Eye Weekly is one of Toronto’s free weekly newspapers, and their editorial policy seems to be on par with the Huffington Post when it comes to issues of health.

Damian has told readers “Don’t Fear The Flu” and recommended that they ask their homeopaths and naturopaths how to fight H1N1 and seasonal flus. She recommends such “time-tested” methods as keeping your kidneys warm…

She has another piece where she tells returning university students how to save money by seeing student naturopaths. That’s right, don’t see pretend doctors, see pretend doctors in training to save money. At no time does she mention that you could see a real doctor for free. Naturopath or nothing, it would seem.

There was the one article where I thought that she might write some sense, as my first thought seeing the headline “Booster Shots” was that it might address vaccination updates such as those for mumps, tetanus, flu, etc. Nope; just advice on how to “boost” your immune system with herbs and vitamins. I’ve never heard anyone who can define how an immune system can really be boosted, but I suppose the fact that she can write it in a paper must make it so.

The latest article Damian gives us is not the worst one I’ve seen, but it’s as full of bad advice and unproven treatments as all the others. This one needs so much of a response that I can’t just leave it on the comment system over at the web page for Elimination Dance. This one needs paragraph by paragraph response; quoted text is Damian Rogers’ text, and mine follows.

“I realize it’s sort of trendy, but there is a reason those clear-skinned, bright-eyed, naturopath-following, yoga-loving people — the ones who make you feel badly about bingeing on pizza in front of the television — swear by seasonal detox programs. And that reason is that taking a break from your less health-minded habits can make you feel lighter, sharper and ready to rumble. And hey, the Canadian winter isn’t for the weak.”

Health minded people should be seeing health professionals. You’re implying here that detox makes yoga-loving people acne-free and bright-eyed, and that’s not exactly true. Sure, there are plenty of fit looking, clean skinned followers of yoga and naturopathy, but their number has not been shown to be any different than a random collection of healthy non-yoga people. I can only assume that you’re suffering from some sort of confirmation bias when you’re in your yoga class, seeing only the pretty people.

I know a yoga instructor who is neurotically unhealthy, acne-ridden, and homeopathy-downing; this does not support any conclusion about yoga instructors at large. Using similar logic to what you use in your article, and based on my personal experience alone, I could conclude that yoga instructors are filled with self-loathing at not being good enough. I’m sure that’s not the case at all, and that yoga instructors and yoga practitioners represent a similar demographic as you might encounter in any after-work gym session; basically people that are trying to improve themselves in some way, and people with at least a bit more disposable income than the average.

“Of course, individual results vary, so it’s important to find what works best for you. Here are some things that have worked for me.”

The plural of anecdote is anecdotes, not data. I’m going to spoil the end of the article now, and let you know that at no time does Damian recommend anything like seeing a professional that’s covered by your provincial healthcare; just naturopaths and unregulated, unproved services.

The following quote is from Tim Minchin[1]; a comedian with a wry description of what, exactly, alternative medicine is;

“By definition”, I begin
“Alternative Medicine”, I continue
“Has either not been proved to work,
Or been proved not to work.
You know what they call “alternative medicine”
That’s been proved to work?
Medicine.”

At this rate, I’m going to have triple the word count in my reply that Damian had in the article this is supposed to be a response to. So, back to the article with the first anecdote.

SKIN BRUSHING – I do this all year, but it feels especially good once the air gets cooler and the first hint of winter itch sets in. The idea is to literally brush your skin with a dry, natural-bristle brush (you can pick one up at most health food stores) from the bottoms of your feet up to your neck, always moving the brush in the direction of your heart. This is a cheap and easy daily detox routine that not only sweeps away dead skin cells but also stimulates the circulation and lymphatic systems.

On first glance, I thought this to be harmless feel-good advice for exfoliating, removing dry skin, or maybe just one of those things that you do because it just feels good. That opening shower scene from the movie “Gattaca” comes to mind, but that’s it.

Always moving the brush in the direction of your heart? To what end? I did a bit of searching online to find out what dry brushing your skin has to do with the lymphatic system. One of the highest ranked results[2] outlines what natural health practitioners say about the skin and about dry brushing, claiming that the skin is a third kidney and sheds waste acids. Waste doesn’t come out through the skin; that’s water, salt, and oil. Waste actually comes out from two pretty specifically defined regions of the body, and that’s it. Dead skin isn’t a toxin, and its removal doesn’t remove these undefined toxins from the body either.

Google searches find unsubstantiated claims of dry skin brushing removing cellulite, cleansing the lymphatic system, strengthening the immune system, stimulating hormone and oil-producing glands (wait, brushing skin makes you greasier? Ew.), tightening the skin, toning muscles (how does brushing the skin tone muscles; other than in the arm you’re using to brush?), improving nervous system function, and that it helps your digestion in some way. I think I see a whole article just in dry skin brushing, so I may have to re-visit this one later.

LYMPH-DRAINAGE OK, so what the hell is the lymphatic system anyway? The lymphatic system filters waste (excess fluid, dead blood cells, toxins, etc.) and destroys pathogens, so it’s a major player in maintaining the immune system. For the lymph system to do its job, it must be able to drain properly. There are a few things you can do to help this happen, like jumping for a few minutes every day on a mini-trampoline (or a normal-sized one if you really want to have fun) and getting a targeted massage.

This is kind of a glossy high-level view of what the lymphatic system is for, but a bit muddled. To Wikipedia!

The lymphatic system has three interrelated functions: it is responsible for the removal of interstitial fluid from tissues; it absorbs and transports fatty acids and fats as chyle to the circulatory system; and it transports immune cells to and from the lymph nodes. The lymph transports antigen-presenting cells (APCs), such as dendritic cells, to the lymph nodes where an immune response is stimulated. The lymph also carries lymphocytes from the efferent lymphatics exiting the lymph nodes. — Lymphatic System on Wikipedia

Now back to the author’s anecdotes about her friends in the alt-med communities

At the beginning of my recent detox, I got the Lymphomaniac Facial ($105) with Jean Eng at Pure and Simple (725 King W., 416-366-8558) and it really helped get me into the swing of things. First of all, it’s great to treat yourself to something pleasurable when you’re cutting out stuff like sweets so that you feel less deprived. The treatment was incredibly relaxing and I love their products — they smell great — so it’s a good sensual experience. And I found that I could really feel the benefits of the lymphatic-draining massage (of the breasts, stomach and face).

A good sensual experience; wait a minute; breast massage? Is that a variation on Thai Massage, but for the ladies and without the stigma of entering the clinic through an alleyway?

For the lymphatic system to drain properly, you basically need to pump the bellows to force the lymph through the series of one-way ducts. There’s no central pump such as the blood benefits from, but there are all these handy muscles placed in good locations to provide all the push your lymph needs. From everything I can find on real medical sites, so long as you don’t have cancer or another disease that affects the lymphatic system, you’re likely doing more to speed the drainage of your lymphatic system through regular muscle movement as part of even light exercise than through an overpriced lymphatic facial.

There’s no way I can look at this paragraph and not see something that the 12 year old me would giggle over; it just reads dirty.

Eng explained how the spa uses Ayurvedic principles in selecting the appropriate oils for each client’s needs. She says the facial and massage are useful at any stage of a detox program. “The lymph stimulation is physically helpful if the client supports it with increased water consumption and bowel cleansing,” she says, saying that most poor skin conditions are due to ill health. “We address the necessary skincare and advise on diet and lifestyle care.”

You’re paying $105 for a facial and a grope of your breasts.

When do you think that Jean Eng would say is a BAD time for you to part with $105 under any circumstances? You’re also likely to leave the office with a vial or two of those oils, and maybe some other retail impulse buys; and people say that regular doctors are all about the money.

Now, what Ayurvedic principles is Jean using, and would ten practitioners give you the same thing, or is it basically one big guessing game? We don’t know, because so much of alternative medicine practice is completely unregulated, unlicensed, and untrained. All you need to be a lymphatic masseuse appears to be that you think to put it on your business cards.

DETOX DIET There are so many different approaches to the “detox diet,” it can get a little dizzying. Some folks have great results with juice fasts or the Master Cleanse (that’s the popular 10-day trial of consuming nothing but a lemonade made from lemon juice, maple syrup and cayenne pepper), but I’m pretty attached to chewing. Most holistic health practitioners support periods where you give your digestive system a break by avoiding common allergens like wheat and dairy and stimulants like caffeine and sugar. Once I got into the habit of cooking whole grains every day, I got pretty into it. Bonus: I was never hungry. Talk to a holistic practitioner to find the best program for you.

That dizzy feeling is your body starving. The euphoria that kicks in, and that eventual loss of the hungry feeling? That’s your body acclimatizing to starvation. Cleanses don’t kick start your metabolism; they kill it. Sure, limit or eliminate your caffeine and sugar intake, maybe cut back on calories and processed foods; you’ll feel better too, and not be crippling yourself in the process.

You feel great when you come off your cleanse because wait for it… you’re eating again. A combination of the starvation euphoria, and the return to something approaching a balanced diet lead you to conclude, incorrectly, that you just did something that was good for you.

COLONICS I’ve noticed people are mentioning colonics more often (they were referenced in two HBO shows — Entourage and Hung — this season), so maybe that’s a sign that they’re becoming more mainstream. (I feel like there’s a bad pun here that I will not tease out.) Still, I am sensitive to the fact that the idea of having a hose stuck up your bum is not necessarily an attractive prospect. I’m not going to lie — it can be a challenging situation at times — but I have felt powerfully better after getting them.

So, characters in HBO TV shows mention colonics… this isn’t even an appeal to authority or an appeal to celebrity; this is an appeal to a fictional character? I was watching BBC’s production of Merlin the other day, and they were talking about magical creatures like gryphons and dragons; that doesn’t make them real or good for me.

I’m not going to resist the pun; colonics are crap. That’s it, start to finish crap. There’s nothing in your intestines that regular waste functions aren’t up to getting rid of. If you can swallow it, your gastrointestinal system is going to be able to pass it. This includes bubble gum, steak, and nickels; they all go pretty much right through. There’s no store of undigested meat in your colon, and bubble gum isn’t hanging out for seven years.

You feel better when the hose is removed, just like you feel better once your older brother stops punching you; adrenaline response and little more.

