Catching a few minutes out of Ananda More’s busy day, I managed to find out more about her soon to be premiered film and the motivation behind making it. Ananda, homeopath and first time filmmaker, has been making Magic Pills, In Search of Evidence, a documentary film about homeopathy for the last 6 years.

The world premiere is on the 3^rd June at the Illuminate Film Festival (tickets available here: http://illuminatefilmfestival.com/magic-pills).

The film reveals aspects of homeopathy some would rather suppress and ignore as inconvenient truths. It shows several projects from around the world, looking at the science and the statistics, the scandals and also hears from individuals with different ways of thinking about the ongoing argument that homeopathy has been a part of for over 200 years.

The trailer for Magic Pills is here.

As a homeopath myself I can be known to rant about the treatment of homeopaths and homeopathy but making a film is a huge step forward into sharing our story with the world. What was the tipping point that inspired you to make it?

It was 7 or 8 years ago, we had a conference here in Toronto, and Dr Gustavo Bracho, from Cuba, presented at the conference. He was presenting a lecture on how the Cuban government had successfully stopped an epidemic using homeopathy. They weren’t homeopaths, they were pharmacists, biologists, and immunologists and the institute was used to creating vaccines for infectious diseases. Because of the circumstances there wasn’t enough time to produce enough vaccine for the population, needing to do something, they created a homeopathic remedy and used gave it to 2.3 million people.  The results were astounding and the epidemic was arrested. Dr. Bracho later explained to me that they were shocked that no medical journal was willing to publish their work, and they gave ridiculous excuses that had nothing to do with the validity of the research.

Had they done that with a conventional vaccine – and according to the WHO vaccines are to be used before an epidemic not during one, because a vaccine can take months to stimulate an immune response, and multiple doses, and it’s often hard logistically to get a vaccine to a population because there needs to be a cold chain to ensure a vaccine is safe and effective. Had they have managed to do something similar with conventional medicine the world would know about it, or at least the medical world would know about it and I felt the story had to get out there and…

And the leap to making the film?

It was going round in my mind I had to make a film about it. This story needed media exposure. I emailed Dr Bracho and said I felt I had to tell the story and he told me I could go and visit anytime and speak with him. I found out later he’s very camera shy, he’s had interviews in the past where things he’s said have been twisted and taken out of context. But he welcomed me, the people at the Finlay institute were all very kind.


What was the most important thing you had to learn to make the film?

I have a bachelors degree in drama so I suppose that helped, I don’t know, part of it was going out and doing it hands on. The first time I went to film I had a friend who was a camera man and filmmaker and editor, he’d recently graduated from film school and really kindly donated his time, I started to learn from him. Then I did some courses, learnt more about documentary filmmaking and started to learn about the equipment, techniques, and the language, even still I’m still learning - it doesn’t stop.

Producing the film is what’s the hardest part, finding the funding, the accounting and things are always changing, navigating distribution, finding people I should be working with and not working with, I ended up producing the whole thing by myself. That has had its challenges - it’s a fairly rare thing to do and also hard to be trusted as a new producer in the world to get funding when they don’t know what your film will be like, or if you even have it in you to finish. Now I’m navigating distribution, marketing, every day I’m learning something new – I feel like I’ve done a degree in filmmaking!

The film takes into account many views of homeopathy, and you interview people with very different opinions to your own - how was it for you interviewing people who had such a polar opposite view to yours about homeopathy?

I guess for me I came into this with a homeopathic mind, in the work we do we’re supposed to listen to a person’s perspective without judgement. I went into this open and willing to learn that homeopathy didn’t work. Is this really placebo and something that we’ve blinded ourselves to? I went into it really open to learning that it’s just a scam, a placebo.

I feel I went in with an open mind, but the things I saw were so awe inspiring that I became convinced that homeopathy does work and I came out a lot more confident in my practice. I am convinced of the efficacy of homeopathy as a practitioner and more able to accept people get better because of the work we’ve done together and accept that the homeopathy itself has made a significant difference for them.

