Treatment Cave

EMERGENCY FORUM, BRUSSELS, 21st June to save herbal medicine: be there or view on internet The Alliance for natural Health, the European Parliament CAM Interest Group and other campaign groups will be in the European Parliament in Brussels to question European regulators, along with concerned Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), over how they are handling herbal products in Europe. The questions will be raised in an emergency forum organised by Greens MEPs. But this is your chance to ask your own questions! If you can make it to Brussels, please be there. It would be amazing to stuff the seminar room full of concerned citizens to really show European regulators the extent and depth of concern. If you can get to the European Parliament in person next Tuesday for around midday in readiness for a 13:00h start, you will need to register by sending your full name, address, your passport number and date of birth to michele.rivasi@europarl.europa.eu and satu.hassi@europarl.europa.eu by ...

The following is an interesting report of the 3-year struggle to get the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to release data on clinical trials that it was bound by European law to release. It is interesting that European agencies (such as the EMA) cite protection of drug companies commercial interest for not divulging data, while, when it comes to herbal manufacturers, they claim to “protect the consumer”. When I hear that a regulatory agency aims to “protect the consumer” alarm bells ring. (For US practitioners: the EMA is the European equivalent of the FDA.) BMJ 2011; 342:d2686 doi: 10.1136/bmj.d2686 (Published 10 May 2011) OPENING UP DATA AT THE EUROPEAN MEDICINES AGENCY Peter C Gøtzsche, professor Anders W Jurgensen, PhD student Nordic Cochrane Centre, Rigshospitalet and University of Copenhagen, Dept 3343, Blegdamsvej 9, DK-2100 Copenhagen Ø, Denmark Widespread selective reporting of research results means we do not know the true benefits and harms of prescribed drugs. Peter Gøtzsche...

It always seems strange that joy should be listed among the emotional causes of disease in Chinese medicine. And yet, it has always been mentioned as an emotional cause of disease since ancient times. Strangely, the Chinese character for “joy” [xi 喜] is the only one of the emotions that is not based on the ‘heart” radical. The character Xi is based on the radical for “drum” plus “mouth”, i.e. beating a drum and singing in happiness. Incidentally, two xi characters next to each other are called “double happiness” and are a symbol of a wedding. It is interesting that, in the list of emotions as causes of disease, “joy” is always top of the list, followed by anger. For example, these are the emotions listed by Confucius: joy, anger, grief, fear, love, hatred, desire. These are the emotions listed by Lao Zi: joy, anger, worry, sadness, love, hatred, desire. It is interesting that both lists include “love” as an emotional cause of disease! Chen Wu Ze (1174) lists: joy, anger, pensiveness,...

To European practitioners and public: please sign this petition from the Alliance for Natural Health to save herbal medicine in Europe. Bring the battle to your elected representatives: they, not the so-called regulatory agencies, are ultimately responsible to reverse this gross infringement of our freedoms. An EU directive has banned many herbal medicines, denying us safe remedies and feeding the profits of big pharma. Let's raise a massive outcry to push the Commission to reverse the Directive. Let's get to 1 million voices to save herbal medicine. Add your name here: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/eu_herbal_medicine_ban/?utm_source=The+Alliance+for+Natural+Health&utm_campaign=95058cff75-110602_ANH_Intl_eAlert_No_576_2_2011&utm_medium=email