exploring our senses & the universe-from http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx

[Guest guest]

*Could This 'Forbidden Medicine' Eliminate the Need for Drugs? *

*Posted by: Dr.

Mercola<http://articles.mercola.com/members/Dr.-Mercola/default.aspx>

December 22 2009 | 225,500 views*

*[image: amy lansky]Amy L. Lansky, PhD*

*www.impossiblecure.com*

*Perhaps the most derided of alternative medicines is my own favorite –

homeopathy. Over the past few years, detractors have focused their efforts

in the United Kingdom and have succeeded in crippling homeopathic hospitals

and clinics funded by the National Health Service, as well as the practices

of many homeopaths. *

*A few well-placed editorials in prominent newspapers have done the trick,

despite the fact that Prince and the rest of the royal family are

ardent supporters of homeopathy. *

*It now seems that some of these folks are taking their show on the road.

Two key UK players, Baum and Edzard Ernst have published a

commentary in the November 2009 issue of the American Journal of Medicine

[1]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-L\

ove-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn1>in

which they state, “a belief in homeopathy exceeds the tolerance of an

open mind. We should start from the premise that homeopathy cannot work and

that positive evidence reflects publication bias or design flaws until

proved otherwise.†*

*Not surprisingly, their commentary also reflects a complete ignorance of

homeopathy and the range of studies that support its effectiveness. For

example, their article incorrectly uses the term “potentation†instead of

“potentization†for the method used to create homeopathic remedies (more on

this later). The authors also insist on citing a single negative

meta-analysis study that has already been shown to be methodologically

flawed

[2]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-L\

ove-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn2>,

while ignoring many positive studies in respected publications, including

two other meta-analyses that showed positive results

[3—8]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skepti\

cs-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn3>.

*

*So why do the skeptics love to hate homeopathy? Perhaps because it is one

of the most threatening alternative modalities – financially,

philosophically, and therapeutically. Actually, homeopathy has been a threat

to allopathy ever since the 1800s, when German physician Hahnemann

developed the homeopathic system. *

*Founder of Homeopathy*

*Hahnemann, a respected doctor and chemist who helped to pioneer the

importance of hygiene as well as homeopathy, was forced to move frequently

during his life because the local German apothecaries objected to the fact

that he created his own medicines rather than use theirs. *

*A fierce battle was also waged against homeopathy in the United States

during the 1800s, where homeopathy had achieved a strong presence by 1840.

In fact, in 1847, the American Medical Association (AMA) was formed

specifically to fight the battle against homeopathy. *

*Most homeopaths of the 1800s were former allopaths who had abandoned their

brethren because they found Hahnemann’s system to be more successful in

battling cholera, typhus, yellow fever, diptheria, influenza, and other

epidemics of the 1800s. In retaliation, the preamble to the AMA’s charter

forbade its members to associate with homeopaths or to use their medicines,

and many doctors were expelled for failing to comply. *

*But does homeopathy really pose such a threat to conventional medicine

today? To see how the little of homeopathy could take down the Goliath

of big pharma, we need to take a closer look at what homeopathy is all

about.*

*Like Cures Like - - Law of Similars*

*Homeopathic practice is based on a single law of therapeutics called the Law

of Similars. This law states that a substance that can cause the symptoms of

a disease can also cure it. In fact, that’s exactly what word “homeopathyâ€

means: similar (“homeoâ€) suffering (“pathyâ€). For example, one reason

that

the remedy Coffea Cruda (made from coffee) can be curative for insomnia is

that coffee can cause sleeplessness. Interestingly, allopaths sometimes

utilize the Law of Similars, but are unaware of it when they do and are

perplexed by the phenomenon. *

*Ask any conventional doctor why Ritalin (a substance that would normally

cause hyperactivity) can treat hyperactivity in children, and they’ll

scratch their heads in confusion. Ask a homeopath, and it’s a no-brainer:

the Law of Similars. *

*The reason why homeopaths run into trouble with the skeptics, though,

revolves around how homeopathic remedies are prepared. Obviously, many of

the substances that can cause the symptoms of disease are toxic. This

inherent toxicity poses a challenge if you want to administer these

substances safely. *

*In an effort to deal with this problem, Hahnemann tried various methods of

diluting his medicines so that they would become less harmful to his

patients. This proved unsuccessful until he also incorporated vigorous

shaking or succussion into the process. The result was a method that he

called potentization, in which a substance is serially diluted and succussed

over and over. *

*Much to Hahnemann’s own surprise, these ultradilutions – so dilute that

they cannot possibly contain a single molecule of the original substance –

were still potent therapeutically. In fact, they were even more potent than

low levels of dilution.*

*Of course, this was and still is too much for the skeptics to bear. It

turns much of accepted science on its head! *

*What the skeptics keep ignoring, however, are an increasing number of

scientific studies that indicate that some kind of signature of the original

substance is embedded in a potentized ultradilution. In a 2007 paper by

Professor Rustom Roy, the founding director of the Materials Research

Laboratory at Penn State and one of the world's leading experts on the

structure of water, it was demonstrated that lab instruments could pick up

energetic signatures in ultradilutions that were not only specific to

individual homeopathic remedies, but to specific potencies of these remedies

[9,

10]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-L\

ove-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn9>.

*

*Indeed, science has backed up the phenomenon of potentization for over 20

years. In 1988, Nobel Prize nominee and medical researcher Jacques

Benveniste turned the course of his life upside down when he discovered that

ultradilutions could retain substance-specific properties. In particular, he

found that a certain antibody could be serially diluted and succussed beyond

the point where a single molecule could remain, but still cause the same

effects

[11]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn11>.

*

*Naturally, the skeptics quickly attacked Benveniste. But he continued his

work and further demonstrated that the electromagnetic signature of an

ultradilution could be recorded electronically, transmitted via Email,

replayed into water, and still achieve the same substance-specific effects

in the laboratory

[12]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn12>.

Eventually, Benveniste’s results were replicated

[13]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn13>.

Most recently, a 2009 paper by Nobel Prize winner Luc Montagnier underscored

the power of ultradilutions too

[14]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn14>.

*

*Drug Companies are Running Scared*

*Now think about it. This is what big pharma is scared of.*

*What if an expensive drug could be potentized to create billions of

effective doses at essentially no cost? It would destroy big pharma

entirely. Medicines that cost essentially nothing? Nontoxic ultradiluted

medicines that cause fewer side effects? How could the coffers of big pharma

be sustained? Forget about the Law of Similars. It’s potentization – the

process of creating effective ultradilutions – that big pharma is scared of!

No wonder Baum and Ernst got the word “potentization†wrong. This one word

is the small stone that could take Goliath down.*

*Of course, homeopaths add fuel to the fire. The fundamental philosophy of

homeopathy implies that the primary tools of allopathy are harmful. In

particular, homeopaths believe that suppressing symptoms with anti-pathic

drugs – drugs that oppose the symptoms of a disease rather than mimic them –

cannot cure and can even do harm. If a symptom is suppressed – for example,

if a seasonal allergy is suppressed by an antihistamine – it is only

temporarily palliated. *

*A patient still has allergic tendencies and his or her symptoms will

eventually return. That’s why suppressive drugs must be taken again and

again. And of course, big pharma loves that! It’s good for business. *

*Deceptive Cures*

*Unfortunately, if a substance succeeds in completely suppressing a symptom,

there may be an illusion of “cure,†but the real result is more sinister.