It’s hard as a homeopath, I don’t know if anyone gets 100% results, I certainly don’t and when I’m not getting success on a case I take it very personally. I question my skills and question homeopathy itself. Making this film has stopped me from questioning homeopathy. If I’m not getting the results, maybe I’ll need to look again at the case with fresh eyes, or get a colleague to look at it with me and sometimes need to work harder to understand what’s going on.

Thank you for that. It’s really helpful I think for people to hear that you went in totally questioning it and open minded, prepared to learn that what you’ve studied hard for might all be not true. I think some of the issue, and people talk about it, is how we’ve got a lot invested in what we’re doing, maybe that you’ve studied for years and then at that stage of ‘it can’t not be true now’.

I think a lot about confirmation bias and about how in my life I’ve changed my mind so many times about what I’ve believed and encountered, so I’m always open to changing my mind. I mean, I believed homeopathy was a scam first when I first learned about it and I believed that for many years. When I was first in India and I was in the hospital and injured, all these people kept telling me to go use homeopathy and I laughed at them.

It really wasn’t about defending a position for me and I think I’ve shown that on a lot of levels. I thought I had a very scientific approach, and I think I’m still scientific in my approach. But before I was willing to believe what any expert told me and the studies that had been done, and it took a lot of looking and understanding in terms of how science works and about how biased science can be. Science is just a process and it’s open to interpretation and human interpretation, and we’re biased, we all have our own subjective approach.

Maybe there’s something about having ‘that experience’ yourself.  You talk in the film about how you took your first remedy and literally 15 minutes later you felt better. That experience changes somebody’s way of looking at the world. Lots of people haven’t have that experience, they’ve not tried homeopathy or witnessed that, in which case it does sound like a load of rubbish…

It’s easy to say to someone ‘Oh, your experience is placebo’, ‘it’s consultative effect’, ‘it’s just a coincidence’, but I think things change once you’ve gone through that experience, you’re more willing to consider that you were wrong about your beliefs.

So maybe we’re stuck in that place and maybe it’s about doing it enough times sometimes…

Maybe, but also… so my question was 'are we as homeopaths stuck in that place too?', and I was trying to be open. I really was questioning that, I wanted to know ‘am I perceiving everything differently?’, ‘am I approaching every study that’s negative with a certain perspective for a reason or are they really fraudulent and are these complaints that we have really genuine?’

We talked about the different mind-sets of people with their views of homeopathy and homeopaths. One thing I find interesting is how you use in the film different projects using quite different systems of homeopathy. Within the homeopathic community we can get a bit ‘you’re using that, I’m using that’. What are your thoughts about everything sitting alongside each other?

I think we, we haven’t had the time, the money, the research, to really learn everything there is to learn about homeopathy, and I think we’re just sitting on the tip of an iceberg, so I think everyone’s systems are very legitimate and I think we can learn a lot from each other and I think if we start getting dogmatic about how we practice or about how other people shouldn’t practice, we do everyone a disservice.

We do disservice to our patients because we’re not willing to look at other techniques that might help in a situation where we might be stuck, we do a disservice to our community, because we become fragmented – that’s what’s led to the state of homeopathy today. The Flexner report was successful in shutting down homeopathy because homeopaths weren’t organised and today homeopaths should…

…there isn’t enough unity and working together to really become a force.

If I could give you one wish to do with homeopathy what would it be?

My biggest goal with the film is to broaden the dialogue, and have I think we’ve had the media against us and a lot of the scientific world, not all the scientific world, I think a lot of the scientific world is open to what we’re doing and are sceptical in a genuine way, wanting to learn. But because I think there’s so much at stake, not just the pharmaceutical and the medical industry but – how we understand and perceive the world and how it works, it’s been hard to accept us. I think what I want, what I wish is for a more open minded genuinely sceptical society that is willing to invest in research and to openly to look at evidence and bring homeopathy in to the healthcare systems around the world.

