Health
SOS – Save Our Supplements – it’s time to stand up for our health freedom
May
First up: please go sign the petition
And visit: www.saveoursupplements.ie
NUTRITION HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON A KNIFE EDGE.
The nutrient content in conventionally farmed produce has declined on average 30% since the 1940’s, and many of us aren’t even cooking from scratch any longer.
NOW MORE THAN EVER OUR COMMUNITIES ARE OVER FED…AND UNDER NOURISHED.
Ultra-processed foods now make up an average of 54% of the average Irish diet.
NO ONE SIZE FITS ALL
Vitamin D deficiency across the EU varies widely. 13% of EU citizens don’t get enough vitamin D, dark skinned EU natives are on average 40% deficient, and here in Ireland it varies wildly with deficiency rising in the dark winter months – when Vitamin D should be conferring its vital immune protective support – to around 19% and dropping to 7% in the summer, when…we hope…the sun gets involved.
AT THIS MOMENT, THE EU IS ABOUT TO DRASTICALLY REDUCE THE DOSES OF VITAMIN AND MINERAL DIETARY SUPPLEMENTS AVAILABLE ON IRISH SHELVES.
The decision to remove your right to high dose nutrient supplements will be decided without your input…unless we act NOW.
117 HERBS AND SUBSTANCES ARE ALSO SET TO BE BANNED INCLUDING ASHWAGANDHA, MACA, CIRCUMIN (TURMERIC) EXTRACTS, TEA TREE, HOLY BASIL…
The EU feels these substances (most with hundreds or even thousands of years of history of safe human consumption) don’t have sufficient safety data in the form of human trials to remain on sale within the EU
Before you continue: please go sign the petition
Save Our Supplements
We use nutrient and herbal supplements as part of looking after our health — and we don’t believe access to them should be restricted without clear and justified evidence.
Proposed EU changes could reduce the strength and availability of many of the supplements people in Ireland rely on every day.
The EU Commission is proposing to implement strict MPL’s (maximum permitted levels) on all nutrient supplements sold across Europe. Harmonised limits may significantly reduce the range of supplement strengths available to consumers. That means fewer options for individuals who want to take proactive control of their health. This step may be quite opaque when you, the consumer picks up a supplement at your local health store, pharmacy or supermarket – same familiar branding, the names of these supplements won’t likely change, but if you dig in to the details, the efficacy may be drastically different, with a half…a quarter, even a tenth of the dosage you’re used to taking to support your needs.
At the same time, the HoA (Heads of Food Safety Agencies) working group on food supplements have identified 117 botanicals and substances for review of which they feel 13 present a theoretical but clear health hazard to the public. Included in this list are Ashwagandha, Curcumin or extracts of Turmeric, Tea Tree and Holy Basil, some of the herbs/essential oils with the longest track record of safe use both with Europe and globally.
It’s clear that NOW is the time to raise our voice before the natural plant extracts and nutrient supplements we value for their health supportive properties are either limited or removed from sale altogether.
Before you continue: please go sign the petition
This Is Part of Our Everyday Health
We’re not experts or part of any industry — we’re just people trying to take care of our health in practical, everyday ways.
Like many others in Ireland, we use supplements to support things like energy, immunity, and general wellbeing. For us, it’s simply part of staying healthy, alongside diet, sleep, and exercise.
With the recent trend in Irish obesity and ill health, it is ever more vital to recognise and celebrate the value of the safe nutrient and herbal supplements that help to keep us out of hospital and reduce our burden on the creaking public health systems.
When the FSD (Food Supplements Directive) was launched in 2004, nutrient supplements were an emergent trend, with scant high quality research available to prove their safety and efficacy. Over the past 22 years however, the world of vitamins, minerals and herbs – and natural healthcare in general – has seen huge attention and research to support the safety and efficacy of responsible use at higher doses.
Back in 2004 we weren’t aware of even half of the effects that Vitamin D, for instance, could have on our musculoskeletal, immune and nervous systems. It was only during the recent pandemic that serious research began to emerge as to its powerful effects. The same could be said of magnesium, zinc and many more nutrients that are now used safely by over half of the Irish population regularly, with 80% of adults having used food supplements in their lifetime.
With so much new information emerging, we are at risk of removing a key pillar of modern healthcare. And as you’ll see, the justification for doing so just isn’t there…
What We’ve Recently Learned
Apropos a document leaked from the European Commission last year, we became aware that there are discussions at EU level about introducing new limits on the strength of vitamins and minerals in supplements.
We understand the intention is to ensure safety — and we support that — but from what we can see, these changes could significantly reduce the range and effectiveness of products currently available.
Some of the proposed levels are as follows – this is not a finalised document. It was leaked from the EU subcommittee who are working out the levels as a working proposal. The final levels might not be as drastic as this…or they could be much much worse.
