Big name healthcare suppliers join the camexpo exhibitor line-up
Prince Charles in talks with Hunt on homeopathy
Who’s who in Natural Beauty back for 2014
Government review acknowledges case for UK solutions for MPLs and botanicals
Help Lepicol put the Seat Down on Poverty
MHRA sets December end-date for herbal sell through
“Important, outstanding, fantastic” – Leading natural healthcare experts voice their support for camexpo 2013

Big name healthcare suppliers join the camexpo exhibitor line-up

Vivomed – the UK’s leading online supplier of first-aid, physiotherapy and sports medicine products – and Ovantis – the UK’s sole distributor of Physiospect NLS bio-resonance devices – are just two of the latest big names to book their places at this year’s camexpo, which returns to London’s Earls Court on 5-6 October 2013.

Firmly established as the UK’s biggest natural healthcare show dedicated to the professional practitioner and therapist market, camexpo offers an essential platform for natural healthcare brands looking to get their products and services in front of just some of the estimated 12 million people who are said to use complementary medicines or therapies in the UK[1]. And they need the show’s influential buying audience (which was over 5,400 strong in 2012) to reach them.

With over half of GPs in the UK now taking a more integrative approach to the treatment and prevention of illness by providing access to forms of therapy outside conventional medicine (according to a 2011 poll by Netdoctor.co.uk), and about one in eight people in the UK now consult a complementary or alternative practitioner each year (source: Arthritis Research UK, 2013), the CAM sector looks set for continued, healthy growth. This is certainly reflected at this year’s camexpo – which sees its biggest line-up of new exhibitors looking to enjoy some of this show’s much talked of ‘buzz’.

Among them are Solgar Vitamins, who’ll be showcasing its new additions to its supplements range for joints (Solgar® 7) and heart (Folate, the ‘body-ready’ form of folic acid); Supplete (AOR Canada’s sole European distributor); practitioner-only supplier – BioMedica Nutraceutials from Australia; specialist medical and physio supplies wholesaler C&P Medical; Cambridge Nutritional Sciences – developer of The Food Detective intolerance test; Algeos UK – a leading supplier of products to the physio and rehabilitation markets; Nucleotide Nutrition, with its immune support and healthy gut supplements NuCell®IM and IntestAid®IB; D’Lite Food Europe – creators of SlendierSlim; Cisca SaltPipe – the original Hungarian cave salt inhaler for asthma, allergies, sinus and respiratory problems; Wildflower Essences, who’ll be showcasing its new Wildflower Oracle set, which includes 28 handmade individual English Wildflower essences (and flower cards for readings); Medica Health International, with its simple to use, non-invasive Theragem™: Crystal Light Therapy range; and Water for Health, distributers of Biocera’s alkaline water products, Vibrant Health’s green superfoods, and Omega Nutrition’s organic, cold pressed healthy oils.

Specialist natural bodycare and beauty suppliers will also be well-represented at this year’s show. New exhibitors include Mahi Naturals – distributers of U Little Beauty, Organic Natralox, and Australia’s leading natural dry skin range Hope’s Relief; Africa-inspired health and beauty brand Aduna; natural toiletries and aromatherapy products supplier New Seasons, Star Corp United Kingdom/Manuka Natural Health – distributors of 100% natural topical massage cream Rubbeez®; Apples & Pears, with its natural skincare and lip balms (handmade using sweet yellow beeswax, cera flava, and honey from its own apiary); Lorem Care, with its 100% natural Emu Oil and Emu Balm; and The Colloidal Company, who’ll be showcasing its colloidal silver, gold and copper solutions and creams; Tropic Skincare, whose Revive Firming Cream won Best Face Moisturiser at Natural Health magazine’s Beauty Awards 2013; and Essence of Morocco (a finalist in the ‘best new natural beauty & spa product’ category at the Natural and Organic Awards in April), who’ll be treating camexpo visitors an exclusive first try of its new organic prickly pear seed oil (anti-ageing serum), and new range of natural Hammam/spa products.

Busy, informative, invigorating, and enjoyable – that’s the verdict from camexpo 2012. And camexpo 2013 promises more of the same when it returns to Earls Court, London, on 5-6 October 2013; with 200 leading natural healthcare suppliers, associations and training providers, plus over 100 CPD-accredited seminars, workshops and demos from some of the CAM industry’s leading subject specialists.

“It is great to feel part of such a vibrant and welcoming community,” says therapist Emma Diamond, echoing the feedback of many camexpo visitors after last year’s show, “I came back to my clinic buzzing with new products to try and new therapies to consider.”