What I feel that we’re suffering from right now is the power of what I’m calling the pseudo sceptics, because I don’t think they’re genuinely sceptical – they’ve decided that homeopathy can’t work and they’re going to do everything in their power to demonstrate that, even if it means not presenting the whole story, and they’re doing everything in their power to stop more research from happening as well – so why are they so scared of research? – they call it a waste of money, but most of the research being done in homeopathy is coming from dedicated funds to research in alternative medicine.

My question is, why are they scared of research? – what are they scared that we’re going to learn and find out? – is it going to flip their worlds around too much, is it like finding out the world is round?

You need to be able to say, ‘OK I believe this and what’s the evidence for and against my belief? Have I really understood what I experienced in my own life', then you can shape an educated vision. I learned from Irene Schlingensiepen-Brysch a homeopath in Germany, we spoke a about scientific philosophy and this notion that you can never know the truth you can only approximate truth – and all we can do is try to do studies that try to falsify our theories and our hypothesis and find out what is false, but that finding out what is true, maybe that’s impossible.
There’s so much we don’t know and scientific opinion changes constantly and we’re always discovering new things that were right in front of our faces and we didn’t see, like, for example a lymphatic system in the brain, a drainage system for the brain – people always wondered how wastes were removed from our brain and they thought they didn’t get removed then just last year they discovered there is a drainage system for the brain. So, we’re always learning new things, always observing new things and we’re always missing things that are right in front of us because we don’t know how to see them yet.

For me the biggest thing is that science is a process, it isn’t an answer, it isn’t absolute knowledge, it’s a process of learning and observing and it’s not absolute.

I know there are lots of interested people asking me (so there must be many more wondering), when can we expect to see the film at screenings outside Canada and the United States?

It’s a bit of a process and all in the works and a there’s a hierarchy in how the film is released. The film festivals want to have the premieres and if it’s available elsewhere the film festivals are less inclined to show it. The reason I really wanted to go the film festival route, which isn’t a necessary route, but I felt it will legitimise the film and bring a broader audience to the film.

So, we have to be patient?

Yes, we have to be patient. The other thing is, I have wonderful people helping me, but I’m the main promoter on this and I haven’t been able to prepare all the marketing and get myself ready for the premiere – and at the same time be able to get my whole community screening program in place. The community screening approach is a very common way to distribute films that have the intention of having a social impact, as the lingo calls it, impact distribution. We want to make the film available for community screenings, and that means that anyone that wants to hold a screening can reach out to us, they do have to pay a licence for the screening but it’s pretty nominal and the idea is with that we send them a Blu Ray or a DCP.

They can show the film, they can show in theatres, in communities, they can show it in their living room, the idea also is to create the discussion, and try to figure out ways to create more change and broaden the perspective of the media, maybe lobby government, help to work towards changing policies around homeopathy and healthcare policies and towards alternative medicine in general.

I’m still trying to figure out what that’s going to look like, what the action plan is going to be and how everyone can contribute on that level as well. And then the film, once someone buys the licence, they can then turn around and charge tickets for people to come and see the film, hopefully use it as a fundraiser or cover all the expenses of showing the film.

OK, then we stay tuned and sign up to the newsletter?

Yes, and then that way you’ll find out when there’s a screening near you or how you can host a screening. We’re going to hopefully get it on video on demand platforms. Our goal not to reach a homeopathic audience –but to reach a broader audience of people. We need the homeopaths and we need the supporters of homeopathy to help propel the film to that audience as well. Sign up to the newsletter here.

Do you need funding to be doing all this?

It’s hard once the film is done – and we did it on a really really small budget, a lot of it came from my own pocket and I put 6 years of my life into it – but now there’s money required for developing the website, developing the materials, marketing is very expensive. Everything takes another bunch of money to get out there, the hope is that through licencing fees, more donations and hopefully some grants, we can put some money towards all of that that needs to be done. I wish I could give it all out of it out for free, but the expenses keep going up and up – it’s been very hard to raise money for this film outside of private investors – grant and funding bodies are very scared of films like this.

