There Is Plenty of Scientific Evidence for Homeopathy
Sometimes it sure gets frustrating! Almost every day I hear the same old refrains:
* "There is no evidence that homeopathy works."
* "Homeopathy is just the placebo effect."
* "Homeopathy is dangerous."
Here is something that a quackbuster "reviewer" recently wrote on Amazon: "Homeopathy may work for cats and dogs, but is dangerous to be used on children, and at best is no more than the placebo effect." Let's parse this
incredibly inconsistent statement!
* "Homeopathy may work for cats and dogs." Then how is it the placebo effect?
* "At best it is no more than the placebo effect." Then why is it dangerous for children?
The truth is, if people (and especially the media) even bothered to investigate:
* There is plenty of scientific clinical evidence that homeopathy works -- for humans, animals, and even in vitro (on cells in the lab). A good place to start reading is the web site of the National Center for Homeopathy. Their
home page often includes links to the most recent studies at the bottom, and they also offer a
page with excellent research pointers. Another informative research-based site that I have recently discovered is
www.audesapere.in.
* There is plenty of scientific evidence that the effects of homeopathy far exceed the placebo effect and in fact, often
surpass those of accepted conventional "allopathic" treatments.
* There are an increasing number of basic science studies in fields such as material science that show that ultradilutions carry measurable properties distinct to each remedy, despite the fact that no molecule of the original
substance remains. Even a Nobel Prize winner in medicine (Luc Montagnier -- who won in 2008 for discovering the link between HIV and AIDS)
has confirmed these results about ultradilutions and is studying them.
* The safety record of homeopathy is amazing. As far as I know, there have been no deaths or even severe injury due to a homeopathic remedy. (Note that when the media attribute some ill effect to "homeopathy", it is usually a herbal
treatment they are talking about, not a homeopathic remedy.) Compare this safety record to misguided allopathic treatments and medical mistakes -- now considered by many to be
the leading cause of death in the United States, and at least the third leading cause of death.
The Swiss government, known for their neutrality in general, has recently conducted a fair investigation of homeopathy and
has concluded that it not only merits inclusion in their national health program but will help improve the health of their citizenry, at lowered cost too!
The sad truth is that most quackbusters never bother to investigate the truth about homeopathy. For example, in a
recent interview, Edzard
Ernst, a leading critic of homeopathy in the UK and a supposed expert on alternative medicine and homeopathy, admitted that he never completed any courses on homeopathy!
This is all too common. The primary critics of homeopathy are usually woefully ignorant of homeopathy, admit that they never read the scientific studies that support it, and simply repeat the old refrains they love ("it is impossible
and therefore I will not check it out"). Those who stage "overdoses" of homeopathic remedies (to demonstrate that they are just "sugar pills") do not understand that taking one pill of a remedy is usually the same as taking 1000 pills
at the same time; it is all about repetition, not amount. Many leading quackbusters are known crooks and charlatans.
In general, however, most critics of homeopathy are too lazy or too psychologically intimidated to learn the truth -- quite understandable given that accepting homeopathy and homeopathic philosophy would revolutionize their world
view, invalidate many of their long held beliefs, and drive home the fact that their beloved drugs are often more harmful than helpful.
Luckily, true scientists like Montagnier and others are brave enough and honest enough to explore the truth when they find it, no matter how unpopular and threatening to the status quo it is.
Here are a few more recent studies to check out:
