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NPA and AHPA Announcement about Swine Flu and Natural Products

Recently the Natural Products Association (NPA), Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN) and the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) issued a joint warning against any "natural" remedies that are being promoted as ways to prevent or treat H1N1 influenza.

Their joint statement: "We are unaware of any scientific data supporting the use of dietary supplements to treat Swine Flu."

This is a cautious and responsible position on part of the NPA and AHPA, reflecting concern about some products' claims to prevent Swine Flu.

It is worth noting that there is no dietary supplement which treats any disease. By definition, supplements cannot treat a disease. If any dietary supplement were found to treat a disease, it would no longer be classified as a "supplement" .... It would have a status shift, becoming a "drug," not a "dietary supplement."

So it is technically impossible for any dietary supplement to treat any disease or ailment, according to the terms defined by the FDA.

It would be a leap of logic, however, to conclude that this statement about the Swine Flu is asserting that no plants have anti-viral action. This, of course, is not true. Not only do plants contain natural anti-viral properties, but it is actually difficult to find ANY plant that does not exhibit some degree of anti-viral action.

Why? Because plants must defend themselves against viruses, too. Without access to Tamiflu and the like, plants have no choice but to produce their own medicinal properties. Plants are nature's pharmaceutical factories, generating the most amazing medicines in the world like Resveratrol, vitamin C, and even the key ingredient in Tamiflu, shikimic acid. Tamiflu is derived from an herb called star anise.