Another key tenet of homeopathy is that the true result of suppression is a

deepening of the underlying disease state – because the energy of the

disease is now forced to manifest in a more serious way. *

*That’s why repeated application of cortisone cream to eczema can lead to

asthma. That’s why the suppression of arthritis pain can lead to heart

disease. That’s why teenagers who take acne drugs sometimes develop suicidal

depression. *

*Doctors call this phenomenon a “side effect†or a “natural disease

progression.†But that’s because they don’t understand the effects of

suppression or the signs of true cure. *

*Over the past two hundred years, homeopaths have discovered that

homeopathic medicines – drugs that mimic a person’s symptoms rather than

oppose them – can lead to genuine cure of chronic disease, not mere

palliation or suppression. Rather than creating a deeper disease, a

homeopathic medicine that is similar to a patient’s disease can not only

cure it, but reveal previously suppressed layers of disease that can be

treated too. *

*That’s why good homeopathic treatment can often cure asthma – and also

reveal and treat previously suppressed eczema. That’s why it has the

potential to cure arthritis and chronic bladder infections, not simply

palliate them with endless medications. Indeed, homeopathy can effectively

treat acute diseases like influenza and bacterial infections too. With its

ability to successfully treat both chronic and acute disease with low-cost

medicines, homeopathy really could be a threat to big pharma, given half a

chance.*

*Ideal for Poor Countries or Rich Ones with Declining Economies*

*Poor countries with less access to expensive drugs have already discovered

this. That’s why homeopathy is the second most widespread form of medicine

in the world. In India, homeopathy is a full-fledged medical system with its

own medical schools and hospitals. Homeopaths in India successfully treat

the full range of diseases, including AIDS, cancer, and malaria. *

*In Cuba, a poor country with a health care system that often does better

than our own, homeopathy is being used more and more. In 2008, 2.5 million

Cubans were given a homeopathic remedy to prevent Leptospirosis, an

infectious disease also known as swamp fever. *

*This disease has plagued the country for several years in the aftermath of

flooding, but the year in which homeopathy was used, in contrast to previous

years, there were no fatalities and very few cases of the disease

[15]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn15>.

*

*But here’s the rub. Homeopathy is harder to practice than allopathy. There

are no cookie-cutter cures, especially for chronic disease. (Luckily,

however, effective treatment of epidemic diseases like the flu is easier;

see Resources.) Each patient’s health pattern is unique, so each patient

must be treated as an individual. *

*A homeopath must find a single remedy (among thousands of possible

homeopathic remedies) whose associated symptoms match those of the patient –

not just their main complaint, but their entire symptom picture that

includes emotional, mental, behavioral, as well as the physical symptoms of

the entire body. It’s a daunting task. A practitioner who practices classical

homeopathy (the kind of homeopathy I advocate) typically needs at least two

hours for an initial case interview and may spend just as long deciding upon

a remedy. *

*And sometimes it takes a homeopath several tries to find just the right

remedy – the one that homeopaths call the simillimum. This process also

requires patients to engage in their own treatment, because symptoms are

gathered not by machines or by using tests, but through direct communication

between patient and homeopath. *

*Of course, this is not something big pharma, conventional doctors, or

insurance companies would be happy about. No expensive medicines or tests or

equipment needed? No five-minute appointments reimbursed at $300 a shot? A

medical system that requires long appointments, time for case analysis, and

patients who must participate in the healing process? Not very lucrative. *

*How I Broke Out of the Mold and Reliance on Failed Medical Therapies*

*Of course, I used to be a lover of conventional medicine like most people.

Back in the early 1990s, my husband Steve Rubin and I were both computer

researchers in Silicon Valley and followed our doctors’ instructions

obediently, loading our kids up with every recommended vaccine on schedule.

Our allopathic trance began to break in 1994 when our 3-year-old son Max

began to show signs of autism. *

*I first read about homeopathy in the January 1995 issue of Mothering

Magazine, which contained an article about the successful homeopathic

treatment of ADD and other children’s behavioral problems

[16]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn16>.

Steve and I decided to give it a try and found a practitioner in our area.