When I went for my sessions with Stacey Smith (who is a registered holistic nutritionist as well as being a colon hydrotherapist) at the newly opened Vitalife (2251A Queen E., 416-849-0004), I hadn’t been for one in years and I’m so glad I went. Smith has a calming manner and is a natural at helping clients feel comfortable.

Smith sounds like a good sales person. How does one become a registered holistic nutritionist? One apparently only has to take classes from a school like the the CSNN, but there doesn’t appear to be a central licensing board, etc.[3]

As to how one becomes a colon hydrotherapist, that seems even less clear. I’ve found some people offering them with designations of CSNN (see [3[), CNP (Certified Nurse Practitioner), RNCP (Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner), and other designations.

Stacey in Damian's example lists herself as "Stacey Smith BA, RHN, Holistic Nutritionist and Colon Hydrotherapist" on the Vitalife website[4]. The RHN is a purchased set of initials from a college like CSNN, and the BA could be in anything at all, but it doesn’t typically involve a huge science requirement. As far as calling yourself a Holistic Nutritionist or a Colon Hydrotherapist? As far as I can tell, anyone can do that. So, from now on, you may refer to me as Xinit, Holistic Nutritionist Third Degree, and a purple belt Colon Hydrotherapist. The titles mean nothing, and as far as I can tell, the only licensing they need to pursue is business and tax licensing; cleanliness, etc? Nothing I can find on this.

I asked her about the role of the colonic during detox and she was passionate about their benefits. “When you do a cleanse, you’re basically loosening up toxins in the body — these toxins need to be eliminated from the body and colonics are a very effective method of doing so,” she explained, saying this will also help detox symptoms like headaches, fatigue and nausea. (It should be noted that they can also cause fatigue and nausea.)

Toxins, for the most part, aren’t sunk in concrete to be loosened up by cayenne pepper lemonade. If only we could define what these mystery toxins are, where they come from, and then identify them scientifically as they leave the body. I guess that would be too much like real medicine with its science and its facts, thought.

Let’s see if I have this straight detox programs on their own can cause fatigue, headaches and nausea. Miss Smith recommends that washing out your colon can miraculously cure these symptoms… but it can also cause them… May as well pray the headaches away at that point, and save yourself the visit to the tube girl.

“Many people aren’t aware that the number one immunological organ in their body is their colon. Cleansing the colon of toxic wastes prevents the absorption of toxins into the bloodstream, and their spreading throughout the body. The average person can have 10 to 25 pounds of fecal matter in their colon!”

Many Registered Holistic Nutritionists aren’t aware of basic biology and science. If the food you’re eating is loaded with these horrible toxins that alternative practitioners keep going on about, you’re already in trouble well before things hit your colon. The colon functions to remove liquid and salt from waste before being expelled from the body. Sure, you might have 10 pounds of food in the process of being digested at any time, but it’s an ongoing process. When Smith words it the way this unlicensed practitioner does makes it sound like it’s a negative thing, when it’s a function of the way the gastrointestinal system works. It’s kind of the same effect as when I call Smith an unlicensed practitioner – while it’s true, it is a biased statement that implies the worst.

Yes, I know, it’s gross. But it’s also damned compelling. While colonic irrigation is gaining acceptance as a health practice, it’s still controversial and it’s important that you feel safe. My naturopath alerted me to the fact that not all methods are as gentle as others (Vitalife uses a system that relies on gravity rather than forced water pressure), so it’s a good idea to talk to a naturopathic doctor if you want more information.

That’s right, folks, it’s gaining acceptance by writers for a comedy show on TV who script their high school teacher character selling sex to pay repair bills. Oh, and that fictional character also gets a tube shoved up his ass to do what nature would do for him on its own time.

It’s not just important that you feel safe, it’s important that you BE safe. The way to BE safe is to speak with a real doctor, even if it is in addition to your naturopathic doctor, shaman, or tarot reader. If you absolutely feel that you need to use services of someone who will inject or remove things from your body, you need to ensure that they are clean, medically competent, and knowledgeable. Without an unbiased authority to judge this, you’re relying solely on the word of the practitioner, and luck, in avoiding infection or damage.

Tattoo parlors have much more strict regulation than does someone who can insert a pressurized hose up your ass. The odds of rupturing something while getting a tattoo are pretty low, and thanks to regulation, and years of good practice, even the roughest tattoo parlor runs like out patient surgery.

“Herbal medicine’s been around for thousands of years! Indeed it has. And then we tested it all, and the stuff that worked became medicine. And the rest of it’s just a nice bowl of soup and some pot pourri.” – Dara O’Briain[5]

–

[1] I took the quote from Tim Minchin from podblack’s transcription.

[2] I’m not linking it because I don’t want them to get more traffic, even from robots who might visit this page. http://www.naturalhealthtechniques.com/healingtechniques/Dry_Brushing_Technique.htm

[3] http://csnn.ca/programs/rhn-program/rhn-registration/

[4] http://www.vitalifeclinic.com/aboutus.html

[5] Irish comedian Dara Ó Briain

7 comments

Have a look at what Australia’s ’9am with David and Kim’ show has to say on Homeopathic Vaccinations (67MB MPG file). Feel absolutely free to copy and repost this work, or check out Chris’ link to his transcript in PDF format, and post the video elsewhere. It’s already been scrubbed from Youtube, it seems…

The complete transcript follows.

