{"id":5391,"date":"2025-09-05T11:03:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:03:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/?p=5391"},"modified":"2025-09-05T11:03:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T15:03:53","slug":"does-homeopathy-work-the-science-the-remedies-and-dosages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/valuecare.wpgamma.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/05\/does-homeopathy-work-the-science-the-remedies-and-dosages\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Homeopathy Work? The Science, the Remedies and Dosages"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Does<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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NOTE:<\/strong>\u00a0This is a long, information-packed article on Does Homeopathy Work? The Science, the Remedies and Dosages. To make it easier to navigate, use the Table of Contents button to your right!<\/em><\/p>\n

Homeopathy is an alternative system of medicine that was founded in the early 19th century by a German physician, Dr. Hahnemann. It had its greatest popularity in the late 19th century here in the United States, when 15 percent of the doctors in this country were homeopaths.<\/p>\n

However, with the advent of modern medicine, Homeopathy began to look old and stodgy and its popularity took a nosedive. However, since 1980 Homeopathy has seen a resurgence of interest in the United States and the U.K.; homeopathic books can be found in many bookstores and homeopathic physicians in most towns and cities.<\/p>\n

How Does Homeopathy Work?<\/h2>\n

The Principles of Homeopathy<\/h3>\n

Classical Homeopathy rests on three principles: the law of similars, the single medicine, and the minimum dose. The law of similars states that a disease is cured by a medicine which creates symptoms similar to those the patient is experiencing in a healthy person. Hence an important part of the prescription of a Homeopathic Medicine is a lengthy interview to determine all the symptoms the patient is experiencing. The homeopathic physician then determines which medicine best matches the symptoms that the patient is experiencing and prescribes it.<\/ins><\/ins><\/ins><\/p>\n

The principle of the single remedy states that a single medicine should cover all the symptoms the patient is experiencing: mental, emotional, and physical. A classical homeopath would not prescribe one medicine for a headache and another for an upset stomach, he or she would find a single medicine that covered both symptoms.<\/p>\n

The principle of the minimum dose has two parts. First the homeopathic physician only prescribes a small number of doses of the Homeopathic Medicine and waits to see what effect the medicine has. Second, the medicine is given in an infinitesimal dose. Homeopaths have discovered that the effect of homeopathic medicines is strengthened upon successive dilutions as long as the medicine is violently shaken between each dilution. Medicines are typically used in very high dilutions such as 30C (1 part in 10\u207b\u2076\u2070) or 200C (1 part in 10\u207b\u2074\u2070\u2070).<\/p>\n

Dilution<\/h3>\n

Many of the Homeopathic Remedies are so diluted that according to the known laws of physics and chemistry, they couldn\u2019t possibly have any effect.Once you get beyond a certain point-24x or 12c -there is probably not even one single molecule of the original active substance remaining.<\/p>\n

This fact is often pointed to by critics of Homeopathy as they dismiss the effect of Homeopathy as merely due to placebo effect. And yet, according to homeopathic doctrine and experience, the more diluted the solution, the more potent it is. Homeopaths contend that the remedies work and they see no reason to stop using them simply because we do not understand how they work.<\/p>\n

They often argue that pharmacologists cannot explain exactly how most conventional drugs work. For example, even aspirin is not fully understood in terms of how it works, but physicians have no difficulty in recommending its use. Over the years several theories have been proposed to explain the action on homeopathic potentization.<\/p>\n

Hormesis<\/h3>\n

The effects of microdoses have been known for a long time, and there are a number of examples that support the idea that very diluted concentrations of a substance will have a measurable and sometimes profound effect. Scientists call this phenomenon: hormesis.<\/p>\n

Scientists from Michigan State University have shown how hormesis work in nature. They used microdoses of a fertilizer to stimulate crop production. In a dose equivalent to a 9x dilution, the fertilizer increased tomato yield by 30 percent, carrots were 21 percent bigger, and corn yield increased by 25 percent.<\/p>\n

Our own bodies secrete minute amounts of hormones that have powerful effects. Thyroid hormone is present in our blood at only 1 part per 10 billion-yet this is enough to regulate the rate of our entire metabolism. Many animal studies show that low doses of some substances elicit a beneficial response while high doses are harmful. This phenomenon has been documented to occur with radiation, antibiotics, and heavy metals.<\/p>\n

Pheromones<\/h3>\n

Pheromones are powerful aromatic hormone-like substances that creatures secrete to attract one another. One molecule of moth pheromone is so potent, it will attract another moth from miles away and trigger a cascade of physical reactions. Though well documented, the exact mechanism for pheromones remains unknown.<\/p>\n

