Homeopathy – an overview

Today’s post is a bit of an Overview of Homeopathy.

I was recently speaking with a Homeopath about how the treatment works. I found the concept quite interesting and thought I would share.

Homeopathy, like most of the natural therapies, works on treating the body as a whole. Working on the premise that if you give the body the right tools, it will heal itself.

The history

In the late 1700’s Samuel Hahnemann developed the central idea of homeopathic medicine. This was the principle of ‘like cures like’ or the ‘law of similars’.

Hahnemann also came to assume that the body was highly sensitive to drugs during illness. He prescribed very small doses of drugs – hence the expression ‘homeopathic doses’ for very small amounts.

Homeopathy spread rapidly through Europe in the early 1800s. The first homeopathic hospital opened in 1832 in Leipzig. In 1835, Hahnemann moved to Paris, where he was a popular practitioner until his death in 1845.

So how is it meant to work?

The basic principle behind homeopathy is “like cures like.” In other words, something that brings on symptoms in a healthy person can, in a very small dose, treat an illness with similar symptoms. This process is meant stimulate the body’s own natural healing response.

Homeopathy works on treating the “whole person”. This means that two people presenting with the same complaint may receive a different medicine based on their individual symptoms and emotional response to the illness.

Homeopathic practitioners repeatedly dilute these ingredients by adding water or alcohol. Homeopaths also believe that the lower the dose, the more powerful the medicine. In fact, many of the remedies no longer contain any traceable molecules of the original substance.

Conditions that are most commonly treated by homeopaths include – coughs, colds, hay-fever and travel sickness.

Does it work?

Homeopathy has had quite a lot of bad press. Numerous doctors and researchers have reported that the practice does not work and is nothing more than a placebo.

As is the case with many alternative or natural healing practices, there are people who have had success with the treatment and those that have not.

Interestingly, while conducting my research, I found out that the ‘like cures like’ principle is also used for vaccinations.

To immunise against viral diseases – such as polio and measles – the vaccine usually incorporates virus particles that have been weakened or killed. With providing immunity against bacterial diseases – such as tuberculosis, diphtheria and cholera – introducing an inactivated portion of the bacteria, or its toxic products, is used. Vaccinations are used to stimulate the body’s immune system to increase antibody formation.

With this in mind, is it such a stretch to consider that homeopathic treatment can work for some individuals?

My personal experience with homeopathy is so far a positive one. I have found the treatment to be effective in managing menopause symptoms.

On that note, do your own research before taking on any kind of treatment and discuss your situation with a reputable health professional.

Till the next post,

Live clean n prosper  

(Sources – http://broughttolife.sciencemuseum.org.uk, www.wikipedia.org, www.homeopathyoz.org o

Using Tissue Salts for wellness

Today’s post is about Tissue Salts.

Several years ago when I was suffering from a head cold, someone suggested I try Tissue salts to ease the symptoms. Recently Scott feel victim to a head cold and decided to try the tissue salts. He found that they really made a difference.

We did some research into these little pills to better understand how they work.

It turns out that these tissue salt pills are homeopathic preparations of minerals found naturally occurring in the human body. They’re inexpensive and seem to be able to help with just about every common ailment from colds and flu to headaches and hangovers.

 What are they?

Tissue salts, also known as “cell salts” or “biochemistry salts”, are the same minerals that are found in rocks and in soil. These tissue salts exist on the border between homeopathic and nutritional medicine.

According to Biochemical therapeutics, the integrity, structure, and function of the body’s tissues and organs are dependent on necessary quantities of certain cell salts. These ‘cell salts’ are therefore integral functioning parts of each individual cell and of the body as a whole.

 The history behind them

Dr Wilhelm Heinrich Schuessler was a doctor of medicine, a physiological chemist and a physicist.

In 1873 he developed the Schuessler Tissue Salts using a unique system of cellular therapy,

Schüssler deducted that the tissues or cells of the body can be broken down chemically into twelve inorganic mineral salts. Disturbances in the levels of these salts cause disease. He established that restoring the accurate balance of tissue salts in the body would remove the symptoms of illness and restore health.

He also believed that the body needed only very small doses to nudge it gently back into balance. Dr Schuessler found that a homeopathically prepared micro dose was the most effective way for the body to assimilate these salts. The dose passes rapidly into the bloodstream and therefore into our cells.

Wikipedia states that biochemical cell salts are alternative remedies, based on inorganic salts that were elaborated by Scheussler. They are not classed as homeopathic remedies.

There is no evidence of medical trials in regards to Tissue salts. Nevertheless, many people swear by them.

 Who can use them?

To ease various conditions, you can take an individual tissue salt or a combination.

One of the major benefits of tissue salts is that they’re very safe. I did not find any information regarding side effects. However, as with most health matters, it’s always best to check with your health practitioner beforehand.

That said, tissue salts are generally suitable for everyone from babies to diabetics and even animals.

I hope that you found this information helpful as we did.

 Till the next post,

 Live clean n Prosper