To register for an entry pass, which includes entry to the show’s two Keynote Theatres (sponsored by revital), please visit www.camexpo.co.uk/register and use priority code camx599 to register in advance for £6.50 (without a priority code, the standard door charge is £20).

Prince Charles in talks with Hunt on homeopathy

The Times and Daily Mail report that Prince Charles met privately with the health secretary Jeremy Hunt at Clarence House last week to discuss the future of homeopathy in Britain.

Homeopathy has been under sustained attack from parts of the medical and scientific establishment who want to see all NHS funding for homeopathic clinics and treatments withdrawn. It has also been the subject of a recent controversial ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which threatens a blanket-ban on efficacy claims for homeopathic medicines.

The Prince is also believed to have raised concerns that Government plans to introduce a Statutory Register of Herbalists have stalled and could be about to be abandoned by ministers.

Who’s who in Natural Beauty back for 2014

The Natural Beauty Yearbook’s Top 25 hotlist has always been a high point of the industry year – and now we need your help to make it bigger and better than ever.

The hotlist is at the heart of the print version of the Natural Beauty Yearbook 2014 (out this November) and celebrates the people who make the natural beauty industry what it is today.

Each place is coveted because it isn’t chosen by independent experts – it’s all down to you. If you work in the industry, then you’ve got a chance to nominate the people that you think should be noticed.

It’s easy to get involved. Simply go to www.naturalbeautyyearbook.co.uk/whos-who and tell us who you think should be bigged up, plus a little bit about you.

Nominations close on September 25th – so get in quick!

Government review acknowledges case for UK solutions for MPLs and botanicals

A major new Government review has acknowledged the case for UK-led solutions to issues such as the setting of maximum levels for vitamins and the regulation of herbal and botanical products.

Review of the Balance of Competences between the United Kingdom and the European Union (Health) is one of six reports – there will be 32 eventually – examining Britain’s relationship with the European Union. Specifically it focuses on “everything deriving from EU law that affects what happens in the UK” (the definition of the term ‘competences’ for the purposes of the review)

The health review draws on extensive submissions from a wide range of stakeholders including industry groups, NGOs, MPs and subject specialists. Consumers for Health Choice (CHC) and the Health Food Manufacturers Association (HFMA) both submitted evidence and each is referred to in the final document published by the foreign secretary William Hague last week.

While the review concludes that stakeholders generally consider the current balance of competence is “broadly appropriate” and notes the benefits of a harmonized approach to regulation in some important areas, it also highlights areas of inconsistency in EU regulation and the UK’s tendency to ‘gold plate’ legislation.

The review singles out the herbal sector as “a good example of inconsistent implementation across the EU”. Elsewhere, it suggests that the setting of maximum limits for vitamins and minerals (MPLs) provides an example where the principle of harmonization is undermined by the very different approaches of individual member states. It notes that “Consumers for Health Choice and the Health Food Manufacturers Association have strongly opposed such harmonization measures that they consider will restrict the unique nature of the UK market”.

In wording from which UK industry can take some encouragement, the review adds: “The Government believes that any future decisions on vitamins and mineral supplements need to be proportionate and based on evidence, so that consumers have confidence in what they buy, while maintaining a wide choice of safe products.”

Commenting, CHC’s director of strategy Chris Whitehouse said: “This very thorough review of the balance of competences between the European Union and individual member states backs CHC concerns in relation to the operation of the single market and the process of setting maximum levels for vitamins and minerals in supplements.

“CHC is pleased that detailed concerns it fed into this fundamentally important Government review have been acknowledged and generally sound conclusions drawn.”

HFMA chair, Lynn Lord, told Natural Products: “We were very pleased to see that the Department of Health has referred to the HFMA on two occasions, in relation to the setting of MPLs, noting our key concerns about any future regulations on this, and also in an earlier section of the report, where the HMFA is also listed among a number of stakeholders that have expressed concerns about ‘inconsistent interpretation and enforcement’ of regulations, resulting in distortion of the market.

Lord added that the Government’s “positive statement” on the need for a proportionate and evidence-based approach to MPLs “clearly shows that the DH understands our concerns about any future setting of MPLs and the need for a measured approach to this that takes into account the impact on UK businesses and consumers”.

• While CHC and HFMA can take satisfaction that key concerns of the natural heath sector have been recognized in this major Government review, those asking if it signals a fundamental shift of approach by the UK Government might be disappointed. In the wider political arena serious questions are already being asked about the overall tone of the review. The Daily Mail decided that the Government’s review of Brussels power amounted to a ‘Whitehall whitewash’ while the Daily Telegraph gave its coverage the headline ‘EU is good for Britain’.

