Holistic medicine and herbal medicine are NOT homeopathy

Holistic medicine and herbal medicine are NOT homeopathy.

Just to make sure there is clarification on these modalities AND to remind other about the lack of actual data results on homeopathy. Active herbs do have research data. I know I will catch hell for this, and I know homeopathy seems to have worked for some but there are other factors we must ponder. Please just ponder all these issues below. Please, no hate mail from homeopaths.

Homeopathy is specifically the use of highly diluted substances to treat symptoms caused by concentrated versions of those substances. One account I read by a chemist claimed that by the time one completes the dilution program one would have to have a sphere of water equal in size to the earth's orbit around the sun in order to still have one molecule of the original substance present in the diluted mass. There is a belief that somehow water retains a memory of the substance. Water is, of course at room temperature a liquid whose molecules freely move in relation to each other. To retain a "memory" imprint of a more complex molecule one would need a material that was not a liquid.  So, this all seems like, well, you get it.

Now, Holistic medicine is based on the practice of trying to look at the whole organism and its environment to understand the source and management of the illness. A lot of very successful mainstream doctors and veterinarians practice holistic medicine. Herbal medicine is based on obtaining pharmacologically effective doses of active compounds directly from plants without going through the stages of synthesis used in modern drug manufacture. There are LOTS of pharmacologically active compounds in plants. These compounds are the basis of our modern pharma industry in which the effective compounds in a plant extract are isolated from other compounds that have undesirable side effects to increase the effectiveness of the desired compound.

A classic example is the difference between using Belladonna (digitalis) extract and measured doses of the effective compound derived drug digoxin to treat congestive heart failure.

Now historically homeopathy arose in relation to experience of getting a compound such as extract of Belladonna plant that would treat a problem and not kill the patient. Early vaccines - in which an active pathogen was weakened and then injected to prevent serious disease also appears to people who do not understand the underlying principles to validate homeopathic dilutions. It does not.

Vaccines effectiveness is actually due to the interaction between immunologically stimulating proteins derived from bacteria and or viruses and the animal's or human's immune system. Example: Cowpox vaccine works in humans to prevent smallpox NOT because it is highly diluted but because it cannot create serious disease in most humans but is immunologically similar enough to small pox to trigger immunity to a later smallpox infection.

In most modern vaccines only a portion of the bacterial or viral protein is introduced into the immunized individual so that the immune system raises a defense against anything bearing that protein that invades the individual in the future. The manner in which the immune system learns to attack foreign proteins is complex and involves many different types of immune system cells and I am not going to go into it her.

In veterinary medicine, however, placebos primarily affect an owner’s impression of how a pet is faring, rather than actually providing any relief from the patient’s condition. We do animals a disservice when we pick homeopathic treatments solely over scientifically-validated and patient-appropriate therapeutic protocols.

I’ve heard the stories of miraculous "cures" associated with the use of homeopathic remedies, but we must remember that association does not equal causation. The unexpected does happen in veterinary medicine, primarily because the body has remarkable abilities to heal itself, often despite rather than because of what we do.

OK, here is my list of possible mechanisms, in no particular order. If you have some different ones, or can explain why mine are wrong, let me know in the comments...

1. The effect is psychological, and operates upon the owner/parent. Because they expect the treatment to work, they see improvement where there is nothing, or nothing more than normal time-limited or cyclical changes in the condition. This effect is greatly enhanced when the owner/parent is highly motivated to see improvement, either because they have a strong personal belief in the treatment, or have invested time, money and credibility in it. It will also reassure the "worried well" parent/owner whose baby/animal is not actually ill in the first place.
2. The effect is real, but derives from changes in the parent/owner's behavior and emotional state. Because they know their baby/animal is receiving treatment, they become less anxious. The babies/animals pick up on this mood change and so relax more themselves.
3. The effect is real but derives from changes associated with the treatment, rather than the treatment itself. For example, if the baby/animal has received extra care and attention, a change of diet or sleep patterns, and a break from work or other activities, these could have caused the improvement. Similarly, if an alternative treatment has been given in conjunction with real medicine, parents/owners may attribute any success to the treatment rather than the medicine.
4. The effect is real and arises as a conditioned response to the rituals of care. If the baby/animal has previously improved after taking real medicine, then the administration of a placebo in the same way can evoke the conditioned response.
5. The effect is real and arises as part of the acute phase response to an injury. Pain or inflammation evolved to stimulate the suffering organism to immobilize the injury site and to seek help. Once this has been achieved, the pain/inflammation is less necessary and can dissipate.

In other words,virtually all of the many factors that can influence the placebo effect in adults, can also produce placebo effects in babies/animals. Placebos DO have an effect upon babies and animals. Homeopathy does not.

Again, Holistic medicine and herbal medicine are NOT homeopathy.  Herbal medicine is based on obtaining pharmacologically effective doses of active compounds directly from plants without going through the stages of synthesis used in modern drug manufacture. There are LOTS of pharmacologically active compounds in plants.
Virtually all research data shows homeopathy as not effective.