There’s a donate button on the website and it would be so appreciated if people would like to do so. As much as we all want to make everything available and be altruistic there’s expenses related to everything, like just having a DCP made is close to $1000. And unfortunately filmmaking and everything that goes around it is an expensive endeavour. Those of us producers who are making documentary films are dependent on the good will of everyone around us to make it happen.

Lastly, you cover some really hot topics in the film. In the UK we’re not allowed to talk about anything that might be able to treat cancer, we’ve just had Vaxxed here in the UK, and the vaccine discussion is heating up. What’s your feeling, I mean, I think they’re amazing stories to get out to the world, I feel like we’ve been suppressed for so long, the Cancer Act was in 1939 so since then we’ve been not allowed to say that anything can be helpful in dealing with cancer apart from maybe supporting it and you kind of go straight in there for the jugular – how is that?

I guess I put myself in a tricky situation, where some homeopathic organisations are scared to support the film, because it’s “going there”. They’re scared of the sceptic attack against them, of being associated with something that’s presenting what’s going on in the world. I mean, it’s not me saying I can treat cancer, it’s me showing what is possible in India, where homeopaths who are allowed to treat cancer, and are considered full-fledged members of the medical community, and receive an excellent medical education, I’m showing what they’re doing and what they’ve been capable of and the results they’ve been having, and so I don’t think I’m making any untoward claims of what I can do as a homeopath.

They’ve created a culture of fear around us being able to talk about what’s going on in the world and about us being able to show what is really possible. We always act out of fear on all of those things and I’m trying to break that here.

Thank you Ananda. It’s been a pleasure to chat and I can’t wait to hear more about the premiere and progress of Magic Pills, In Search of Evidence.

Em Colley MARH RHom BSc(Hons)

www.emmacolley.co.uk

 

 

I had the honour of attending the Premier of Just One Drop, directed by Laurel Chiten, who had flown in from America to attend, present and discuss this cutting edge film about homeopathy. Organised by 4H, Mani Norland, Principle of The School of Homeopathy and Cristal Sumner, Chief Executive of the British Homeopathic Association introduced the event and had both worked hard with others to ensure its high quality, on every level.  The ‘VIP’ audience had Royal, political and medical representation, the latter including homeopaths, teachers and medical doctors. The venue was a cinema in Soho, London, which hosts many innovative, pioneering films.

Just One Drop did not disappoint.  It is ground breaking in its content. Several homeopathic success stories are featured, including the poignant tale of a family dealing with a child with autism. Conventional medicine failed them as there was no improvement in his condition. They turned to homeopathy and saw a steady, significant, very moving improvement, which continues. Another case documents the journey of a man with MRSA and his totally inspiring healing journey. It was highlighted that homeopathy is one of the main systems of medicine in India as discussed by Divya Chhabra, one of India’s most influential and reputable doctors; the point being made here, is that it should be recognised as such throughout the world.  The mother of the autistic child beautifully stated that should homeopathy be more accepted and understood ‘it would change the world and medicine as we know it.’

The film goes on to introduce famous homeopaths, including Hahnemann himself and modern day ‘movers and shakers’ and teachers such as Jeremy Sherr, the Queens physician Dr Peter Fisher, Miranda Castro, Dr Massimo Mangliavori, Dr Roger Morrison, Hilery Dorrian and Francis Treuherz. The list here is long; many others were also interviewed and mentioned, all equally eminent! What was apparent amongst this diverse group of highly qualified people, was their total conviction in homeopathy as a valuable system of medicine. This is based on years of experience, and positive results and frankly, in the changing of peoples lives.  It is also worth pointing out that in the few here I have named, over 50 % are also medical doctors with stringent, allopathic training; what is clearly demonstrated, is that they have chosen to recognise and integrate homeopathy into their practice, or in many cases, use it exclusively as their preferred method of treatment. Why would they do this when they are highly qualified in both systems of medicine, should homeopathy not work? Food for thought for those that have difficulty in understanding the complexities involved in homeopathic medicine; but this is possibly all you need to know. The vitriol and the vindictiveness of the sceptics discussed throughout is misplaced, ignorant and without foundation, given the evidence set out so magnificently and clearly in this film.

