Natural health modalities and products belong in the Canada Health Act.

It is a curious thing, with all the discussion about Canada’s health care policies and programs that never is the importance of preventive medicine mentioned.  Nowhere do we hear mention of how important it is for Canadians to maintain their health in every way possible to keep the load off of a system that is designed for health interventions due to acute problems.

It is well known that when people take care of themselves, eat good food, take the appropriate supplements, get enough exercise, and, through the benefit of countless other lifestyle adjustments, require less medical interventions.  Most cancer studies will acknowledge that the best way to treat cancer is to prevent it.

So the questions:  Why do we not seriously consider ‘preventive’ medicine as part of our national health care policy discussion?  How can it be, with nearly 75% of our population utilizing natural health products ranging from vitamins and minerals, to herbal and homeopathic remedies in order to improve their health on a daily basis, that these Natural Health Products are not a formal part of our Canadian Health Care Plan?

These are not merely academic questions.  When we go to Naturopaths, Herbalists, Homeopaths or Nutritional Consultants for advice about our health, we pay for these services out of our pockets.  I do not think that most of these services should be paid for by the government directly but it would be of great worth if we were able to get tax receipts that could alleviate these costs at the end of the year.  An incentive to take better care of ones' own health.

When we buy Natural Health Products from the Drugstore, Health Food Store or Dispensary, we pay for them out of our pocket.  Again, I am not suggesting that the government should pay for these supplements.  Nevertheless we should be able to get tax receipts and benefit at tax time.  Incentives!

There is little doubt that keeping the population healthy is less expensive than attempting to apply expensive remedies and procedures to mend the damage caused by unhealthy lifestyles. There is less and less doubt that the appropriate use of Natural Health Products is part of maintaining a healthy population.  It is time for the Canada Health Act to reflect the importance of natural and complementary health care and encourage Canadians to learn more about these tools to good health and then include them in their daily lives.

Time to bring the regulation natural foods and supplements into political arena.

Just wrapping up after a weekend at the Canadian Health Food Association’s Expo West here in Vancouver; the industry is still vibrant and there were lots of fresh faces on the floor.

Having encouraged everybody, in a previous post, to go and ask any and all of the candidates currently running for office to:

1.       Restructure Health Canada with the Natural Health Products Directorate as a separate entity, removed from under the ‘drug’ based Therapeutic Products Directorate; and,

2.       Bring Natural Health Products (vitamins/minerals, herbs, homeopathics, probiotics etc. into the mainstream as part of Canada Health Act. 

I was encouraged to find that these ideas seem to resonate with suppliers and retailers of these products.

I am also hoping that consumers will also go and discuss with all of the candidates the issues surrounding the regulation of these products.  We know, without a doubt, that if people take care of their health by eating well, exercising and using the appropriate supplements they will need less of the invasive health care resources that should be reserved for the seriously ill.  This, in turn, will keep the overall cost of our national health care programs down and generally more affordable.

What are Natural Health Products?

Under the Natural Health Products Regulations, which came into effect on January 1, 2004, natural health products (NHPs) are defined as:

v  Vitamins and minerals

v  Herbal remedies

v  Homeopathic medicines

v  Traditional medicines such as traditional Chinese medicines

v  Probiotics

v  Other products like amino acids and essential fatty acids

NHPs must be safe to use as over-the-counter products and not need a prescription to be sold.

What to do?

Go to: www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/ follow the prompts and use the information. Send at least an Email (a letter is 100 to a 1000 times more effective) to the candidates in your riding and then, if you really want to get active, go to: http://webinfo.parl.gc.ca/MembersOfParliament/MainMPsCompleteList.aspx?TimePeriod=Current&Language=E and get busy contacting as many candidates as you can across Canada.

You can also take the core messages from www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/ and start asking questions and demanding the answers...get the press involved...make this an issue in this election. Whatever member gets elected, we want our issue on their mind.

I have been in this industry for approaching 40 years and I think the information at www.nhpsnotdrugs.ca/ is solid, well thought out and reasonable and if we can convey these messages and achieve any of these goals we could have one of the best environments in the world for the regulated use of high quality Natural Health Products. There is work to be done and I think it’s time to get busy.

Wm. S. Reynolds

Wm. S. Reynolds & Associates

Former Executive Director of the Canadian Health Food Association

http://wmsreynoldsposts.blogspot.com/

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