Giving his personal analysis, the political affairs commentator Chris Whitehouse told Natural Products: “The Government’s review has left a lot of back bench Conservatives fuming at what they see as a Foreign Office whitewash – an attempt to hide the cracks in what many consider to be a fundamentally flawed relationship with the EU. Many have made the point that this is a Civil Service review, not the political review for which they are hungry. They feel they have been offered a sniff of the red meat of real reform, only to be served up a recipe based on political Quorn.”

Help Lepicol put the Seat Down on Poverty

Lepicol are offering you the unique chance to own a piece of decorative toilet seat art and donate money to charity in the process. Twenty two ornate toilet seats are being sold for £60 each with the proceeds being split between two charities; Toilet Twinning and Events for Namuwongo. Toilet Twinning, run by charities Cord and Tearfund, raise funds to provide people in third world countries with safe sanitation, clean water and hygiene education. Events for Namuwongo transform the lives of the Namuwongo community, a slum of up to 30,000 people in Uganda, to give its inhabitants a brighter future. The charity tackles issues such as poverty, polluted water and a derelict sanitation system.

The toilet seats will be uploaded to Lepicol’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/lepicol daily from Monday 9th September 2013 where you will have the chance to pick and reserve your favourite seat ahead of camexpo. The seats will then be on display at the Lepicol stand (number 2215) at camexpo 2013 where the Lepicol team will be inviting you to view them and buy ones still available if you wish. Among the selection for sale is a fun knitted toilet seat, a beautiful sunset design and a special design from the camexpo team. Anyone who buys a seat will also receive a Lepicol goodie bag and a Toilet Twinning certificate.

Carsten Holm, Managing Director at Diversified Business Communications UK said: “Events for Namuwongo is a charity which has captured the imagination of the entire events community. As a result Diversified helps to raise much needed funds and awareness for Namuwongo at all of our events throughout the year. We are absolutely thrilled that Lepicol has chosen to help this effort through their activity on their stand at this year‟s camexpo.”
Lepicol Marketing Executive Lauren Lemmer said: “A toilet seat will make a great addition to a shop display or even make a fun talking point in your living room. I already have my eye on a couple!”

MHRA sets December end-date for herbal sell through

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) is proposing a 31 December 2013 end-date for the sell through of unlicensed herbal products.

Following the ending of the transition period of the Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive (THMPD) in April 2011, stocks placed legally on the market before that date have been allowed to be sold through .

Now the MHRA says it wants to “regularise” the position on sell-through and is consulting with industry on its proposal to set a final date.

The Agency says that although the sell through has proceeded well in much of the herbal sector it is concerned at evidence of “abuse” in other parts, specifically herbal products claiming “implausibly long shelf lives”. It also says that its investigations have shown “continuing evidence of poor standards” in some unlicensed herbal products and non-compliance with the voluntary labelling among products being sold through.

The MHRA says it believes its proposal would have “little substantive adverse impact” since operators would have benefited from a sell through period of almost three years.

“Important, outstanding, fantastic” – Leading natural healthcare experts voice their support for camexpo 2013

“Camexpo is THE practitioner and therapist event of the year.” So says top women’s health nutritionist Dr Marilyn Glenville about the UK’s biggest event for complementary and integrated healthcare professionals – camexpo, which returns for its 11th edition on 5-6 October at Earls Court, London.

A keen support and regular speaker at camexpo for almost ten years – Dr Glenville is known for attracting standing-room-only crowds. Indeed, such is her popularity with camexpo audiences that she is the only speaker to be hosting two Keynotes (‘Natural solutions to digestive problems and IBS’ and ‘Fat around the middle: Central Adiposity – why is it such a health risk?’) over the weekend show.

“It’s a privilege to be invited back [to camexpo] again this year,” says Dr Glenville, the former President of the Food and Health Forum at the Royal Society of Medicine. “For two full days everything is under one roof – offering practitioners and students access to top quality seminars, workshops, and a wealth of supplement and natural product companies.”

Another speaker looking forward to returning to the Keynote stage is best-selling author, nutritionist, and founder of the Institute for Optimum Nutrition, Patrick Holford. Unable to attend last year’s camexpo, he’ll be back with a highly-anticipated bang for 2013 – discussing “cutting edge genetic discoveries that makes the process of losing weight and staying young much easier” in ‘Weight loss – what really works?’ on Sunday 6 October.

“What’s great about camexpo is that you quickly get up to date with the current trends and developments in natural healing,” says Holford.

