Herbs, Supplements, and European Law

Live Holistically is a multi-author site.
This post was written by: Carol Webb

Do you belong to one of these groups?

• Women
• Adolescents
• Children
• Elderly
• Menopausal Women
• Follow a Vegetarian Diet
• Have Some Allergies
• Eat Fast Foods
• Eat Junk Foods

I think that covers just about everyone, except mature men and women who only eat a whole food diet!

European Commission Knows Truth

A report by the European Commission into nutrient intake in European Member States concludes:

For almost all vitamins, minerals and trace elements, there exist one or more population groups with intakes below nationally recommended levels.

These are the groups that I have listed above.

A developed world, where no-one is undernourished is a myth.

3.6 million People Under-Nourished

Up to 3.6 million people in the UK are mal-nourished, and, shock horror, costing the National health Service £7.3bn or $14.8bn per annum. Whenever a blame campaign is launched, the figures for the cost to the NHS are rolled out with dreadful regularity.

American Crops Suffering Too!

A report from The Organic Centre in Boulder Colorado says that the nutritional quality in many American crops has also declined.

“To get our recommended daily allowance of nutrients, we have to eat many more slices of bread today than people had to eat in the past.”

Most Food Found Wanting

The nutrients found to be most deficient included:

• Iron
• Iodine
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin B6
• Vitamin D
• Zinc
• Protein
• Calcium
• Copper
• Selenium

This was despite the fact that many nutrients are added to foods to fortify them.

Weighty Problems

This, coupled with Aspartame and Monosodium Glutamate additives, which make the body crave carbohydrate, is adding to the so-called obesity problem, which the UK government are readily creating.

We must wait to see how they will solve this problem of their own creation.

Charles Benbrook, Boulder Organic Centre’s chief scientist makes the point that:

Less nutrient-dense foods, coupled with poor food choices, go a long way towards explaining today’s epidemic of obesity and diabetes.

Conventional Farming To Blame

Conventional farming is to blame for this shameful situation. Closer plant spacing and the vast amounts of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, benefit no-one except the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture them.

We Want Organic

Organic farming methods are totally different, using manure or cover crops to provide plant nutrition. These practices allow the plant to absorb as much as 20% more minerals and 30% more antioxidants than conventional methods.

Banning The Good Stuff

Mindful of this scientifically proven, and well documented evidence, the European Commission - the European Union’s Executive Body - is planning to ban thousands of vitamin and mineral supplements from being sold in Europe.

They are simply choosing to ignore the evidence of independent studies, along with the abundance of knowledge and scientific data, on vitamins and nutrition which has now been available for 80 years. The Commission wishes to keep the public safe, by imposing restrictions on the permitted levels of all vitamins and minerals, in all supplements.

If these restrictions go ahead, it will result in Europe wide bans on literally thousands of food supplement products, some of which have been sold and consumed safely for decades.

Allegedly Ensuring A Safe Product
When the maximum levels for supplements are eventually announced, European citizens will finally discover whether European Commission protestations are true. They claim, “that they only wish to ensure a safe product for the consumer”.

However, some bodies have alleged, that the real aim is to ban all supplements to further ensure a decline in the health and immunity of all citizens.

Nature’s Store Of Nutrition
Nature has provided the perfect store house of vitamins and nutrients that don’t depend on the farmer, or retailer. Become aware of what is growing in off-road un-cultivated ground, or grow your own herbs organically in your garden. You only need a very small plot, as herbs hate being over-fertilized, and some even thrive on poor soil.

Common Every Day Weeds

The Self-Heal herb contains: vitamins A, B, C and K plus flavonoids and rutin, the common Nettle, Vervain, and Clivers are all anti-scurvy. The story about lemons being the only cure for the vitamin C deficiency disease Scurvy, always was, complete myth!

• Iron - Wild Watercress, all Seaweeds, Burdock, Meadowsweet, Mullein, Nettles, Parsley, Silverweed
• Iodine - Bladderwrack, Garlic (cultivated or wild Ransoms)
• Vitamin B2 - Kelp, Fenugreek seeds, Dulse Seaweed
• Vitamin B6 - Sunflower seeds, Walnuts
• Vitamin D - Kelp, Dandelion leaves, Sesame seeds
• Zinc - Garlic, Pumpkin seeds, Sunflower seeds
• Calcium - Chamomile, Clivers, Dandelion, Meadowsweet, Silverweed, Shepherd’s Purse
• Copper - Brazil Nuts, Chocolate
• Selenium - Garlic, Horsetail, Kelp

This demonstrates that you don’t have to rely on the whims of any government to keep healthy, you can do it yourself.