In keeping with the theme of negative representation and distortion of evidence, Rachel Roberts, CEO of Homeopathy Research Institute, gives an in depth analysis of the Australian report, which stated that no health conditions could be helped by homeopathy.  This was in fact a gross misrepresentation as Rachel explains in the video linked here, the conclusion being that there was misfeasance, and it has been asked that the report to be rescinded.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvF8KxbCXzA

Lynn McTaggart, editor of ‘What Doctors Don’t Tell You (who I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with) also alludes to the ‘suppressed evidence’ in this report. You can read more of her findings in her article ‘Of Dirty Medicine and Double standards’ accessible at this link: http://lynnemctaggart.com/of-dirty-medicine-and-double-standards/

David Tredinnick MP, stood up and wholeheartedly and unreservedly stated his conviction in homeopathy, asserting that ‘if we can only get a few trials accepted, the dam will burst.’  This together with Dr Peter Fishers erudite insights added gravitas to an already distinguished, historic event.

Homeopathy will always be controversial due to the fact its roots are embedded in a fundamentally different paradigm which is complex, and requires intense study in order understand its philosophy, practice and mechanism of action. Many people will continue to be sceptical in their approach and will go to any lengths (including deceit and fraudulent behaviour) to deny its credibility, as demonstrated in the reports above. The intention of the film is ‘to pave the way for integration between conventional medicine and homeopathy.’  In my opinion, ‘Just One Drop’ should be shown widely in every community, to educate those who are not familiar with the depth of the healing possible. It is positively inspirational and deserves great acclaim and worldwide recognition. And one thing is for sure, millions of people, despite the detractors, continue to use it. My conclusion?  Homeopathy is clearly here to stay and flourish, even more so once the contents of this film have been absorbed and distributed throughout the world. So please share; it is important to inform and educate at the highest level, with the real facts.

Should you wish to see the film and host a screening, please follow the link here : http://www.justonedropfilm.com/host-a-screening/

Gill Graham

www.consultanthomeopath.com



 

 

 

As you are possibly aware, The World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated this week (14th-20th November 2016) to making people aware of the global problem of antibiotic resistance. There have been many articles written to highlight this but hopefully the following information will summarise concisely and clearly the problem and present viable solutions.

The key facts, are as follows:

• Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.


• Antibiotic resistance can affect anyone, of any age, in any country.


• Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process.


• A growing number of infections – such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and gonorrhoea – are becoming harder to treat as the antibiotics used to treat them become less effective.


• Antibiotic resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.

(World Health Organisation, October 2016)

Different approaches required

Given these facts, we need to seek suitable, practical and effective alternatives, as the situation is escalating out of control. Lifestyle changes are also a very important and integral part of this. It must be made clear that most homeopaths accept that there is a time and a place for antibiotics. In certain difficult, severe bacterial infections, they are potentially life saving. However, this being said, there is undeniable over prescription, which has to be addressed, for the sake of world health. It is important that everyone is aware of this and begins to take their own health management seriously and to stop demanding medications for minor ailments that are self limiting. Frequent antibiotic usage is potentially dangerous to one’s health and is a huge cause of iatrogenic disease. Take with caution and awareness of this proven fact.

