Homeopathy vs. Herbalsim: Methods Compared

I am often extremely surprised to see the number of people who believe that homeopathy is a catch-all term that is inclusive of other alternative medicine practices, including herbal medicine. Despite common misconceptions, homeopathy and herbalism are entirely different practices, with only a few similarities.

Homeopathy and herbal medicine share a few traits in common, in that both are forms of alternative medicine that ultimately stem from the use of natural compounds. Herbal medicines can often be found alongside homeopathic remedies in health food stores and holistic healing centers, and some well-meaning but misinformed physicians refer to them as if they are the same practice. These misnomers and mislabels feed the popular misunderstanding of the two practices.

Herbal medicine is an ancient practice dating back to prehistoric times, and it is still widely used throughout the world. The study of medicinal herbs and their properties ultimately led to the development of modern medicine, through mass synthesis of naturally occurring, healing compounds. Like conventional, pharmaceutical medicines, herbal remedies are backed by scientific study, and most carry a risk of side effects and drug interactions.

It was through the study of these occasional side-effects that homeopathy, a completely different form of alternative medicine, was created. In the eighteen twenties, physicians developed a theory that extremely small amounts of herbs can treat the side-effects that they would cause in massive amounts. For example, coffee, which can cause high blood pressure, anxiety, and restlessness, is used in homeopathic quantities to lower blood pressure, calm the nerves, and sedate people with insomnia.

As homeopathy became more deeply developed, minerals and poisons also became used in remedies. This may sound dangerous, but homeopathic medicine is almost universally free of any side-effects, risks, or interactions. Homeopathic remedies are so extremely diluted that the vast majority of them do not contain a single molecule of the base herb, mineral, or toxin, and they are chemically identical to a placebo-- making them no more likely to cause side effects than pure water.

How, then, can homeopathic remedies be effective? The answer is, quite bluntly, that they aren't. Homeopathy has been dismissed as quackery and pseudoscience by most physicians and some herbalists since its first introduction in the nineteenth century, and, to date, no placebo-controlled, unbiased studies have yielded any encouraging results regarding their efficacy. While herbal medicines can be quite powerful, homeopathic remedies' usefulness is limited to the placebo effect.

This confusion has often led consumers to avoid alternative medicines in general, based on the fact that so many studies have failed to find any positive effect from homeopathy. Common mislabeling and misunderstanding of the term "homeopathic" have also contributed to the confusion and avoidance. While herbal medicine is quite powerful, potentially dangerous, and backed by thousands of peer-reviewed studies, homeopathy remains a pseudoscientific hoax.