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Homeopathy Debunked

Posted on: Friday, 28 January 2005, 15:00 CST

Everyone agrees that modern science hasn't proved how or even if homeopathic medicine works, but that's where the agreement ends

The collection encompasses the common and the obscure. Oscillococcin, a flu remedy, can be found at mainstream grocery stores. Vacuum, a remedy made in England, is available from specialty sources.

As its name implies, the medicine is created in a vacuum.

"You start with nothing and mix it with alcohol, shake it, dilute it 30 times and pour it on sugar pills," Shelton said.

For many years, this popular teacher has challenged freshmen to consider how homeopathy might work from a scientific perspective.

In a lab exercise, physical-science students simulate part of the remedy-making process. They dilute food coloring, which represents the substance of a remedy, in a series of steps. Then they calculate how many molecules of the food coloring remain. They see for themselves that few, if any, molecules are left.

Shelton explains that, in many cases, the potency of the medicine homepathic patients take is just as diluted.

Shelton then presents a problem: Many patients say their health improved after homeopathic treatments; however, scientific studies don't support that.

He prompts discussion.

If a remedy had no molecules, could it work?

How can we explain why people might actually be helped by homeopathy? And, further, should we reject a remedy just because we don't understand what caused our condition to improve?

Shelton doesn't believe the medicine is what actually causes some people to feel better. He credits the placebo effect, among other possibilities.

What is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a medical system unto itself, which German physician Samuel Hahnemann developed in the late 1700s. Drugs are given in extremely small doses to stimulate the body's own healing responses.

This method of diagnosing, classifying and treating medical problems differs from conventional medicine. Practitioners ask patients about their symptoms, lifestyle, emotions and mental state, and tailor the treatments to each person.

National studies show many people who use homeopathy treat themselves without consulting a professional.

Remedies come from plants, minerals and animals. They are sold in liquid, pellet and tablet forms. The substances used can be quite unusual, such as uranium, scorpions, arsenic or poison ivy.

"You can start with anything," Shelton said. "It's the preparation that makes it homeopathic, not what you start with."

A substance is diluted in a series of steps and shaken vigorously. Some remedies are exposed to moonlight. Others to wind. Others to red light.

Not all homeopaths approve of all remedies, Shelton said.

The underlying theory is "like cures like." For instance, if you are suffering from a juniper allergy, you might be given juniper essence. A substance in a potent form can create symptoms that it can relieve in diluted form.

A Boston-born doctor, Hans Burch Gram, brought the healing method here in 1825. At one time, the United States had 20 homeopathic medical colleges and more than 100 homeopathic hospitals. Medical advances put them out of business.

But in the 1960s, a revival took place. Now, millions of Americans are using homeopathy again. And in Mexico, Germany and United Kingdom, homeopathy is part of the national health-care system.

Question everything

The art of debunking is Shelton's forte.

He has been a college professor, the director of a research firm and a consultant. And he holds a doctorate in physics from the University of California at Berkeley.

His grandfather was a homeopathy practioner in California. "He would open up his chest of remedies and give me one," Shelton said, recounting childhood memories that are short on details.

In Shelton's classes, students have studied Gulf War syndrome, the health effects of breast implants, alien abductions, astrology and facilitated communication for autistic children.

"The real agenda of the class is getting the students to think about and question everything they hear and read," he said.

When he heard students equate homeopathic treatments with conventional medical treatments, he took on the role of challenger.

"It bothers me when the scientific component of an issue is misunderstood, since science should be an important component in personal decisions," Shelton said.

In Santa Fe, a Mecca of alternative medicine, many of his students have tried homeopathic treatments or know people who have. After studying the topic in Shelton's class, some continue to use homeopathy and others don't, he said. He is willing to concur that if you feel better after you take it, it's good for you.

"It's not for or against," Shelton said. "It's, 'Isn't this interesting? I wonder what's going on?' "

Shelton goes national

Now, the debate has spun outside his classroom.

What began as a school project turned into a fascination for Shelton. For three years, he subscribed to homeopathic journals, attended conferences and interviewed homeopaths.

"I decided to read a little more about homeopathy and got hooked, finding out everything I could about it," he said.

At last, he turned his findings into a book. Homeopathy: How it Really Works was published last year by Prometheus Books.

The book doesn't mention Shelton lives in Santa Fe -- where schools offer certificates in homeopathic medicine, stores sell remedies and some medical doctors promote homeopathic treatments.

Pharmaca, a new drug store in town, says this about homeopathy: "This gentle system of medicine helps the body heal itself from short-term illnesses and injuries without toxicity or side effect."

In general, homeopaths estimate that 20 to 80 percent of their patients improve after treatment. But Shelton suggests the remedies are not the reason for the cure. Rather, people underappreciate the placebo effect.

"I'm saying it works but for different reasons," he said.

A patient might get better because the body healed itself naturally, or the patient stopped other harmful treatments, or the patient practiced a healthier lifestyle or the patient found psychological benefits in homeopathic care, Shelton said.

"The question is not whether most patients are better as a result of the entire homeopathic experience, but whether the cause is the remedies," he wrote in his book.

