While what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, this is not true about the European Union (EU).  Often regulations and public policy that take effect in the EU concerning integrative medicine and dietary supplements has a ripple effect that can impact our access here in America.

The Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) is the European-based affiliate of the American Association for Health Freedom (AAHF) and The Health Freedom Foundation (HFF). ANH is working around the clock to protect the future of natural health products around the world. Its focus is particularly on the European regime, which threatens the very existence of healthcare based around the use of natural products. This draconian regime poses one of the biggest threats to our liberal regime for natural health products that we Americans both enjoy and are dependent on for our good health.

Codex Alimentarius, the United Nation's system of guidelines and standards for virtually every category of food, including dietary supplements, is developing into one of the most likely mechanisms for exporting the deadly European regulatory model worldwide. Making matters worse, in early July 2007, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed an agreement with the European Food Safety Authority that will ensure that the two organizations share methodologies on how to categorize products as safe. This mechanism of risk assessment, which is based on faulty principles, is set to outlaw virtually all beneficial dietary supplements-unless it is changed. We believe ANH is better positioned than any other group in the world to do this vital work, but they need your help urgently.

The small, dynamic team of committed scientists, doctors and lawyers in ANH are working on your behalf-to protect your future access to natural health. In 2004 and 2005, American consumers and integrative practitioners played a vital role in helping the ANH take its landmark case which challenged the EU Food Supplements Directive to the highest court in Europe, the European Court of Justice. They now need your help to continue their battle, both on this Directive, on other EU directives and regulations-and of course on Codex. They are, after all, fighting this battle on all of our behalves.

In the past two years, HFF has given over $100,000 to ANH towards their legal and scientific efforts ­ that's how much we believe in what they are doing.  This is a group that has been at the forefront of groundbreaking legal work in the EU as well as authors of scientific papers in support of integrative medicine and dietary supplements submitted to governments around the globe, the World Health Organization (WHO), the FDA, and more.