It’s freezing cold out there!!
It has been a hard long winter for homeopathy. There seems to be a growingly assertive and nasty attack on this 200 year-old system of medicine, funded, the cynics among us believe, by a pharmaceutical industry that does not want an inexpensive and effective form of medicine to continue. I’m not sure I buy the conspiracy theory entirely, but I do know that homeopathy seems to be battling the malignant forces of naysayers, skeptics, and hawkers of falsehood and misinformation.
The recent “exposé” on CBC Marketplace is just such an example of misinformed half-truths that distort the facts and cast homeopathy in the light of new-age witchcraft, throwing both those who practice homeopathy and those who are stupid enough to seek homeopathic treatment into the same category – that of foolish, deluded, risk-taking stooges.
Part of me is inclined to shrug this off – certainly homeopathy has had its seasons of deep freeze before, yet it persists, indeed, flourishes. It is used by tens of millions of people worldwide and is provided through the national health care systems of countries in Europe, South America and Asia. Surely, this would not be the case if people did not find homeopathy to be effective. People are not stupid and will doggedly continue to pursue methods that work for them (and reject ones that don’t) in spite of pressure to do otherwise.
My email overflowed with patients who responded in angry dismay at the negative portrayal of homeopathy on CBC Marketplace – “…the only thing that has helped me after years of looking for relief…”; “…how can they suggest that the reversal of my symptoms are just in my head?…”; “….what a stupid, biased, unscientific look – this is the only kind of medicine I want my family to have….”; etc, etc. These comments warmed the chill in my homeopathic office; however, I have noticed a definite reduction of new client calls, as have my colleagues, and this is alarming.
What follows are some of the most disturbing confusions and accusations people have about homeopathy and the answers to those concerns.
1. Homeopathic remedies are blanks, void of any actual medication, placebo at best.
This concern is based on the idea that homeopathic medicines are highly diluted. In addition to dilution, homeopathic remedies are succussed – this is a process of vigorous shaking that happens at each stage of dilution. We know that at a point there is no chemical trace of the original substance in the dilution, but the effect of remedies, unlike conventional or herbal medicine, is determined by molecular structure, not chemical composition. The work of scientists studying this approach supports the scientific understanding that these dilutions contain stable and unique molecular structures with recognizable properties, and, in addition, that the molecular structures resulting from the process of succussion and dilution allow for the transfer of information from the original substance to water. In other words, there’s a physical change that is measurable, but not necessarily a chemical change, in the making of homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathic medicine is energy medicine, not chemical medicine. This is confusing to new patients who need to be supported in understanding that more is not better. As Homeopaths we’ve understood for a long time that in administering an appropriately chosen remedy we encourage the body to make its own adjustments in the direction of healing. The science behind this energetic shift toward wellness is now being understood more fully.
2. Homeopathic remedies and homeopathic treatment are dangerous.
I have always been dismayed by this accusation as it is often offered by the same people who claim that remedies are placebo – surely you can’t have it both ways!! As I understand it, one aspect of this concern regards the toxicity of many substances that are used in the preparation of our homeopathic medicines (e.g. arsenic, deadly nightshade, animal toxins, even disease material). As explained above, the remedies contain no chemical trace of the original material, just a molecular map – it is for this reason that homeopathy IS so safe – there are no unwanted side-effects or accidental over-doses in homeopathy.
The other aspect to this concern is that a homeopath may overlook serious pathology that needs a more aggressive treatment approach. I would say that any practitioner, of any stripe, that claims to be the one and only person to treat all your health needs is one to be wary of. Integrative medicine is the model I aspire to, but even without it as a formal structure, patients should research their options and be encouraged by all their health practitioners to pursue methods of their own choice. There are many ways to approach almost all pathologies and the right one is the one that the patient embraces for him/herself, based on both professional advice as well as personal wishes, needs, history, and so on.
3. There are no quality studies that support the science behind homeopathy or its effectiveness as a medicine.
This is blatantly untrue. There are hundreds upon hundreds of published research studies that support the effectiveness of homeopathy for a wide range of disorders – acute, chronic, and epidemic. Please go to http://www.extraordinarymedicine.org/ for comprehensive coverage of recent homeopathic research.
The primary concern in conventional medical circles about homeopathic research is the holy grail of the RCT – the randomized control trial – a research paradigm used by pharmaceutical companies in bringing new drugs to market. This approach is too limited for homeopathy, or, for that matter, any other holistic approach to medicine, as it tries to isolate a single element without regard to the complexity of the mind-body connection and its dynamic role in a complicated whole-body system. There is an emerging emphasis on “whole-systems” research that focuses on clinical outcomes, patients’ sense of well-being, and comparative effectiveness to understand the healing impact of homeopathy and other holistic methods of medicine. Here in Canada, In-Cam (The Canadian Interdisciplinary Network of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research) has a wide network of researchers doing this kind of work specifically. My friend and colleague, David Brule, a Toronto homeopath, is the Coordinator of the Homeopathic Research Network of Canada (HomeoNet), an In-Cam affiliate.
4. Homeopathy relies on the beliefs of the patient to work. This is closely linked to the idea that Homeopathy is unscientific and therefore cannot be effective medicine.
My first exposure to homeopathy was during my pregnancy with my third child. At 20 weeks I had been prescribed bed-rest for the remainder of my pregnancy – difficult with 2 toddlers in the house and no help. A friend sent me to see a homeopath. I found the consultation perplexing, being the daughter of a doctor, the emotional probing in the consultation felt irrelevant and intrusive. Wasn’t I surprised when a condition that my doctors had assured me could NEVER clear up before delivering my baby, just quietly, subtly disappeared. Certainly, I was no “believer”, but became very curious. Belief in this system is a silly notion – hard to imagine a young baby with diarrhea having such a belief, or my dog for that matter – homeopathy is the medicine that has cured her ulcerative colitis.
Doctors often refer to homeopaths TEETH patients (tried everything else, try homeopathy). In many instances, these patients respond to homeopathy when nothing else has worked, invariably to the surprise of the prescribing doctor. It is true that most homeopaths cannot tell you how homeopathy works, but know that it does work. Likewise, many medicines used in mainstream medicine are still inexplicable – as aspirin was for many, many decades. “Homeopaths have shown that homeopathy works. Millions of patients have experienced these deep cures, it is now the duty of the “science”, (the physicist and bio-chemist and cellular biologist, immunologist and geneticist to show “how” it works. Homeopaths have done their part.”
Dr Shahram Ayoubzadeh (taken from extraordinarymedicine.org)
As I was finishing writing the above, notice of this article on The Huffington Post came to my attention from a supporter of homeopathy: CHECK IT OUT!!
Luc Montagnier, Nobel Prize Winner, Takes Homeopathy Seriously
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dana-ullman/luc-montagnier-homeopathy-taken-seriously_b_814619.html
