Multi-disciplinary scientist, Rob Verkerk PhD, has this week been appointed executive director of the non-profit Alliance for Natural Health (ANH) USA, as Gretchen DuBeau Esq, who’s led the organisation for 15 years, steps down, while remaining on the ANH-USA Board.

>>> Download ANH-Intl press release, 14 April 2023, ANH founder Rob Verkerk to lead natural health mission both sides of the Atlantic.

>>> Download ANH-USA press release, April 13, 2023, 'Alliance for Natural Health USA appoints ANH founder as new leader'.

“I’m excited to be taking the reins of ANH-USA from Gretchen”, commented Dr Verkerk, “at this critical time when governments and big corporates are attempting to negatively influence public perceptions of natural health while, with no adequate justification, tightening the noose on its regulation”.

“As history makes clear, freedom is not a right that can be assumed. It must always be won. To have the freedom to use natural health we need two wins, one that allows us bodily autonomy and informed choice, the other that overcomes regulatory pressure from the rising, increasingly globalized corporatocracy.” 

- Rob Verkerk PhD

Nature-aligned health at risk

Threats to natural health continue to grow. On the one hand our fundamental freedoms and long-standing principles of medical ethics are being deeply eroded. On the other hand, Big Pharma, the products of which have dominated healthcare for the last 80 years, has now aligned itself with the biotech industry. This means Pharma’s model is now moving away from using biochemistry to block or interfere with physiological or metabolic pathways, to one where it’s modifying our genes or their expression in ways that nature does not.

But that's not all. Among the latest threats, is the trojan horse that's being labelled as the global initiative to rebuild trust in science. This involves an all-out global, witch-hunt for what's termed 'scientific misinformation'. In reality, it's a mechanism to dispel scientific dissent and destroy the essence of the 'scientific method'. This is an approach that has been fashioned over aeons, and it's in the process of being dismantled by the corporatocratic monster we call the ‘5 Headed Hydra’ (Big Pharma, Big Tech, Big Biotech, Big Social and Big Media). 

The above infographic was published on 16 March 2023 to help explain why the attack on scientific misinformation won't fix public distrust in science.

But people power has the ability to stop this. Especially if we adhere to the principles that we first used to define our approach at ANH back in 2002: 'good science' and 'good law'.

More and more people are becoming ever more disconnected from nature, from natural ecosystems as well as spiritual values, while our bodies and environment are increasingly burdened with the growing output of new-to-nature chemicals, from herbicides like glyphosate, through to 'forever chemicals' like polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  

Freedom isn't something we can ever take for granted. We have seen throughout history that freedom is something to be won. This has been at the heart of our mission at the Alliance for Natural Health for the 21 years of our existence. This has only been possible because of you, our supporters, where together, we continue to work to promote and protect natural, sustainable and regenerative approaches to health optimisation worldwide, through the application of good science and good law.

During the course of these years, our founder, Rob Verkerk, has been working tirelessly in the trenches of Europe, helping keep the doors open to natural health in the UK and Europe, navigating the treacherous, regulatory waters of the European Union; dealing with some of the most draconian threats to natural health anywhere in the world.

However big the challenges ahead might be, we will not hesitate to tackle the most pressing issues threatening the very soul of society, our health, and our inalienable rights and freedoms.

A tribute to Gretchen  

As nature teaches us, we are part of a cyclical ecosystem. When we respect these principles of nature, we often do well. Similarly, when we incorporate the principles of nature into organisations, the organisations tend to do well, as Giles Hutchins has shown through his incredible work with nature-aligned businesses and change organisations.

We try to reflect this in what we do in the three ANH teams, at our international HQ in the UK, in the US and in The Netherlands. As Gretchen DuBeau, Esq., who’s overseen the remarkable growth of the organisation in the USA for the past 15 years steps from the position as leader to her role on the Board of Directors, we celebrate her achievements and leadership, without which, ANH-USA would not be where it is now.   