Ban Ki Moon, the UN General Secretary, at the United Nations conference on drug resistant bacteria in September 2016, stated:‘ It is estimated that more than 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant infections, though it could be much higher because there is no global system to monitor these deaths. And there has been trouble tracking those deaths in places where they are monitored, like in the US, where tens of thousands of deaths have not been attributed to superbugs.’ He went on to say: ‘If we fail to address this problem quickly and comprehensively, antimicrobial resistance will make providing high-quality universal healthcare coverage more difficult if not impossible antimicrobial resistance is a “fundamental threat” to global health and safety. (UN: 2016)

Plan of action

It is important to recognise that less is more in terms of antibiotic usage, not only for one’s own health in the short term, but to avoid long term resistance. Save them, wherever possible, for those times of acute, dangerous infection. This could be one of the most valuable things you do for your own health. Check with your health care provider that the use of antibiotics in your case is essential, or if monitored, is the complaint likely to go away in of its own accord with good self care? Common viral infections that do not benefit from antibiotic treatment include: (Mayo Clinic: 2012)

• Colds


• Flu (influenza


• Bronchitis


• Most coughs


• Most sore throats


• Some ear infections


• Some sinus infection


• Stomach flu (viral gastroenteritis)

1. Try and avoid illness in the first place by eating a well balanced diet suitable to you, (taking into account food sensitivities and intolerances.) Exercise and get adequate sleep, supplement with vitamins and minerals and probiotics where necessary. Reduce stress and employ strategies to make this easier (meditation, yoga etc.)


2. Recognise your health is your responsibility. Prevent disease as much as possible optimising the above approach.


3. Understand that there are side effects with antibiotics, which can seriously affect your health. Yeast infections, both local and systemic are often the result of indiscriminate antibacterial onslaught which eliminates healthy as well as unhealthy gut flora; this can result in even more prescriptions, creating a cycle which is difficult to break. Avoid wherever possible.


4. Remove ‘Maintaining Causes (see earlier blog.) In other words, as much as possible remove those things that you know make you sick. eg: if you are a smoker with a hacking cough, stop smoking.


5. Research different approaches should treatment be required, starting with homeopathy, which has been wonderfully beneficial to many. Cases and research links given below.

The Homeopathic Approach/A Solution?

Much of healing witnessed using homeopathy is empirical, in other words, the patient gets better after a consultation and this is easily observed. No formal Randomised Control Trials are needed; it simply works; there are numerous examples of this happening in a variety of conditions on this website here. If formal RCT’s are required to prove or convince one of its efficacy, several cases of success with using homeopathy are included in a prospective, pragmatic study of 499 patients, over 6-months looking at homeopathy as an alternative to antibiotics, by Professor Dr. Michael Frass, Medical University of Vienna, The study can be found here:

http://www.cam-europe.eu/dms/files/CAMIG_April_2014/CAMIG_April_2014_Frass.pdf

Animals, both domestic and farm, often respond beautifully to homeopathic treatment and destroy any preconceived, limited, judgmental idea that homeopathy is placebo.  This recent triple blind randomised control trial with piglets is evidence of healing, without the need for antibiotics:

Prevention of diarrhoea in piglets

A high-quality placebo controlled trials identified by Mathie & Clausen was carried out by Wageningen Univsersity in the Netherlands:


‘In this triple blind RCT, 52 pregnant sows were treated with either Coli 30K (a homeopathic medicine made from E. coli bacteria) or placebo. The sows gave birth to 525 piglets and those in the group treated with Coli 30K had 6 times less diarrhoea than the piglets in the placebo group. This result was statistically significant (p < 0.0001) meaning that it is extremely unlikely to be a false positive result due to chance alone.The homeopathic medicine used in this study was made from E. colibacteria, alternately diluted and succussed to produce an ultra high dilution of 10^-60, meaning that it should no longer contain any molecules of the original bacteria.

The particular technique used, where the medicine used is made from the same substance which causes the disease being treated, is a sub-type of homeopathy called ‘isopathy’. As the only existing way of preventing this disease in livestock is by using antibiotics, this study should be repeated to confirm its findings, as it may provide an effective way to help reduce overuse of antibiotics. (Veterinary Research: 2015.)