Within a week we began to see small and subtle improvement in Max –

improvement that became a slow and steady trend. After two years of

treatment, he was testing normally and was released from eligibility for

special education benefits. *

*His speech and language therapist told the county representative that she

had never seen an autistic child recover like Max had, and she fully

credited homeopathy for his recovery. By the time he was eight, nearly all

signs of Max’s autism were gone. Today he is 18, a freshman at a leading

university, completely autism free, and without restrictions of any kind. *

*Needless to say, this experience was both mind-boggling and

life-transforming. I began to study homeopathy myself and ultimately wrote

what became the best-selling patient education book in the USA – Impossible

Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy

[17]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn17>–

a comprehensive introduction to homeopathic history, philosophy,

science,

and experience, sprinkled with dozens first-person cure stories for a

variety of ailments, along with a chapter about Max’s cure. *

*In the end, I left my work in computer science and devoted myself to

letting others know about the healing powers of homeopathy. I got involved

in the successful campaign for health freedom legislation in California too

[18]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn18>.

Steve also got involved and developed the National Vaccine Information

Center’s online interface to the VAERS database

[19]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_edn19>(the

CDC’s public record of vaccine injuries). I guess Max’s healing led us

both to become alternative medicine activists, and we haven’t looked back. *

*Conclusion*

*So why not take a look at homeopathy for yourself? Make it your New Year’s

resolution to find a good classical practitioner and to learn more about

this amazing medical modality. The skeptics manage to create a lot of smoke

in an effort to hide homeopathy from public view. But where there’s smoke,

there’s fire. Find out about how this powerful healing system – a system

that packs a lot of firepower into an infinitesimal punch – can help you and

your family. *

*Resources*

*(1) Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy – www.impossiblecure.com.*

*This website includes: book ordering information; autism help page; free

archive of Amy’s show on AutismOne Radio – There’s Hope with Homeopathy;

Cure

Stories Database; helpful links.*

*(2) National Center for Homeopathy – www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org.*

*Leading open-membership organization for homeopathy in the USA that

organizes the yearly national conference. Membership buys a quarterly

magazine, Homeopathy Today, monthly eNewsetter, online chats with leading

experts, extensive online resources and social network. Website includes

many free resources, including practitioner and resource referrals lists and

flu treatment information. *

*References*

*[1]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref1>Baum,

and Edzard Ernst, “Should

We Maintain an Open Mind about

Homeopathy?<http://download.journals.elsevierhealth.com/pdfs/journals/0002-9343/\

PIIS0002934309005336.pdf>â€

The American Journal of Medicine, Vol. 122, No. 11, pp. 973-974 (November

2009).*

*[2]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref2>Shang,

A. et al. “Are

the Clinical Effects of Homeopathy Placebo Effects? Comparative Study of

Placebo-Controlled Trials of Homeopathy and

Allopathy<http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2805%29\

67177-2/fulltext>,â€

The Lancet, 366, pp. 726-732 (2005).*

*An extensive refutation of the results of this study, including statistical

analyses and evidence of foul-play, can be found

here<http://www.liebertonline.com/toc/acm/11/5>

*

*[3]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref3>Linde,

K. et al. “Are

the Clinical Effects of Homoeopathy Placebo Effects? A Meta-Analysis of

Placebo-Controlled

Trials<http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2805%29678\

78-6/fulltext>,â€

The Lancet, 250, pp. 834-843 (1997).*

*[4]

<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love\

-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref3>Kleijnen,

J. et al. “Clinical Trials of

Homeopathy<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1825800>,â€

British Medical Journal, 302, pp. 316-323 (1991). *

*[5]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref3>s,

J. et al. “Treatment

of Acute Childhood Diarrhea with Homeopathic Medicine: A Randomized Clinical

Trial in

Nicaragua<http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/abstract/93/5/719>,â\

€

Pediatrics, Vol. 83, No. 5, pp. 719-725 (1994).*

*[6]

<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love\

-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref3>Bell,

I.R. et al. “Improved Clinical Status in Fibromyalgia Patients Treated with

Individualized Homeopathic Remedies Versus

Placebo<http://rheumatology.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/keh111v1>,â€\

Rheumatology, 2004b; 43 (5):577-82.*

*[7]