Both ANH teams are deeply grateful for the impact that Gretchen has had on the growth of the organisation. For the past 15 years, due to her commitment, ANH-USA has experienced many victories. Most recently, Senator Durbin’s attack on supplements was stopped, compounded glutathione was saved and anti-supplement bills at state levels were defeated. Despite the ongoing threats to our ability to choose natural health options, Gretchen remarks that “the landscape has completely changed. I have seen a significant shift in the level of consciousness and awareness around natural health and health freedom. Most people didn’t even know what genetically modified organisms were when I started at ANH-USA back in 2008; now it’s common knowledge. This movement is building momentum and growing, and our wins multiplying”. 

With gratitude for Gretchen’s fantastic contributions, we move on to a new chapter, as Rob Verkerk takes up the baton to continue the organisation’s growth and development, and take it to new heights. The time to protect natural health has never been so critical, as governments and big corporates try their utmost to negatively influence public perceptions of natural health while, with no adequate justification, they attempt to tighten the noose on its regulation.

"The landscape has completely changed. I have seen a significant shift in the level of consciousness and awareness around natural health and health freedom. Most people didn’t even know what genetically modified organisms were when I started at ANH-USA back in 2008; now it’s common knowledge. This movement is building momentum and growing, and our wins multiplying"

Gretchen DuBeau Esq

Our work at ANH is never over. We feel strongly that our plan to achieve better integration between ANH-Intl and ANH-USA, offers the best option for trying to avert the efforts of the forces trying to erode our ability to access natural health, a process that's gathering pace as institutional, corporate and governmental powers become ever more globalised.

Critical times, critical work

The European regulatory model is one of the most draconian known. This might work in our favour when we're concerned about risks from pesticides and other environmental chemicals. But it works against us when we want to take high doses of vitamins or other nutrients to stave off disease. 

For example, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) is preparing to lower the already very low EU Tolerable Upper Limit of B6 from 25 mg to a meagre 12.5 mg. This is happening despite decades worth of evidence that shows vitamin B6 has multiple benefits including increasing energy levels, reducing homocysteine, lowering risk of heart disease and Alzheimer’s, relieving premenstrual symptoms, improving mood, as well as reducing depression and lung cancer risk. Through our collaboration with ANH-Europe, we're tackling this head on, including through our submission to EFSA’s consultation highlighting the gross irregularities in the scientific process.  

On the other side of the Atlantic, we are facing an exponential threat to free speech in the form of the RESTRICT Act (S. 686), as well as potential restrictions on anti-ageing supplements like nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN), the precursor of our body's 'universal' antioxidant glutathione, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), and on those wishing to benefit from natural hormonal therapy using bio-identical hormones.

As an international alliance, we collaborate with a diverse cross-section of natural and environmental interests around the world, including scientists, lawyers, medical doctors, other health professionals, politicians, companies and, above all, citizens, to combat such attacks on our ability to choose how we maintain our health.

NOW is the time to join our grassroots movement

Now is not just a pivotal time, but also an exciting time, to align with our mission, as we work together to help health systems transition from their current pre-occupation with the management of ‘downstream’ diseases to ‘upstream’ approaches that regenerate and maintain health.

We extend our heartfelt gratitude to those of you who are currently supporting us financially, or in other ways, and those of you who have done so in the past. Without you, there would be no ANH, as your donations are our lifeblood.

Among our many focuses, we're working towards a future in which the focus of human healthcare is primarily on health regeneration, not just the treatment of disease. We advocate for properly informed consent, the right for choice in healthcare, the right to bodily autonomy, the right to free speech (especially in relation to science), the right to practice a diverse range of modalities incorporating natural health, and the promotion of individual empowerment and resilience.

We also happen to respect the rule of law, while valuing and working to protect the natural environment, on which, ultimately, all humans depend.

If natural health is something you value, for yourself, your loved ones, or for future generations, and you've yet to offer your support, we appeal to you to offer your support now. Like the symbiotic relationships and energy flows in nature, we can help you, if you help us. Thank you.
 

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