where people eat less red meat than westerners do and more fish. “These results indicate that stroke risk may be reduced by replacing red meat with other protein sources, such as fish,” Liu said.
Statins advice “medicalises” healthy people say doctors
A group of leading doctors is calling for a rethink on official guidelines on the statins.
Draft guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) propose that anyone with the a 10% or greater risk of developing cardiovascular disease in the next 10 years should be prescribed the cholesterol-lowering drugs.
But in a letter to the Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt (pictured), the doctors say could lead to up to five million healthy adults being “medicalised”. The letter adds that the draft advice is overly reliant on industry-sponsored trials, which “grossly underestimate adverse effects”.
Prof Simon Capewell, an expert in clinical epidemiology at Liverpool University and one of the signatories, said: “The recent statin recommendations are deeply worrying, effectively condemning all middle-aged adults to lifelong medications of questionable value.”
But NICE has rejected the doctor’s appeal. Prof Mark Baker, director of the centre for clinical practice, told the BBC: “Cardiovascular disease [CVD] maims and kills people through coronary heart disease, peripheral arterial disease and stroke. Together, these kill one in three of us. Our proposals are intended to prevent many lives being destroyed.”