Another trial concerning farm animals (cows) having successful outcomes hails from India: ‘The comparative efficacy of homeopathic and allopathic systems of medicine in the management of Indian dairy cows.’ It  can be found here, http://www.hawl.co.uk/fileadmin/HAWL/user_upload/articles/comparativeefficacyindiastudy.pdf  the conclusion being : ‘We conclude that the combination of phytolacca, calc flour, silica, belladonna, arnica and ipecac is effective and cost effective in the management of fibrotic and non fibrotic mastitis in lactating dairy cows compared to antibiotics.’ (Indian Veterinary Research Institute, 2004)

Thus, it is clear that farm animals also respond well to homeopathic treatment and a return to health without resorting to antibiotic treatment.  It is also hugely cost effective. Should you require more research data, in every sphere concerning homeopathy, this is a wonderful resource: http://hpathy.com/scientific-research/database-of-positive-homeopathy-research-studies/

We are an over medicated society, one which has become reliant on doctors to cure our every aliment.  It is time to recapture a sense of responsibility for ourselves and our families that does not include taking medication for minor conditions, rather to look after our own health first, following the above advice. We owe it to ourselves, our children and our families to be as well informed as possible. Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, was right and prophetic in his prediction: ‘If the disease is treated with violent allopathic drugs, other graver, more life threatening ailments are created in its place.’ Aphorism 37 (a), The Organon of Medicine.

As ever, should you wish to consult a homeopath: www.findahomeopath.org.

Gill Graham.  BSc, (Hons) BA, (Hons) RS Hom, DHMH



 

References

Data Base of positive reseach studies (2015) available at: : http://hpathy.com/scientific-research/database-of-positive-homeopathy-research-studies/

Mayo Clinic (2014) Antibiotics misuse puts you and others at risk: available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/antibiotics/art-20045720

Homeopathy as an alternative to antibiotics (2014) Professor Dr. Michael FRASS Medical University of Vienna, Department Medicine, Doctor´s Association for Classical Homeopath.  Available at:

http://www.cam-europe.eu/dms/files/CAMIG_April_2014/CAMIG_April_2014_Frass.pdf

The comparative efficacy of homeopathic and allopathic systems of medicine in the management of Indian dairy cows.’ (2004) Available at: http://www.hawl.co.uk/fileadmin/HAWL/user_upload/articles/comparativeefficacyindiastudy.pdf

UN meeting tackles the 'fundamental threat' of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.(2016) Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/20/un-declaration-antibiotic-drug-resistance?CMP=share_btn_tw

Veterinary research (2015) available at: https://www.hri-research.org/resources/homeopathy-the-debate/essentialevidence/veterinary-research/

World Health Organisation, October 2016.Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/antibiotic-resistance/en/)

 

 

 

 

Concluding our series of blog posts around the principles of homeopathy, as developed by Dr Samuel Hahnemann, UK homeopath Gill Graham talks about the fourth principle of homeopathy and shares facts around the worldwide use of homeopathy:

Homeopathic remedies are made from natural substances such as plants, minerals, animals but the process of their manufacture is unlike that of any other medicine. A remedy made from a specific substance is put through a process of serial dilution, the end result being a very dilute extract is made.  Each step of this dilution involves the substance being shaken with force; homeopathically this is referred to as ‘succussion.’ It has been found that by succusing in this way the remedy becomes active and dynamic (generally latent in its crude form) and the degree of the succussion produces a final potency of a remedy which will be given in accordance with the presenting vital force.

Fundamentally, potentization means that a substance has been prepared according to homeopathic philosophy and homeopathic pharmaceutical standards, through serial dilution and succussion.

To conclude.