Please, advise of typos, spelling, of Aussie:English translation issues… Bits in italics are my own snark…

---

The players:

NP: Professor Nikolai Petrovsky, Swine flu vaccine developer
IG: Dr. Isaac Golden, World authority on homeopathic immunisation
DV: David
KM: Kim

(Even the titles people seem in on it… The science guy has a boring title and he’s ‘just’ a professor. The homeopath? He’s a DOCTOR and a WORLD AUTHORITY! Please.)

DV: Nikolai, can we start with you please? As we said, leading infectious disease experts are concerned that the use of multi dose vials could transmit disease. Are they correct in saying that?

NP: Well, when we’re administering a vaccine to healthy individuals, obviously safety is paramount, so even if the risk of transmitting infection using the multidose is very low, we would argue any risk is too much risk. So, as I say, we’re not saying that this is a high risk, but certainly it is a risk.

(it’s at this point that I thought he was going to be the quack… the any risk is too much risk line is something Jenny McCarthy has thrown around)

KM: Alright, I’d like to talk to you about the effectiveness of a swine flu vaccine. How… how does it actually work when it’s a virus?

NP: So, the idea here is that a vaccine mimicks the virus; it actually isn’t a live virus, it’s either a killed virus or in our case with our

(stock video of vaccine bottles with big bold warning at the bottom of the screen, “Vaccine Warning”)

vaccine, it’s actually just one component from the virus. Ah, in that case it triggers the immune system to recognize the virus so that when you do get exposed to the live virus, your immune system is already primed to be able to attack and kill it before it really establishes.

KM: So what happens if it… if it mutates as… as people are suggesting that it is?

NP: Well, the… the concern of course that in the 1918 Spanish Influenza, which is the worst flu epidemic that we’ve experienced. Ah, during the first winter season, in fact, the infection was a bit like we’re seeing with the Swine Flu virus; most people got over it, but there were a few deaths. But then, the second winter season when it came back in a new form, that’s when it was highly lethal, and about 50 million people died with that infection. So, the risk of mutation is there.

DV: Okay, Isaac, given the concerns that have been expressed, is the government being hasty, do you think, in rolling this out already? Should we be looking for alternatives?

(Talk about pitching a softball, while making your face look like you think it’s a hardball…)

IG: Unfortunately, the government’s advisors don’t look at the alternatives that are available, and I know that Dr. Petrovsky and I will probably disagree about efficacy

(Really? You think you’ll disagree about efficacy? Here, have a magic potion…)

because there’s no disagreement about safety

(And what’s safer than pure water… mmmmmm mmmmm)

whilst he is making very good efforts to develop a safer vaccine, you can be even safer still.

(2:30 into the video, and here it really begins)

Now, the reason why the Cuban government in 2007 turned the Findlay (?) Institute which makes vaccines there into manufacturing two and a half million doses of homeopathic immunisation for the disease leptospirosis is exactly the point that Dr. Petrofsky just covered, and that is that as the diseases mutate, one of the problems with vaccination is that there’s a very long lead time to actually accommodate that. The one advantage with the homeopathic option is that because it works on different principles, it’s not an attempt to mimic vaccination. The remedies which are prepared, provided the symptom profile of the disease doesn’t change greatly, can still be used.

(Huh?)

KM: I’m wondering whether, perhaps, part of the attraction of a Swine Flu vaccine is that you can go in an get a jab and it works for everyone, is it possible…

IG: Nothing works for everyone. Ha ha! Nothing on the planet works for everyone!

(Smarmy dirtbag.)

KM: Well is it possible to have a homeopathic remedy mass produced in that sense….?

(You’re asking a homeopath if he can pour enough water into enough bottles at $10 per? Science can still win as long as he doesn’t mention Cuba again…)

IG: Well like I said, the Cubans immunized three provinces which were most at risk because of the massive hurricane damage in 2007 and again in 2008.

(Damn you, Castro! Damn you!)

IG: They immunised over two million people. Two million people. And they did it in about two or three weeks, and the cost, this is the other factor which we need to consider. The cost was about 400,000 American Dollars

(Trucks of water don’t cost all that much.)

IG: Now, when you look at the costs of the vaccines which are being brought on here, our government could literally save hundreds of millions of dollars by looking at and evaluating this option.

(4:10 into the video)

DV: Is there a homeopathic treatment for swine flu?

(Homeopathy can cure ANYTHING, jerk. Stupid host.)

IG: Yes.

DV: What is it? What’s the components of it?

(Isaac smiles broadly, seeing that the host stumbled into his little trap…)

IG: Well… now we need to talk about how you make immunisation for homeopathics, or from homeopathics

(If there were an immunisation from homeopathics, I’d totally take that; would it make homeopaths explode when I came near?)

IG: There’s a number of different options, because homeopathy works on the law of similars, provided we have something which produces similar symptoms, this will be, enable a degree of cover. Now we actually have the swine, what we call the swine flu nosodes and the Findlay Institute in Cuba, and actually Dr. Petrovsky has written a scholarly paper with the person who was leading that; a Doctor Gustavo Bracho who was in Australia in 2004 2005 and worked with Doctor Petrovsky and they actually co-authore a scholarly paper on Malaria Adguvants

(http://malariajournal.com/content/8/1/35/abstract “AFCo1, a meningococcal B-derived cochleate adjuvant, strongly enhances antibody and T-cell immunity against Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 4 and 5″ — NOT about homeopathy… OH, and Isaac still hasn’t taken a pause; he’s quite the train of thought speaker.)

so the doctor knows who we’re talking about and these are very serious people. They have prepared a swine flu nosodes. They could immunize this whole country within a month and probably at a cost of of a few million dollars as opposed to hundreds of millions of dollars.

