Impossible Cure Newsletter -- March 2012

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:

• A new clinical study on the use of homeopathy for managing hemophilia.
  
• An in-vitro study -- Analysis of the capability of ultra-highly diluted glucose to increase glucose uptake in arsenite-stressed bacteria Escherichia coli.
  
• In a controlled study, EEG's show that people DO respond in characteristic ways to specific remedies and potencies -- even when given olfactory doses.
  
• A new meta-analysis on homeopathy for allergic and rheumatic diseases.
  

Joint National Conference in DC -- April 20-22, 2012

Speaking of scientific proof of homeopathy, the place to be this April is Washington D.C., at this year's national homeopathy conference sponsored by the National Center for Homeopathy. This year's focus is on scientific studies, with amazing speakers, including Dr. Luc Montagnier himself, Iris Bell, MD, PhD (the leading clinical researcher of homeopathy in the USA), and Dana Ullman (known for his excellent articles that feature the most recent studies and his ever-expanding eBook about scientific proof of homeopathy). Many well-known practitioner/teachers will be presenting as well, including Rajan Sankaran, Andre Saine, Amy Rothenberg, Jeremy Sherr, and others. Introductory lectures are also offered by luminaries like Miranda Castro. To find out more details, visit the NCH site.

Spring Is Coming!!