Annex 1 – Maximum Amounts for the different nutrients in last German proposal:
| Nutrient | Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) | Intake Data (P95) | Maximum Amounts for Fortified Foods | Maximum Amounts for Food Supplements |
| Vitamin B6 | 12 mg/day | 4.98 mg/day | 0.21 mg/100 kcal | 5.69 mg/day |
| Phosphorus | 2800 mg/day | 2702 mg/day | No addition | No addition |
| Niacin | 900 mg/day (nicotinamide) | 77.3 mg/day | 19 mg/100 kcal | 88 mg/day (children), 704 mg/day (adults) |
| 10 mg/day (nicotinic acid) | 0.3 mg/100 kcal | 1.6 mg/day (children), 8 mg/day (adults) | ||
| Vitamin D | 100 µg/day | 13.4 µg/day | 4.6 µg/100 kcal | 20 µg/day (children), 55 µg/day (adults) |
| Selenium | 255 µg/day | 113 µg/day | 1.36 µg/100 kcal | 17.61 µg/day (children), 133.46 µg/day (adults) |
| Vitamin K | 1000 µg/day | Not applicable | 43 µg/100 kcal | 249 µg/day (children), 731 µg/day (adults) |
| Manganese | 8 mg/day | 8 mg/day | No addition | No addition |
| Molybdenum | 600 µg/day | 155 µg/day | 8 µg/100 kcal | 35 µg/day (children), 394 µg/day (adults) |
| Vitamin A | 3000 µg/day | 1087 µg/day | 27 µg/100 kcal | 304 µg/day (children), 1742 µg/day (adults) |
| Iron | 40 mg/day | 24.5 mg/day | No addition | 15.5 mg/day |
| Vitamin E | 300 mg/day | 24 mg/day | 8.9 mg/100 kcal | 50.4 mg/day (children), 220.1 mg/day (adults) |
| Folate | 1000 µg/day | Not applicable | 32 µg/100 kcal | 150 µg/day (children), 782 µg/day (adults) |
| Sodium & Chloride | Not applicable | Not applicable | No addition | No addition |
| Potassium | 3000 mg/day | Not applicable | 83 mg/100 kcal | 630 mg/day (children), 2477 mg/day (adults) |
| Calcium | 2500 mg/day | 2258 mg/day | 21 mg/100 kcal | 787 mg/day (children), 674 mg/day (adults) |
| Vitamin C | 1000 mg/day | Not applicable | 28 mg/100 kcal | 210 mg/day (children), 791 mg/day (adults) |
| Magnesium | 250 mg/day | Not applicable | 16.61 mg/100 kcal | 125 mg/day (children), 145.92 mg/day (adults) |
| Zinc | 25 mg/day | 21.7 mg/day | No addition | 7.4 mg/day |
| Copper | 5 mg/day | 3.22 mg/day | No addition | 1.78 mg/day |
| Iodine | 600 µg/day | 421 µg/day | In accordance with national strategies | 150 or 200 µg/day |
| Chromium | 250 µg/day | 83.8 µg/day | 16.6 µg/100 kcal | 125 µg/day |
| Boron | 11.2 mg/day | 3.47 mg/day | No addition | 7.7 mg/day |
| Silicon | 700 mg/day | Not applicable | No addition | 700 mg/day (silicon dioxide), 200 mg/day (silicic acid gel), 10 mg/day (choline-stabilised orthosilicic acid), 10 mg/day (monomethylsilanetriol) |
When the table indicates “no addition” for the maximum amounts for fortified foods, it means that the intake of that particular nutrient from the normal diet is already close to or exceeds the tolerable upper intake level (UL). Therefore, no additional amount of that nutrient should be added through fortified foods to avoid exceeding the safe intake level. For example, if the intake data for a nutrient like Phosphorus is already very high (e.g., 2702 mg/day) and the UL is 2800 mg/day, adding more Phosphorus through fortified foods could lead to an intake above the UL, which might pose health risks. Hence, “no addition” is recommended for fortified foods in such cases
Before you continue: please go sign the petition
We’re Not Sure the Full Picture Is There Yet
From what we’ve seen, there are still important questions when it comes to nutrition science and supplement use. Low sunlight, high rates of chronic disease risk, and dietary gaps mean many people rely on supplements to maintain optimal health. If EU limits reduce access to higher-strength nutrients, individuals may no longer be able to address deficiencies effectively. Importantly, people who actively supplement—often at higher doses—are already among the healthiest cohorts. They/you, are investing in prevention and reducing the long-term healthcare burden on the state.
What seems clear:
- Vitamins and minerals are essential for health
- Safety limits are important
What seems less settled:
- How individual nutritional needs vary
- The role supplements play in long-term preventative health
- The difference between minimum requirements and optimal intake
It raises concerns that decisions may be moving ahead before the full picture is understood.
In the short term, stricter limits may appear to improve safety. But in the long term, restricting access to effective nutrient levels could contribute to rising rates of deficiency and chronic illness
If you want to look deeper into some studies that discuss the various risk models for applying limitations to vitamin and mineral intake you’ll see below some of the published papers on this topic to help you fully understand just how inconclusive scientific opinion is on the matter of setting maximum permitted levels for nutrients across the European population.
EHPM: Group 1 micronutrients – no risks of adverse events even at high doses
For Us, This Is About Staying Well
We don’t see supplements as something unusual or fringe.
We use them as part of a broader approach to staying well — being proactive about our health rather than only reacting when problems arise.
Having access to a range of choices that can be tailored to individual needs feels like a reasonable part of modern health management. Nutrients like zinc, magnesium, vitamin B6 and herbs like ashwagandha and circumin are well established in their use to support energy, mood, immunity – keeping our population functioning and reducing time out of work.
We already know that proactive supplement users tend to have better health outcomes—suggesting that access, not restriction, supports public health.
If you live an active life, chances are you’re already using a magnesium supplement. When you train hard your requirements are increased. You lose more from perspiration and higher demands on your muscles. But that high dose, good quality magnesium you’re using to support muscle contraction, energy production, recovery and sleep, is seriously under threat. And that’s just one example from the 44 essential nutrients and the 117 botanicals and other natural substances that are under threat due to impending EU legislation.
Before you continue: please go sign the petition
Why This Matters Here in Ireland
More and more people in Ireland are taking a proactive approach to their health.
For many of us, supplements are a normal part of that. As pressures on our diet increase, as the environment we live in becomes more challenging to stay healthy in, as our population ages…food supplements can make a real difference to the health of the Irish nation as a whole.
We would hope that any decisions made at EU level reflect how people actually use these products in real life, and support a balanced, evidence-based approach that preserves informed choice.