(Biggest cost? Fuel to drive the water tankers across the desert? What’s a nosodes? Wikipedia: “Some homeopaths suggest that vaccines be replaced with homeopathic ‘nosodes’, created from biological material such as pus, diseased tissue, bacilli from sputum or (in the case of ‘bowel nosodes’) feces.”)

KM: Do you agree, Nikolai?

NP: So, certainly, we, um… work um…

(Seriously, Nikolai is trying his hardest not to laugh at this point…)

NP: with the Findlay Institute on vaccine development, and they’re the institute that developed the world’s first Meningal cochal vaccine, so they are extremely serious about vaccines. I don’t have any knowledge of any work by the Institute in Homeopathy. Um, but… as I say, vaccines do have 200 years of history and proof of the fact that they work. I would be sticking to vaccines in this instance.

IG: Well, can I just interrupt here and say that vaccination first …

(Wikipedia: “… smallpox inoculation was started in China or India before 200 BC.[1] In 1718, Lady Mary Wortley Montague reported that the Turks had a habit of deliberately inoculating themselves with fluid taken from mild cases of smallpox, and that she had inoculated her own children.”)

IG: … started in 1796. Homeopathic immunisation started in 1798; we also have 200 years of reported and recorded clinical evidence …

(See him roll his eyes there?)

IG: … and the really important point that Dr. Petrovsky just made is that these people at Findlay are serious.

(See what he did there; he’s just claimed that Dr. Petrovsky just agreed that Homeopathy works…)

IG: Now there’s a major scientific paper that’s being published soon and Dr. Bracho and I are actually publishing two papers; one in Australia and one internationally, which will be coming out in the next few months, so the data is there and I’m very happy to send it to Dr. Petrovsky if he’d like.

(Note, he doesn’t say co-authoring… just that there are two people writing two different papers… Happy to send it to Dr. Petrovsky? How about you have it peer reviewed in a medical journal?)

DV: Gentlemen…

KM: We’re out of time, I’m afraid… (chatter)

8 comments

The following article was removed from the original host under threat of a libel suit. Using a trick that the alternative practitioners often accuse Big Pharma of, the British Society of Homeopaths is becoming what they hate. Under British law, the plaintiff is easily favoured in the case of libel. This is something of a surprise considering the sheer amount of tabloid journalism that you see coming from the Isles.

So, the Society of Homeopaths used the laws available to them and threatened Canard’s ISP. It’s not unlike every time I’ve debated a homeopath supporter; eventually they run away promising to return with Conclusive Proof or with Daddy, to shut down the argument. The SoH would appear to BE the thugs and criminals that they see in Conventional Medicine and Big Pharma. I guess it’s a case of having to be a criminal in order to recognize one.

Thanks to Respectful Insolence for the update on the story, and links to the Google Cache… it made reproducing the allegedly libelous article in whole much easier.

I say we organize a globe trotting trip for all the Homeopaths in the SoH, and allow them only homeopathic potions to protect them from malaria, typhus, bird flu, and whatever other deadlies we can arrange for them to run into in northern Africa. A swim in polluted water, a trip to a mosquito infested swamp in the middle of the summer malaria upswing, and maybe some meals of local delicacies involving broiled monkey. It will be a true test of Homeopathy if the Society will send its members out like this. Hell, let’s make it a variation on Survivor; Big Pharma will take their malaria meds, and the SoH team will imbibe only magical elixirs. 39 days; outlast, outplay, outlive.

— Quote begins;

The Gentle Art of Homeopathic Killing

Thursday, August 16, 2007

The Society of Homeopaths (SoH) are a shambles and a bad joke. It is now over a year since Sense about Science, Simon Singh and the BBC Newsnight programme exposed how it is common practice for high street homeopaths to tell customers that their magic pills can prevent malaria. The Society of Homeopaths have done diddly-squat to stamp out this dangerous practice apart from issue a few ambiguously weasel-worded press statements.

The SoH has a code of practice, but my feeling is that this is just a smokescreen and is widely flouted and that the Society do not care about this. If this is true, then the code of practice is nothing more than a thin veneer used to give authority and credibility to its deluded members. It does nothing more than fool the public into thinking they are dealing with a regulated professional.

As a quick test, I picked a random homeopath with a web site from the SoH register to see if they flouted a couple of important rules:

48 • Advertising shall not contain claims of superiority.
• No advertising may be used which expressly or implicitly claims to cure named diseases.

72 To avoid making claims (whether explicit or implied; orally or in writing) implying cure of any named disease.

The homeopath I picked on is called Julia Wilson and runs a practice from the Leicestershire town of Market Harborough. What I found rather shocked and angered me.

Straight away, we find that Julia M Wilson LCHE, RSHom specialises in asthma and works at a clinic that says,

Many illnesses and disease can be successfully treated using homeopathy, including arthritis, asthma, digestive disorders, emotional and behavioural difficulties, headaches, infertility, skin and sleep problems.

