Healthy by Nature radio show this week: We have a full house this week. Everyone knows they should exercise and we all want to do so in the safest and most efficient way (…from a recliner if possible?). Author, Jerzy Gregorek, author of The Happy Body Book (a thing of beauty) is a fitness expert. Dr. Len Lopez is too and he will be in the studio to help me as co-host.  We’ll discuss the importance of pH balance and try to sort out some of the confusion surrounding the subject with John Willard, President of Willard Water. And, if that isn’t enough, we’ll also talk with Dan Clark, MD about the effect of mercury on the little energy factories in all cells, the mitochondria. Kidney trouble is one effect. Click here to find podcasts, show archives and ways to listen nationwide.

  Take 2 Steps toward REAL Healthcare Reform
 
STEP (1) Bill Targets Supplements – Call to Action! Ask your legislators to OPPOSE the Dietary Supplement Labeling Act of 2011 (S. 1310) introduced by Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) It would impose unneeded, overly broad and vaguely worded new regulations on supplement makers. The bill would also direct the Food and Drug Administration to impose mandatory warning labels on ingredients the government doesn’t fancy. Take Action on 1310!

My 2 Cents: While there is some concern over companies offering foods disguised as dietary supplements, the FDA should be instructed to simply enforce the effective rules it already has on the books. The FDA has proven repeatedly that it has a strong bias for drugs as well as a bias against supplements. When the agency is given an inch it often takes a mile.  A loosely-worded bill such as this one is a virtual Trojan horse of opportunity for regulators to run amok with power. What might the potential result be for those of us interested in nutritional support?

Restricted access to products. The more effective the product, the greater the risk of restriction.

Higher prices. Manufacturers would pass along their costs to comply and in many cases the need to file lawsuits.

A loss of jobs? Some companies may throw up their hands at the unending meddling of the government in an industry with an exemplary record of safety. (Even from occasional manufacturing mistakes, the effects are mild and temporary.) Supplement companies have tiny profit margins compared to drug companies.

Loss of productive focus. Perhaps most importantly, more of your hard earned tax dollars would go to target safe remedies rather than solving actual health problems like the hundreds of thousands who die annually from the side effects of pharmaceutical drugs.

Please join me in urging Congress to oppose S.1310.  Send your letter to your lawmakers today! Reminder-Take Action on 1310!

 
STEP (2) Please ask your members of Congress to SUPPORT this bill: The Family and Retirement Health Investment Act of 2011 (S.1098/H.R.2010), introduced by Senator Orrin Hatch (UT) and Representative Erik Paulsen (MN) would allow Americans to use their Flexible Spending Arrangement and Health Saving Account dollars on dietary supplements and meal replacement products. Contact your members of Congress today and ask them to co-sponsor this important legislation. Here’s how: Take Action – Show Support!

My 2 Cents: If you think that, in a world where food stamps can be used for junk food, you should be allowed to use your own savings on things that can keep you healthy, then Congress needs to know.

My first book : Natural Alternatives to Nexium, Maalox, Tagamet, Prilosec & Other Acid Blockers. Subtitle: What to Use to Relieve Acid Reflux, Heartburn, and Gastric Ailments.

My latest book : Aloe Vera-Modern Science Sheds Light on an Ancient Herbal Remedy

Copyright 2011 Martie Whittekin, CCN