Homeopathic Remedies Work in Spiritual\/Energy Plane and Not in Physical Plane<\/h3>\n

Homeopathic Remedies are believed to work in the spiritual plane as opposed to the physical plane as we are used to think and measure. Hahnemann believed that dilution and succussion released a spirit- like power that worked on the spiritual level of the vital force in humans. We are familiar with the formerly invisible, immeasurable, unknowable energy forms, such as electromagnetic radiation and subatomic particles. Magnets exerted their force long before science could explain the mechanism. Physicists are still trying to explain gravity and the nature of matter, still discovering phenomena such as the \u201cstrong force\u201d and the \u201cweak force.\u201d<\/p>\n

Homeopathy is an energy medicine, as are acupuncture and therapeutic touch. Homeopaths believe that although the physical molecules of the original substance may be gone, dilution and succussion leaves something behind-an imprint of its essence, or its energy pattern-that gives it a kind of healing charge.<\/p>\n

Potentization does not occur if you simply dilute the substance, even if you dilute it repeatedly. Nor does it occur if you only shake the substance vigorously. There is something about each process that builds sequentially upon the other, causing the power to be retained and progressively intensified.<\/p>\n

But how does the information in such a minute amount of substance get transferred to the body? Some theorists suggest the repeated succussion creates an electrochemical pattern that is stored in the water carrier and then spreads like liquid crystallization through the body\u2019s own water; others say the dilution process triggers an electromagnetic imprinting that directly affects the electro- magnetic field of the body. This concept is used in other therapies also.<\/p>\n

For example, Ayurveda suggests taking water that has been potentizated by precious metals such as gold. The water is believed to possess curative power as a result of coming in contact with gold and other Gemstones although no molecular transfer takes place. The healing power of Crystals and magnets are believed to come from their effect on the energy pattern or vibration frequency. So, the suggestion of the Homeopathic Remedies as working on the energy plane may not be as far fetched as we may think at the first glance.<\/p>\n

Homeopathic Remedies Activate the Vital Force<\/h3>\n

Homeopaths believe that it is the energy or \u201cvibrational pattern\u201dof the remedy, rather than the chemical content, that stimulates the healing by activating what Hahnemann called the Vital force. Vital force is the healing power or energy that exists within us all. It is called by the name Chi by Chinese and Prana by Indian Ayurveda. The vital force fuels the mind, body, emotions and mind. It keeps us healthy and balanced.<\/p>\n

When the balance of the vital force is disturbed by factors such as stress, pollution, improper diet and lack of exercise, it becomes weakened resulting in the person getting sick. (For a description of the Chinese philosophy of the vital force, please refer to the section on Acupuncture. For the Ayurvedic concept of the vital force, please read the corresponding section of the Ayurveda.)<\/p>\n

Scientists who accept the potential benefits of homeopathic theory suggest several theories to explain how highly diluted homeopathic medicines may act. Using recent developments in quantum physics, they have proposed that electromagnetic energy in the medicines may interact with the body on some level.<\/p>\n

Researchers in physical chemistry have proposed the \u201cmemory of water\u201d theory, whereby the structure of the water-alcohol solution is altered by the medicine during the process of dilution and retains this structure even after none of the actual substance remains.<\/p>\n

Scientific Evidence for Homeopathic Medicine<\/h2>\n

It is the use of infinitesimal doses that is the most controversial aspect of Homeopathy and the reason why most conventional doctors claim it functions only as a placebo. However, a number of controlled studies have been performed which show the effectiveness of Homeopathic Medicine in treating a number of diseases.<\/p>\n

The best summary of this research is a study published in the British Medical Journal. The authors of this study are not homeopaths but medical school professors asked by the Dutch government to review the existing research.<\/p>\n

\u201cClinical trials of homoeopathy.\u201d, Kleijnen, Jos; Knipschild, Paul; ter Riet, Gerben; British Medical Journal, Feb 9, 1991 v302 n6772 p516(8).<\/p>\n

The following information on Homeopathy research is by Dana Ullman, M.P.H. (Excerpted from Consumer\u2019s Guide to Homeopathy, Tarcher\/Putnam)<\/p>\n

Most people with a little experience in Homeopathy have no doubt that these medicines work, though inevitably they will have some family members, friends, neighbors, and physicians who will be skeptical about it.<\/p>\n

One way to deal with these people\u2019s skepticism is to become familiar with research on the efficacy of homeopathic medicines.<\/p>\n