With 75% of 2012’s visitors citing keeping-up-to-date as their number one reason for attending, camexpo’s exceptional CPD-accredited training and education programme has certainly proved a big annual draw. Renowned for providing dynamic, inspiration-packed content from some of the biggest and brightest names in the industry, this year’s line-up includes 22 free Keynote Seminars (in two Revital-sponsored theatres).

New speakers for 2013 include:

• Professor Ingvar Bjarnason – lead gastroenterologist at London’s King’s College Hospital
• Miguel Toribio-Mateas – chairman of BANT and clinical director of The Optimum Health Clinic
• Penelope Quest – bestselling author of Reiki for Life, Self-Healing with Reiki, and The Reiki Manual
• Henrietta Norton – co-founder of Wild Nutrition
• CAM Coach Mark Shields – founder of The Life Practice Group
• Dr Jane Buckle – creator of the ‘M’ Technique (a method of gentle, structured touch suitable for those with special needs or dementia)
• Naturopath Andrea Jacobs – presenting exclusive findings from new clinical research into inflammatory health treatment regimes

“camexpo is an important date in my diary as it is a chance to meet practitioners from all over the country and catch up on latest developments in an industry very close to my heart,” says neurologist and nutritional consultant Dr Natasha Campbell-McBride, who previously appeared at camexpo in 2010.

Perhaps best known for developing the GAPS (Gut And Psychology Syndrome) nutritional protocol, Dr Campbell-McBride’s 2013 Keynote will focus on ‘Autoimmune disease in children and adults’. Outlining why she believes that autoimmune conditions, including diabetes type one, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, interstitial cystitis, nephropathy, and lupus, are becoming more common (over 200 conditions have been identified to date), she’ll discuss what causes these conditions, and how they can be prevented and reversed.

Having dedicated the past few years of his career to the research and support of individuals with auto-immune conditions, Nutri-Link’s head of technical services Antony Haynes will also be offering his views (backed by case histories) on a ‘Route to Resolution’ from auto-immune conditions. (Haynes and Dr Campbell-McBride will both be appearing on Saturday 5 October at 11.35am and 12.40pm respectively.)

“The audience at camexpo is always a fantastic one,” says Haynes. “I’m so looking forward to presenting a sequel, as it were, to the auto-immune conditions that I talked about last year, but this time a year on.”

According to Haynes, these conditions are the cause of nearly a third of the world’s illnesses requiring long-term medical treatment. Describing what some of his patients have done in detail, to achieve freedom from their conditions (which include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and sarcoidosis), he aims “to show that there may be a complementary route for patients, to their existing medical treatment, and one that can prove to be extremely successful and life-changing”.

Returning speakers include Elke Theuwissen, who’ll be presenting new research into how Vitamin K2 (menaquinone-7) shows benefits for bone and heart health; Dale Pinnock, who’ll be offering ‘Culinary approaches to cardiovascular disease management and protection’; Expectancy’s educational director Denise Tiran; ANH founder Dr Rob Verkerk; the CMA’s president Jayney Goddard; naturopath Daniel Baden; Outstanding Achievement Award winners (at camexpo 2011 and 2012) Meghan Mari and Rachel Fairweather from the Jing Institute of Advanced Massage Training; Margaret Coats and Hazel Russo, with the CNHC’s annual regulation update for professional practitioners; and Robert J Marshall – founder of Premier Research Labs (a leading US manufacturer of toxin free, living-source nutrition and cellular resonance products) – discussing ‘Firing up energy systems in the body’.

“At Premier Research Labs we have long worked under the premise that if you have healthy bio-energetic and musculo-skeletal systems, you will have a solid foundation to get people to a point of optimal health,” explains Marshall, who believes that physical and cellular degeneration and reduced physical activity can age us prematurely.

Focusing on bioenergetic systems in the body and mitochondrial health (mitochondria are structures within cells that convert the energy from food into a form that cells can use), he’ll share insights on biophoton energy, cell frequency, and the impact of toxins and non-nutritive excipients (bulking agents or fillers) gained from over four decades of research and clinical experience.

“I’m confident these [methods] have the ability to really transform how clinicians go about providing healthcare to their clients and patients,” he concludes.

“The seminar speakers are always highly informed, passionate and inspiring – I’m looking forward to camexpo 2013!,” says Michelle Rodrigues from EARTH therapy, just one of thousands of practitioners, therapists, CAM students, and health store buyers preparing to revisiting camexpo again this year.

To register for a visitor pass to camexpo on 5-6 October at Earls Court, London (which includes entry to the Keynotes), please visit www.camexpo.co.uk/register (and use priority code camx599 to register for £6.50).