Well, there are a number of named diseases there to start off. She also gives a leaflet that advertises her asthma clinic. The advertising leaflet says,

Conventional medicine is at a loss when it comes to understanding the origin of allergies. … The best that medical research can do is try to keep the symptoms under control. Homeopathy is different, it seeks to address the triggers for asthma and eczema. It is a safe, drug free approach that helps alleviate the flaring of skin and tightening of lungs…

Now, despite the usual homeopathic contradiction of claiming to treat causes not symptoms and then in the next breath saying it can alleviate symptoms, the advert is clearly in breach of the above rule 47 on advertising as it implicitly claims superiority over real medicine and names a disease.

Asthma is estimated to be responsible for 1,500 deaths and 74,000 emergency hospital admissions in the UK each year. It is not a trivial illness that sugar pills ought to be anywhere near. The Cochrane Review says the following about the evidence for asthma and homeopathy,

The review of trials found that the type of homeopathy varied between the studies, that the study designs used in the trials were varied and that no strong evidence existed that usual forms of homeopathy for asthma are effective.

This is not a surprise given that homeopathy is just a ritualised placebo. Hopefully, most parents attending this clinic will have the good sense to go to a real accident and emergency unit in the event of a severe attack and consult their GP about real management of the illness. I would hope that Julia does little harm here.

However, a little more research on her site reveals much more serious concerns. She says on her site that ‘she worked in Kenya teaching homeopathy at a college in Nairobi and supporting graduates to set up their own clinics’. Now, we have seen what homeopaths do in Kenya before. It is not treating a little stress and the odd headache. Free from strong UK legislation, these missionary homeopaths make the boldest claims about the deadliest diseases.

A bit of web research shows where Julia was working (picture above). The Abha Light Foundation is a registered NGO in Kenya. It takes mobile homeopathy clinics through the slums of Nairobi and surrounding villages. Its stated aim is to,

introduce Homeopathy and natural medicines as a method of managing HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria in Kenya.

I must admit, I had to pause for breath after reading that. The clinic sells its own homeopathic remedies for ‘treating’ various lethal diseases. Its MalariaX potion,

is a homeopathic preparation for prevention of malaria and treatment of malaria. Suitable for children. For prevention. Only 1 pill each week before entering, during and after leaving malaria risk areas. For treatment. Take 1 pill every 1-3 hours during a malaria attack.

This is nothing short of being totally outrageous. It is a murderous delusion. David Colquhoun has been writing about this wicked scam recently and it is well worth following his blog on the issue.

Let’s remind ourselves what one of the most senior and respected homeopaths in the UK, Dr Peter Fisher of the London Homeopathic Hospital, has to say on this matter.

there is absolutely no reason to think that homeopathy works to prevent malaria and you won’t find that in any textbook or journal of homeopathy so people will get malaria, people may even die of malaria if they follow this advice.

Malaria is a huge killer in Kenya. It is the biggest killer of children under five. The problem is so huge that the reintroduction of DDT is considered as a proven way of reducing deaths. Magic sugar pills and water drops will do nothing. Many of the poorest in Kenya cannot afford real anti-malaria medicine, but offering them insane nonsense as a substitute will not help anyone.

Ironically, the WHO has issued a press release today on cheap ways of reducing child and adult mortality due to malaria. Their trials, conducted in Kenya, of using cheap mosquito nets soaked in insecticide have reduced child deaths by 44% over two years. It says that issuing these nets be the ‘immediate priority’ to governments with a malaria problem. No mention of homeopathy. These results were arrived at by careful trials and observation. Science. We now know that nets work. A lifesaving net costs $5. A bottle of useless homeopathic crap costs $4.50. Both are large amounts for a poor Kenyan, but is their life really worth the 50c saving?

I am sure we are going to hear the usual homeopath bleat that this is just a campaign by Big Pharma to discredit unpatentable homeopathic remedies. Are we to add to the conspiracy Big Net manufacturers too?

It amazes me that to add to all the list of ills and injustices that our rich nations impose on the poor of the world, we have to add the widespread export of our bourgeois and lethal healing fantasies. To make a strong point: if we can introduce laws that allow the arrest of sex tourists on their return to the UK, can we not charge people who travel to Africa to indulge their dangerous healing delusions?

At the very least, we could expect the Society of Homeopaths to try to stamp out this wicked practice? Could we?

Labels: homeopathy

Originally from Quackometer, by way of Google’s Cache

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As seen on DC’s Improbable Science page

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Please note; there is math ahead performed by someone (me) with the loosest grasp possible on arithmetic and chemistry. Please, if my numbers are off by any degree, let me know and I’d gladly correct them. Thanks. 

I once thought that the way to make money from homeopathic tinctures was through buying distilled water, and putting it into nice bottles with pretty labels, and selling those little bottles for $10 each. I’d even include a warning stating that the bottles contained absolutely no medicinal properties, and contained 100% distilled water. It would be a positive gold mine, even without the warning, as there is no way of testing a homeopathic remedy for effective ingredients, and so fraud could never effectively be proved in a court of law. However, I think that the real money is in ‘pure’ sea water, though, as it’s positively loaded with infinitesimal quantities of all sorts of things; maybe I’d even go with a name like Deep Sea Homeopathic Holistic Water.

