Guest Writer for Wake Up World
Lots of people swear by homeopathic medicines, but a small group think they should be banned.
In the book “Think Like a Freak“, authors Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner tell us that the three hardest words in the English language are “I don’t know”. These three words are the reasoning for arguments against homeopathy. We know homeopathic medicines work. We don’t know why. We don’t know how. But we often fear what we don’t understand, and fear can lead to anger and accusations when we simply don’t know.
So why should you love your homeopath? There are lots of reasons…
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10 Reasons to Love Your Homeopath
1. For Love
Love your family, love thy neighbor, and love your homeopath. Even if you don’t need a homeopath now, your aunt, your grandmother, or grandchild might. The decision to love your homeopath expands your future options – and the futures of your friends and family. Your health includes the health of those you love, and your communities.
2. For money
Homeopathic medicines are generally less expensive than patent medicines, which have prices driven by profit, not by cost or benefit. Also many homeopathic medicines are designed to cure disease – while many patent medicines only treat symptoms by ongoing, expensive, subscriptions.
Mahatma Gandhi once said “Homeopathy …. cures a larger percentage of cases than any other method of treatment and is beyond doubt safer and more economical and most complete medical science.“
3. For your body, mind, spirit and community
Homeopathy works. Sometimes it works after many other medicines have failed. Take a look around. Most of us have no difficulty finding a friend who swears by a homeopath in their past, or in their family. How is it possible that everyone can find instances where a homeopathic doctor was able to solve a problem, one that other doctors could not solve, while others claim that homeopathic medicines can’t work?
There are some who claim that homeopathic medicines should be banned because they work “no better than a placebo”. They don’t remember that a placebo is defined as ‘a lie from your doctor’, nor that lies from your doctor actually work too. Of course they don’t mention that placebos often work so well that they embarrass medical researchers.
No medicine works all of the time. Even a null medicine works some of the time. Patent medicines, homeopathic medicines, placebos, and even simple empathy, have each been tested in clinical studies – with some positive results and some negative results. Do those who suggest banning homeopathic medicines also suggest banning doctor empathy, or a patient’s positivity, and their family’s prayers?
4. Because you are royalty
Kings and queens have historically used homeopathy, with positive effects. The Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II, has a personal physician – a homeopath. She has used homeopathic medicines for her pets as well. If it’s good enough for royalty, it’s good enough for you 🙂
5. Because someday you might need an alternative practitioner
Someday you may need a chiropractor, a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioner, Acupuncturist, an Osteopathic Doctor, an Ayurvedic practitioner, or any other ‘alternative’ practitioner.
Remember the famous speech by Martin Niemöller:
When the Nazis came for the communists, I remained silent; I was not a communist. When they locked up the social democrats, I remained silent; I was not a social democrat. When they came for the trade unionists, I did not speak out; I was not a trade unionist. When they came for the Jews, I remained silent; I wasn’t a Jew. When they came for me, there was no one left to speak out.
Attacking homeopathy, suggesting it be banned, is a first step in the wrong direction. Many medical disciplines are attacked independently, with a goal to remove them all from the market, thus removing your freedom to choose. If we ban homeopaths, ask yourself – who’s next?
6. For your freedoms
For your freedom. Freedom to choose Homeopathy. Freedom to choose your medicines and your treatment for your body. There are many who might prefer that you have less freedom to choose, especially those with something to sell. There are many nonsense restrictions on your freedom to choose, and little to no freedom on certain medical treatments. But it’s your body, your mind, your spirit, and your life. You have the right to choose. Love your homeopath to maintain your freedom of choice!
7. For your symptoms
The medical model classifies all symptoms as indications of illness. It does not recognize that symptoms can be indications of healing or fighting illness. Homeopathy looks at symptoms from a completely different viewpoint. When we have more viewpoints, we see farther and find more effective treatments.
8. For your health
In the United States today (and many other western countries), it is illegal to market a product that claims to ‘improves your health’, without making specific reference to illness. All health claims must reference ‘a disease or health related condition’. It is illegal to sell a ‘health product’ without a reference to scientific studies of ‘illness’. According to the USFDA:
A “health claim” by definition has two essential components: (1) a substance (whether a food, food component, or dietary ingredient) and (2) a disease or health-related condition. A statement lacking either one of these components does not meet the regulatory definition of a health claim.
Medicine is blind to health. Many products may improve your health regardless of the existence of an illness, but cannot be marketed as such.
Homeopathy challenges many medical dogmas, opening a door open to a more comprehensive, broader, clearer view of healthiness – not just illness.