To show the extent of its popularity, even in the wake of fanatical sceptisism by institutions of often dubious repute, over 200 million people worldwide use homeopathy on a regular basis, which undoubtedly is testament to its effectiveness. It is included in the national health systems of a number of countries e.g. Brazil, Chile, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Switzerland, United Kingdom. 10% of people in the UK use homeopathy, an estimated 6 million people. There are over 400 doctors in the UK that use homeopathy, regulated by the Faculty of Homeopathy and promoted by the British Homeopathic Association. In the NHS approx. 40,000 homeopathic prescriptions are provided to patients per year by doctors working within the homeopathic service. There were originally 5 homeopathic hospitals (Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Bristol and Tunbridge Wells). Tunbridge Wells closed in 2007 and in 2010, the Royal London Homeopathic Hospital changed its name to the Royal London Hospital for Integrated Medicine. There are more than 1,500 professional homeopaths (non-medically qualified homeopaths) in the UK, regulated by the Society of Homeopaths (65%), Alliance of Registered Homeopaths and Homeopathic Medical Association. They largely operate in private practice outside the NHS. In addition, there are many vets that use homeopathy as an integral part of their practice. Randomised controlled trials, clinical outcome studies and observational studies are ongoing via The Clinical Outcome Research in Homeopathy data base (CORE-hom).  It currently comprises over 1015 clinical trials in homeopathy and is updated regularly as new trials are completed. (Source: Homeopathy Research Institute.) In addition, there are many other research projects continuously being performed throughout the world by a variety of eminent institutions.

The objective of summarizing the underlying homeopathic principles was to help and clarify philosophy and practice, whilst also discussing the extent of its popularity as a system of medicine world wide. Even though homeopathy is over 200 years old, confusion still exists as to its foundations, its underlying philosophy, and its role in health care; hopefully any grey areas are now clearer. Please feel free to share if you think others would benefit.

Gill Graham, BSc (Hons), BA (Hons) RS Hom, DHMHS

As ever, professional homeopathic advice should be sought: http://www.findahomeopath.org/Search/Postcode



References

Homeopathy Research Institute

Available at:

https://www.hri-research.org/resources/homeopathy-the-debate/essentialevidence/use-of-homeopathy-across-the-world/ [Accessed: 20 May 2016]

Healing according to Hahnemann should be done ‘rapidly, gently and permanently; to remove and destroy the whole disease in the shortest, surest, least harmful way, according to clearly comprehensible principles.’ (Aphorism 2)

The minimum dose of a remedy, (one of these principles) simply means the minutest amount of a substance to nudge the vital force in the direction of healing. Too high a potency of a remedy or unnecessary repetition can result in unwelcome aggravations.  In homeopathy, less is more. The body has a way of signaling through the manifestation of symptoms, when a higher potency is needed or more frequent repetition of a remedy.

If there was one ‘principle’ in homeopathy that people had a problem with understanding, it would be the infinitesimal doses of a remedy given; in other words, the perception is, there is nothing in a remedy. This has been said to me on many occasions. However, it remains the case that empirically and in thousands of studies, both observational and through clinical outcome and randomized controlled trials, homeopathy has been seen to heal many people worldwide.

For those who cannot come to terms with the fact that homeopathic remedies do not contain any active material because of the molecular limits of Avogrado’s number, the current scientific evidence suggests that homeopathic remedies are nanoparticles and not ordinary conventional bulks of source material. Given this, intense scientific consideration must be seriously focused now on how nano particles can act in the body to stimulate a healing process. Much of this research is headed by Dr Iris Bell (MD, Ph.D) from the University of Arizona College of Medicine, and for those who would like more detailed information, please read and study the research: (Bell, I, Koithan, M, 2012. ) Research in this area is ongoing and is constantly being updated, by various eminent scientists and homeopaths throughout the world.



 

 

Bell IR and Koithan M. (2012) A model for homeopathic remedy effects: low dose nanoparticles, allostatic cross-adaptation, and time-dependent sensitization in a complex adaptive system. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2012; 12(1):191(epub) Available at:

http://bmccomplementalternmed.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1472-6882-12-191  [Accessed: 20^th May 2016]