I know people who purchase homeopathic products, and I was trying to come up with a good example to try to lay out the pure numbers on this, to try to show that what they’re buying is little more than diluted snake oil, with very little actual snake oil in it. I’ve seen proofs on web pages, but they tend to rely on numbers that other people have given, accepting them as gospel, and I wanted to know exactly how many atoms of something were in each bottle of 200C Snake Oil. I’m really surprised at just how little there is, and I think that the best example I can use to illustrate this is by turning the entire volume of Earth’s oceans and seas into a homeopathic cure. After all, covering 70% of the surface of the planet has to be a pretty visible metaphor.

“One approach is to use homeopathic remedies to target the tumors themselves. In this case, the homeopath selects remedies which match the symptom picture of the tumor itself (e.g. Conium Maculatum for hard immovable tumors that develop slowly). Homeopaths using this approach might also consider other symptoms (such as the individual’s food cravings, disposition, etc), but their primary focus is to target the tumor and reverse its growth. Some physician homeopaths also give remedies at the tumor site itself (in the form of an injection) to more aggressively stimulate a response. ” — The Cancer Cure Foundation

Conium Maculatum might be more recognizable to people as Poison Hemlock; the state poison of ancient Greece. Now, hemlock does have sedative and antispasmodic properties in small doses, so it’s not all about killing philosophers.

“To produce different remedy potencies, the mother tincture is diluted in an alcohol/ water mixture according to one of two scales, the decimal (x) and the centesimal (c). Between every stage of dilution the diluted tincture is succussed (shaken vigorously) in the decimal scale the dilution factor is 1:10 and in the centesimal it is 1:100. To produce a 1c potency of the allium remedy for example, one drop of the mother tincture is added to 99 drops of an alcohol/water mixture and succussed. To produce a 2c potency, one drop of the 1c mixture is added to 99 drops of an alcohol/water mixture and succussed. The number of a homeopathic remedy shows how many times it has been diluted and succussed, for example, Allium 6c has been diluted and succussed six times.” — Healthy New Age

ABCHomeopathy.com lists a 15mL, alcohol-diluted bottle of “3X” Hemlock for $8.99 and explains the different potencies of dilutions “Chronic illnesses should be treated with high potencies (30x-200c) and acute conditions with low potencies (6x or 6c)… Really high potencies such as 200C.” See, the more you dilute something, the stronger it is. The lower the chance that there is even an atom of Hemlock in that bottle, the more powerful it is…

“DECIMAL – potency based on the ratio of 1 part substance to 10 parts dilution. Designated with a X (in Europe designated with a D) after the remedy name. X potencies are considered low potencies. X potency is often used for children, sudden illness and first aid treatment.
CENTESIMAL – potency based on the ratio of 1 part substance to 99 parts dilution. Designated with a C (or left blank in Europe) after the remedy name. C potencies are considered medium potencies. C potency is often used for seasonal problems and chronic conditions.
MILLESIMAL – potency based on the ratio of 1 part substance to 1000 parts dilution. Designated with a M after the remedy name. M potencies are considered high potencies. M potency is used by practitioners for constitutional treatment.”Elixirs.com

Back to sea water. Using numbers from a 1968 publication, it appears that there are 0.0009 ppm of Copper, 0.021 ppm of Barium, and 0.0026 ppm of Arsenic in your average sample of sea water (Sea Friends – a part per million can be seen as mg / L); these are all valuable homeopathic tintures on their own, and would likely need to be diluted even further in order to approach the “potency” of a 200C mixture.

So, for the “C” scale, the Mother Tincture is a 1:100 mixture of water and/or alcohol to the essential ingredient. Let’s just say we start with a gram of the active ingredient and it’s diluted in a Liter of liquid; 1g/L. This isn’t exactly how the dilutions are made, as they tend to refer to “drops” of the tincture to solvent, but as you’ll see in a second, once the numbers get to where they are going, the difference in volume between a 1 mL ‘drop’ and a full Liter are insignificant. Even a kilogram of product diluted into a Liter of water to make the Mother Tincture, were it even possible, would yield little more effective compound in the 200C dilution.

Nevertheless, (in my experience) in cases of deep pathology (such as cancer), most patients have a profound level of resistance to feeling their feelings. Usually this is because of a built-in survival mechanism which protects them from feeling feelings which could destablize them and/or be more destructive than the disease itself (e.g. suicidal feelings). As a result, patients with deep pathology will tend to either have very moderate reactions to homeopathic remedies (because of the built in protective mechanism), or the remedies will release thoughts, emotions, and memories which are extremely toxic and destabilizing. In either case, there is strong initial resistance to the release process.

When patients are able to release suppressed toxic emotions (via homeopathy or other means), the optimal scenario is for the patient to work with accompanying practitioners (psychotherapists, counselors, healers, etc). Some homeopathic practitioners will provide some support, but often other professionals are needed. ” — The Cancer Cure Foundation

C indicates a power of 100, and X indicates a power of ten. 6X actually refers to a 10⁶ dilution, not the 1:6 most people would assume. As 10⁶ and 100³ are mathematically identical, a 6X dilution is scientifically, atomically, identical to the 3C product.