9. For your doctor
Whether your doctor is a homeopath or not, he/she might need access to homeopathic ideas and medicines. Homeopathy is practised by many doctors, dentists, naturopaths, chiropractors, acupuncturists, physician assistants, nurses, even veterinarians, and more. If homeopathy is banned, these medical professionals will be limited, or forced to hide or curb their beliefs and complimentary activities.
10. For science
Some argue that homeopathy cannot pass the tests of science. These are people who do not understand science. Science does not find truth, it asks questions and seeks answers. The answers it finds, if they are useful, raise higher and more important questions. When science is stifled – when science becomes illegal – we all lose.
The science of clinical studies is a valuable tool for medicine, but it is a very limited tool. Homeopathy challenges the limitations of clinical studies which ignore individual cases and rely instead on statistical models. Complete understanding of medical issues, including homeopathy, cannot be found solely through the science of clinical studies and statistics. [Editor: If it could, our communities would be getting healthier, not sicker]
For more information, please see Just Because Science Can’t Prove It Doesn’t Mean It’s “Pseudoscience”
10. Because we don’t know
We know that homeopathic medicines work, but we don’t know how they work or why. We don’t know why acupuncture works. We don’t know why empathy, hope, positivity or prayer works, but we know they can work. We need to accept that which we do not know, and work to understand, not to ignore, dismiss, or reject it.
11. Why stop at ten?
Science doesn’t stop counting when it runs out of toes. Listing 10 reasons limits our ability to explore, to know, and to understand. There are many more reasons to love your homeopath, because we know homeopathy works and it’s the right thing to do. You will find more reasons yourself, if you look for them with an open mind.
12. For your fears
These days we are surrounded by fear mongers. Sadly this is nothing new. Fear has long been used to manipulate people. Dictators rely on fear to maintain power. Fear is used to enforce conformance. We fear terrorists, criminals, drugs, and ‘those who don’t believe what we believe’.
There are people who would prefer that you fear your homeopath, your chiropractor, your acupuncturist, your Traditional Chinese Medicine practitioner, and others… so they can control you and your choices.
Fight back. Love yourself, your family, your ability to choose – without fear – those who provide your medical and health services.
13. Because your Homeopathic doctor cares about you and your health
Too much medicine today is profit-based, achieving only corporate goals of growth and profit. Your homeopathic doctor is not interested in getting rich at your expense. Homeopath’s don’t get rich – it’s that simple. Homeopathic doctors want to make you better, to make you healthier, to serve your family and your community. Many conventional doctors also want to make you healthier, but they can be trapped by a system of commercial pharmaceutical medicine that pursues profit at all cost.
14. Love the rebel in you
Love your homeopath because your homeopath is a rebel like you, supporting medicines that work. Rebel against the limitations associated with mainstream medicine’s “clinical studies”, which are mostly about prescribing patented drugs for the long-term treatment of symptoms associated with chronic illness.
15. Because you are smart
There is a long history of people who are not-so-smart dismissing or even banning what they don’t understand. It’s a history of darkness, of extended intentional unknowing. Smart people are not afraid of ‘not understanding’. It’s okay to know homeopathy works, without understanding how.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference“
… and the right to make my own choices.
The modern medical paradigm is failing. We need to embrace what we understand with courage, and accept what we don’t understand, without fear or rejection, if we are to move forward.
To your health, Tracy
References:
- Think Like a Freak, Steven D Levitt & Stephen Dubner
- Bible: Mark 12:31 “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
- So Why Does the Queen Never Sneeze in Public, the Daily Mail
- Martin Niemöller: First They Came
- How Homeopathy views Symptoms: Wiki
- Sue Young Histories, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi 1869 – 1948
- USFDA Health Claim Definition
Previous articles by Tracy Kolenchuk:
- We Study Illness with Infinite Precision – But Who Measures Health?
- Community Healthiness: Love and Virtue Strengthen Our Communities
- Body, Mind & Spirit: Understanding the Links Between Health & Consciousness
- Curing Cancer Requires a New Kind of Thinking
- 10 Common Nutrition Myths and Misconceptions
- The Medicines Myth
- The Alternative Medicines Myth
- Fatergy Drinks: The “Energy Drink” Myth De-Bunked
- Are You Getting Enough Vitamin M?
- Generic Cancer (Part 4): The End of The War on Cancer
About the author:
Canadian born Tracy Kolenchuk is the author of A New Theory of Cure and several other books.
Tracy is not a doctor. He is the founder of www.healthicine.org and www.personalhealthfreedom.blogspot.com where he works to change the way the world defines and looks at health, healthiness, healthicine, disease, and cure.
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