<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love\

-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref3>,

M.A. et al. “Randomised Controlled Trial of Homoeopathy Versus Placebo in

Perennial Allergic Rhinitis with Overview of Four Trial

Series<http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/321/7259/471>,â€

British Medical Journal, 321, pp. 471-476 (2000).*

*[8]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-\

Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref3>For

more trials, see

www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org (under Articles, click Research). *

*[9]

<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love\

-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref9>Rao,

et al. “The Defining Role of Structure (Including Epitaxy) in the

Plausibility of Homeopathy <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17678814>,â€

Homeopathy, 96, pp. 175-182 (2007).*

*[10]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref9>Rao,

et. Al. “Characterization

of the Structure of Ultra Dilute Sols with Remarkable Biological

Properties<http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL & _udi=B6TX9-4PP2CN\

1-1 & _user=10 & _rdoc=1 & _fmt= & _orig=search & _sort=d & _docanchor= & view=c & _searchStrId=\

1143630308 & _rerunOrigin=google & _acct=C000050221 & _version=1 & _urlVersion=0 & _userid\

=10 & md5=67b2d88703af2c8d25f475dc20ec8f8a>,â€

Materials Letters, Vol. 62, Issues 10-11, pp. 1487-1490 (2008).*

*[11]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref11>Davenas,

et al. “Human

Basophil Degranulation Triggered by Very Dilute Antiserum Againt

IgE<http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v333/n6176/abs/333816a0.html>,â€

Nature, Vol. 333, No. 6176, pp. 816-818 (1988).*

*[12]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref12>Aissa,

J. et al. “Transatlantic

Transfer of Digitized Antigen Signal by Telephone

Link<http://www.csicop.org/si/show/e-mailed_antigens_and_iridiumrsquos_iridescen\

ce/>,â€

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 99:S175 (1997).*

*[13]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref13>Brown,

V. and M. Ennis. “Flow-Cytometric

Analysis of Basophil Activation: Inhibition by Histamine at Conventional and

Homeopathic

Concentrations<http://www.springerlink.com/content/fpn1p6uacntl8e8r/>,â€

Inflammation Research, 50, Supplement (2), S47-S48 (2001).*

*[14]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref14>Montagnier,

Luc, et al. “Electromagnetic

Signals Are Produced by Aqueous Nanostructures Derived from Bacterial DNA

Sequences <http://www.springerlink.com/content/0557v31188m3766x/>,â€

Insterdiscip

Sci Comput Life Sci, 1:81-90 (2009). *

*[15]

<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics-Love\

-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref15>

http://homeopathyresource.wordpress.com/2009/01/01/successful-use-of-homeopathy-\

in-over-5-million-people-reported-from-cuba/

*

*[16]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref16>Reichenberg-Ullman,

J. “A

Homeopathic Approach to Behavioral

Problems<http://connection.ebscohost.com/content/article/1027348953.html;jsessio\

nid=FD1D58563C35B8B61BEF7499116C3814.ehctc1>,â€

Mothering, Number 74, pp. 97-101 (1995).*

*[17]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref17>Lansky,

Amy. Impossible

Cure: The Promise of

Homeopathy<http://www.impossiblecure.com/consumer-flyer.pdf>.

R.L. Ranch Press (2003).*

*[18]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref18>

www.californiahealthfreedom.com. *

*[19]<http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/12/22/Why-Skeptics\

-Love-to-Hate-Homeopathy.aspx#_ednref19>

www.medalerts.org.*

*About the Author*

*Amy L. Lansky, PhD was a Silicon Valley computer scientist when her life

was transformed by the miraculous homeopathic cure of her son’s autism. In

April 2003 she published Impossible Cure: The Promise of

Homeopathy<http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0972751408/optimalwellnessc>,

one of the best-selling books on homeopathy in the USA (

www.impossiblecure.com). *

*Amy is an executive board member of the National Center for Homeopathy (

www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org). She speaks and writes internationally

about homeopathy and hosts a monthly radio show on Autism One Radio (

www.autismone.org).*

*Related