Assuming that you take the full 1 Liter of Mother Tincture and produce the absolute maximum volume you can of a 200C solution, you’re looking at a huge resulting volume.

1C dilution is the mother Tincture diluted by 1:100; resulting in 100L of solution
2C is diluted from 1C at 1:100 to yield 10,000L (100²)
3C is diluted from 2C at 1:100 to yield 1,000,000L (100³)
200C is the same thing again, 198 steps later, where we’re now at 100²⁰⁰ L of solution

That’s 100²⁰⁰, or a google², or with all the zeroes;

10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,
000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 L

All of the world’s oceans and seas contain an estimated 1.370 * 10²¹ L of water, or

1,370,000,000,000,000,000,000 L (Encarta)

What if we were to take that gram of initial product and dilute it to fill merely all of the world’s oceans? The resulting mix could be labeled as approximately “10.5C”, as 1.370* 10²¹ is mathematically the same as 1.370 * 100^10.5.

100¹⁰ == 100,000,000,000,000,000,000 L
100¹¹ == 10,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 L

Diluting that gram of initial product to somewhere between 10C and 11C would referred to as a medium or high potency dilution according to sources I’ve found.

1.370 * 10⁹ km³

1.370 * 10²¹ L

1 cubic kilometer = 1,000,000,000,000 (10¹²) L

By way of explanation, let’s take something inert like sand and make that into a homeopathic remedy to cure… oh, I don’t know. Let’s say this dilution will cure sun burns, because those have been seen to occur on sandy beaches.

We’ll use a gram of pure Silica sand, finely ground of course, with the chemical formula SiO₂; composed of 1 Silicon atom, and 2 Oxygen atoms.

How much does this molecule weigh? Well, Silicon weighs 28 atomic units, and Oxygen weighs 16 atomic units, for a total of 60 atomic units

Thanks to high school chemistry and the periodic table, we know that there are 6.023 x 10²³ atomic units in a gram. From there we can find that there are 6.02 x 10²³ / 60 = 1.00 x 10²² SiO2s in a gram, or 3 x 10²² atoms in a gram. Of course, when those atoms break down beyond the groups of three that make up SiO₂,

30,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 atoms. that’s plenty, right?

If we were to dissolve that gram of sand in all of the water that comprises all the Earth’s oceans and seas, complete with agitation and re-dilution again and again, and assuming absolutely perfect distribution of the sand atoms, we would see

(3 x 10²² atoms) / (1.37 x 10²¹ L == 21.8978102 atoms per L in all of the world’s oceans. If you look at the huge number above for 200C, you can readily see that a small amount of water such as that contained in all of the Earth’s oceans would need to be diluted many many more times at 1:100 to yield the full volume of 200C. Once we have surpassed 22 times the oceans’ volume, we have dropped past the point where you might statistically be able to expect a single atom to exist in a Liter of water, but yet this is a very strong product?

(3 * (10²²))atoms / (1.37000 * (10²¹)) Liters = 21.8978102 atoms / Liter if that one gram of silicon were spread equally throughout the world’s oceans and seas. That’s pretty impressive, actually, considering that that one little tiny gram of sand could be spread throughout the entirety of the world’s oceans. One might even be able to see seven full SiO₂ molecules in that Liter if you were lucky.

The problem comes that we’re dealing with a relatively small amount of solvent (water) as far as homeopathy is concerned. This is only 10²¹ L of water, not the 10⁴⁰⁰ L of water that a proper dilution to 200C would require. With the sample of sand, we’re limited to 3×10²² atoms; any dilution past that point becomes problematic. Once you have 10⁴⁰⁰ L of dilution,

(3 * 10²² atoms) / (1 * 10⁴⁰⁰ L) == 3 / 10³⁷⁸

There are only enough atoms to have THREE of them in 10³⁷⁸ L of water. Three individual, effectively indivisible (no amount of simply shaking the water is going to split them up, anyhow), atoms. How many 15mL bottles would you have to consume to statistically be able to say you had consumed 3 whole atoms worth of active ingredient to get both your Silicon and Oxygen atoms? Had we started with one kg per L of product, we’d still only have 1000 times as much product, or 3/ 10³⁷⁵; statistically insignificant difference, as you’d still need to consume the world’s oceans many times over to be certain that you had consumed your handful of atoms.

Interesting volumes that don’t come close to being large enough to hold a fully diluted 200C elixir;

Earth’s volume is roughly 1.0832 * 10²⁴ L

The Sun which we orbit is said to be able to contain 1.3 * 10⁶ Earths, for a total volume of 1.4082 × 10³⁰ L

That’s not much volume either, so how about a sphere that has a radius that’s a full light year?

1 light year = 9.4605284 × 10¹⁸ decimeters

(4 / 3) * PI * ((9.4605284 * (10¹⁸))³) = 3.54678441 * 10⁵¹ L

Not even close, but imagine that single gram of sand, held in your hand, with its 3 x 10²² atoms. See how not every Liter in that massive sphere that is so massive it would take light from the center a full year to escape the orb could contain even one single atom of the original material? Not even close.

Water doesn’t have memory, or it would be able to remember all the fish crap it had in it over the years; that couldn’t possibly be good for you. To believe that zero quantity of a medicine is effective in curing what ails you is to believe in real magic. Expelliarmus! Hmmm… nope.

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