Two local practitioners, including the parent of a student in Shelton's class, have criticized the book. Shelton says he won't make it required reading for freshmen, but he does plan to spend a week this semester on homeopathy.

In the acknowledgments at the front of his book, Shelton says he is "especially indebted" to Jim Klemmer, who for 10 years has sold remedies nationally and overseas from his shop, Natural Health Supply, near Airport Road.

Before the book was published, the two met on several occasions to discuss the manuscript, chapter by chapter.

"He was allegedly trying to understand what homeopathy was about," Klemmer said. "It got redundant because his thesis was the same. We think differently."

In the end, the men did not find common ground.

"He can't prove that it doesn't work, and I can't prove that it does work," Klemmer said.

Klemmer doesn't endorse the book to his customers because he feels the book is inaccurate.

"It shuts the doors on many things," he said. "(Shelton's) really got a negative attitude toward homeopathy and even modern physics."

Klemmer said he offered to treat the science teacher but Shelton wasn't interested.

Shelton told The New Mexican he experimented with homeopathy a couple times during his research, even once from a medical doctor who practices it, but nothing happened.

Still no answers

In spite of the alluring title of his book, Shelton does not come to a definite conclusion about how homeopathy works.

That's not surprising. Klemmer said nobody really knows why it works.

"There's a lot more to medicine than meets the eye," Klemmer said. "Homeopathy seems to be some sort of stimulant to the immune system of living things. More than that, I don't know."

Klemmer said he was a skeptic of homeopathy until he tried it in 1980. He has found no downside to using the medicines, unlike his experience with other kinds of medicine.

"It doesn't make any sense that it actually does work," he said.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institute of Health, is funding research on homeopathy. But the center makes clear that homeopathic principles seem to be at odds with the laws of chemistry and physics.

"Some analyses have concluded that there is no strong evidence supporting homeopathy as effective for any clinical condition," according to the center. "However, others have found positive effects from homeopathy. The positive effects are not readily explained in scientific terms."

So is homeopathy worth more research?

Shelton is split on the issue.

"The more conventional scientific community thinks it's a waste of money," he said.

But he would like to see more research done as long as the cost is reasonable, given other health priorities. Still, he observes: "I don't think it's going to change very many minds. People have different standards for what is convincing. A lot of it has to do with prior belief."

Lauren Lawson, an investment banker turned homeopath, described Shelton as "one fine teacher." Her son is taking Shelton's class this year.

"He likes to debunk things," she said. "It's great for these ninth-graders."

But when it comes to homeopathy, she feels Shelton has ventured too far afield. She agrees with Shelton's conclusion that the action of homeopathic remedies cannot be proven using the current scientific model. The only way to test and understand homeopathic remedies at this point, she said, is through experience.

"My only real concern is that Jay may be influencing the kids in his class by suggesting that this implies homeopathic remedies are ineffective," she said. "I think it'd be great if he would allow a presentation by someone with some real experience with homeopathic remedies."

Lawson said she has treated many students and parents of Santa Fe Prep, the city's most expensive private school.

She said she won't pull her son out of Shelton's class during the homeopathy lesson planned for this semester. She trusts he can handle the debate.

(Sidebars)

What's the difference: Homeopathy vs. herbs

"Many homeopathic remedies are so dilute that none of the original molecules are left, and it makes little difference how much is taken. Herbs are molecular remedies and it matters very much how much is taken; overdosing and underdosing are both possible."

"Scientifically it is plausible that herbs could have medicinal effects because they are molecular remedies, although this is not to say that all or even most claims for herbs have been scientifically proven. At present, there is no plausible explanation for why homeopathy's nonmolecular remedies should have any effect." Homeopathy: How It Really Works by Jay Shelton

Homeopathics for sale

The following Santa Fe stores sell homeopathic remedies:

Albertsons

General Nutrition Centers

Herbs Etc.

The Marketplace Natural Grocery

Natural Health Supply

Pharmaca

Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Grocers

Vitamin World

Tico's Health Food Shop

Whole Foods Market

Wal-Mart

Wild Oats Natural Marketplace

Buyer beware

If author and science teacher Jay Shelton could write a warning label for homeopathic remedies, it would read:

1.) Realize the limitations of homeopathy. The most serious risk is delayed effective medical treatment. Get a correct diagnosis of life-threatening medical problems and go to appropriate specialists.

2.) Consult your physician before decreasing or stopping prescribed conventional medications.

Trends in Homeopathy

* Annual world sales of homeopathic remedies total about $1.5 billion.

* Connecticut, Arizona and Nevada license medical doctors specifically for homeopathy.

* The U.S. Food and Drug Administration oversees the manufacturing and labeling of homeopathic remedies, but these drugs are exempt from the safe and effective tests required for conventional medicines.

* The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, part of the National Institute of Health, spent $568,405 of its $103.8 million research budget on homeopathy in 2003-2004.

* The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, in a recent report, says the same research principles and standards for showing effectiveness should apply to both conventional and complementary and alternative treatments. Innovative methods to test some therapies may have to be devised.

* One-third of U.S. adults have pursued alternative medicine, including products such as herbal remedies, techniques such as acupuncture and practices such as homeopathy. Fewer than 40 percent told their physicians.

Source: The Santa Fe New Mexican

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