The Research on Homeopathy<\/h3>\n

There is actually considerably more laboratory and clinical research on Homeopathic Medicine than most people realize. That said, it must also be recognized that more research is certainly needed, not simply to answer the questions of skeptics but to help homeopaths optimize their use of these powerful natural medicines.<\/p>\n

Some skeptics insist that research on Homeopathy is mandatory since the exceptionally small doses used do not make sense and there is no known mechanism for action for these drugs. While it is true that homeopaths presently do not know precisely how the homeopathic microdoses work, there are some compelling theories about their mechanism of action (see the discussion in Chapter 1, \u201cThe Wisdom and Wonder of Small Doses\u201d).<\/p>\n

More important, there is compelling evidence that they do work, as this article will show. And although homeopaths may not understand how their medicines work, keep in mind that leading contemporary pharmacologists readily acknowledge that there are many commonly prescribed drugs today, including aspirin and certain antibiotics, whose mechanism of action remains unknown, but this gap in knowledge has yet to stop physicians from prescribing them.<\/p>\n

Allopathy’s View of Homeopathy<\/h3>\n

Many conventional physicians express doubt about the efficacy of Homeopathy, asserting that they will \u201cbelieve it when they see it.\u201d It may be more appropriate for them to acknowledge that they will \u201csee it when they will believe it.\u201d This is not meant as a criticism of conventional physicians as much as of conventional medical thinking.<\/p>\n

The biomedical paradigm has narrowed the view of, the thinking about, and the practice of medicine to the treatment of specific disease entities with supposedly symptom-specific drugs and procedures. An integral aspect of this approach to medicine is the assumption that the larger the dose of a drug, the stronger will be its effects. While this seems to make sense on the surface, knowledgeable physicians and pharmacologists know that it isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n

What is Biphasic?<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is a recognized principle in pharmacology called the \u201cbiphasic response of drugs.\u201d Rather than a drug simply having increased effects as its dose becomes larger, research has consistently shown that exceedingly small doses of a substance will have the opposite effects of large doses.<\/p>\n

The two phases of a drug\u2019s action (thus the name \u201cbiphasic\u201d) are dose-dependent. For instance, it is widely recognized that normal medical doses of atropine block the parasympathetic nerves, causing mucous membranes to dry up, while exceedingly small doses of atropine cause increased secretions to mucous membranes.<\/p>\n

This pharmacological principle was concurrently discovered in the 1870s by two separate researchers, Hugo Schulz, a conventional scientist, and Rudolf Arndt, a psychiatrist and homeopath. Initially called the Arndt-Schulz law, this principle is still widely recognized, as witnessed by the fact that it is commonly listed in medical dictionaries under the definition of \u201claw.\u201d<\/p>\n

More specifically, these researchers discovered that weak stimuli accelerate physiological activity, medium stimuli inhibit physiological activity, and strong stimuli halt physiological activity. For example, very weak concentrations of iodine, bromine, mercuric chloride, and arsenious acid will stimulate yeast growth, medium doses of these substances will inhibit yeast growth, and large doses will kill the yeast.<\/p>\n

In the 1920s, conventional scientists who tested and verified this biphasic response termed the phenomenon \u201chormesis,\u201d and dozens of studies were published in a wide variety of fields to confirm this biological principle.<\/p>\n

In the past two decades there has again been a resurgence of interest in this pharmacological law, and now hundreds of studies in numerous areas of scientific investigation have verified it. Because these studies have been performed by conventional scientists who are typically unfamiliar with Homeopathic Medicine, they have not tested or even considered testing the ultra-high dilutions commonly used in Homeopathy. However, their research has consistently shown very significant effects from such small microdoses that even the researchers express confusion and surprise.<\/p>\n

Reference to this research on the Arndt-Schulz law and hormesis is important for validating homeopathic research because it demonstrates the evidence for the important biphasic responses and microdose effects that lie at the heart of Homeopathy. This research is readily available to physicians and scientists yet is often ignored or not understood.<\/p>\n

Homeopathic Research is Ongoing<\/h3>\n

The amount of research on homeopathic medicines is growing, and it is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore these studies, because they are now appearing in many of the most respected medical and scientific journals in the world. This chapter is not meant to be exhaustive (that would require a book or two of its own). It will include many of the best studies, most of which have been published in conventional medical and scientific journals.<\/p>\n

Some of the studies are discussed because of the impressive results they showed, and others are included for their implications for better understanding Homeopathy and the healing process. The review of research is not simply to provide evidence of the efficacy of Homeopathic Medicine but also to enlighten readers on how to evaluate homeopathic research, whether positive or negative results are obtained.<\/p>\n

Some Definitions
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