Homeopathy - What it is and Why it Sucks

I'm the kind of guy who gets a bee in my bonnet. I get really worked up by things and then I'm like a dog with a bone. Homeopathy is one of those things and as I'm constantly asked to write about it for my job it's been grating on me more and more. I have a lifestyle section of the Biomatrix now, and I'm not sure people know enough about how crap it actually is. So I get to rant and Biomatrix readers get to learn not to buy shit. Everyone wins except homeopaths. Who are EVIL.

Homeopathy is a form of alternative medicine. It's not a drug but a whole school of alternative (read as fake) medicine with homeopathic remedies (again remedies tend to actually mean fake) existing for every ailment under the sun. Already alarm bells should be ringing. But when you read that there's 'no evidence to support homeopathy' that's actually the biggest understatement of the year. What these warnings should actually read is that 'there is no possible way that homeopathy is real'. Though even the detractors tend to be too generous to say that so blatantly. The good and high-class sources of information tend to say they're uncertain about the qualities of homeopathy. This is in order to remain 'object'. However, fortunately there is nothing high-class about the Biomatrix (apart from its readers of course); so I can safely say that claiming that homeopathy is bullshit is about as subjective as saying the sky is blue (sorry to offend sky-denialists).

Homeopathy was invented by Samuel Hannemhan - a grade a douche bag. This guy discovered that the medicine used to cure malaria at the time would cause the symptoms of malaria if taken by a healthy patient. He then made the obvious and scientific deduction that this meant that of course all medicine should cause the same effects as the disease it aims to cure. So for example a curry should cure a runny nose because it causes a runny nose. Here's one slight problem with that hypothesis - it would mean that to cure cellulitis you should just rub more of the staphyloccocus virus on your skin (the virus that often causes cellulitis). Here's another problem with that hypothesis - it's bull shit and mental. (It's also worth noting that being a highly trained scientific genius, Samuel (he's not worhty of being referred to by his sirname) decided to not use any ill patients in his studies - possibly because that would be too easy (or because it would instantly disprove his theories)).

Obviously good old Sam (he's not worthy of being referred to by his full first name) realised this to an extent and did to his credit note that most of his proposed medicines would probably kill the patients. So he came up with a great solution - take them out of the medicine. So get this - in homeopathy they add the active agent (the ingredient that does the magic) then literally just take it out again. That's literally what happens. This they call diluting but in actual fact, most of their 'dilutions' are so diluted as to be able to guarantee that not one single particle exists in the final concoction.

They call their dilution 'potency' whereby the highest dilution is the most potent (so the more definite you can be that the thing doesn't work the more likely it is to work). In the highest 'potency' (200c), the claim is that the solution is 10 to the power of −400. What's interesting here is that there aren't even enough atoms in the universe for this to be possible. Dicks.

These cures then are actually just water. But it's okay because they have the 'vital force' of the initial ingredient. This is maybe due to 'water memory' or 'magic' depending on who you ask. Obviously neither is possible - water is simply a combination of hydrogen and oxygen particles so there's no space for memory. Literally it's not possible. Unless... no, no it's not possible.

In fact to prove this theory recently large groups of people decided to 'overdose' publicly on homeopathic remedies eating tonnes of the stuff. Predictably nothing happened. That was probably magic too. Or 'water friendliness'.

So you're just buying water or sugar (or sometimes alcohol) and happily eating it after parting with a lot of money. What's really sick though is that these homeopathic remedies are sold in Boots and other pharmacies along with the other stuff with no warning. Worse is that doctors actually suggest these things. I happily went out and bought some anti-swelling 'medication' recently for my beaten up face on doctor's orders like a good little lab-rat only to find that they were homeopathic. I felt BETRAYED and angry. That doctor is now in a coma...

Worse still though is when homeopaths tell you not to use conventional medicine. Because this 'drives the illness into your internal organs'. This would be fine if they only said that about colds, but no they actually also advise you against listening to conventional medicine for cancer, AIDS, diabetes and every other serious illness under the sun. They actually would have you basically kill yourself so that they can make £30 off of you before you do. Obviously though you believe them because everything is a conspiracy - science and doctors are inately evil while homeopaths are our friends because their drugs aren't free. But such missinformation actually costs lives.

Like all cults, and that's essentially what it is - a widespread cult, homeopathy clings onto completely obsolete facts and preaches over us that we're wrong for listening to reason. Countless studies have gone into the research demonstrating the effects of modern medicine (and the lack of effictiveness of homeopathy) but somehow this very very old nonsense counts as more honest and worthwhile. If anything scientists are too objective and too fair to rant like this. Science literally means 'objectivity' - it has no motive and it's not a 'group'. Old doesn't always mean good man, years of study and tireless research means good. Why would you choose to trust a random hippy over raw data? And if you can't trust that then carry out the tests yourself! Don't affiliate yourself to any group, just research things yourself.

My point is - homeopathy is shit - but also that it is still sneaking into our lives. Honestly you might be wasting money on crap right now. Turn your medicine around and read the back. Look to see if the active agent is near the top and what the percentage is. Look to see if it says '200C' or '100C' etc on it anywhere. If it does throw it out, you're wasting your time. Read the back of everything you take, no matter who recommended it (especially if I recommended it) and research yourself what those ingredients do.

Sorry, sometimes I can be a bit opinionated...