The History of Homeopathy

Of all the natural medicines, none is more divisive than homeopathy. Many chemists, biologists and physicians are quick to dismiss this 200 year-old system of natural healing as nothing but absolute quackery and in many countries around the world, just calling yourself a homeopath can result in imprisonment. But millions of lay people and thousands of educated, competent health care professionals from all walks of life believe completely in the healing power of this controversial system of natural healing.

Homeopathy is so popular in Europe that over 30% of the family practitioners in France prescribe homeopathic remedies and more than 40% of England's doctors regularly refer patients to homeopaths. Here in the U.S., homeopathy is enjoying something of a renaissance, as well. Though homeopathy is considerably less well-known here, a growing number of Americans are turning to homeopathy for help with everything from AIDS to the common cold.

Based on the use of extremely dilute preparations known as "remedies", homeopathy grew from the meticulous research of an 18th century German physician named Samuel Hahnemann. At the height of his career, Dr. Hahnemann was the personal physician to the German royal family and the author of one of the most respected chemistry texts of the time. But despite his personal and professional successes, Dr. Hahnemann grew increasingly dissatisfied with medicine. He suspected that the accepted therapies of bloodletting, mercury overdoses and other popular treatments were, in fact, doing more harm than good. He soon abandoned his orthodox medical career to devote himself full-time to the studies that would eventually give us the branch of natural healing that Dr. Hahnemann coined "homeopathy".

Unlike his mainstream contemporaries, who experimented only on sick people and laboratory animals, Dr. Hahnemann gave his experimental remedies to healthy adults to study their reactions under real-life conditions. Dr. Hahnemann noticed that healthy people receiving extremely small amounts of certain medications exhibited many of the same symptoms the medications were supposed to eliminate. He called his discovery the "Law of Similars" and it is this law upon which the rest of homeopathy is built. Even modern mainstream practices like immunization and radiation owe their widespread acceptance to this first law of homeopathy.

His discovery of the Law of Similars was the fuse that ignited the rest of Dr. Hahnemann's research. This research, the results of which were compiled into exhaustive volumes he called "provings", has been continually updated by other homeopaths ever since.

Lisa Barger is a traditional naturopath specializing in natural health education. To learn more about Ms. Barger's belief in "Empowerment through Education" or to take a free online natural health class see her website, http://www.LisaBarger.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Barger

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What is homeopathy?

An alternative treatment of disease involving the consumption of natural materials that simulate the symptoms of the disease. These materials are first diluted in pure water to such an extent that there are generally no molecules of the original material left. The efficacy of this treatment is rejected by most medical experts. It has the potential of causing harm, because individuals may seek a cure through homeopathy, and ignore the potential for a cure from a physician.
A natural pharmaceutical science that utilizes substances from the plant, mineral, and animal kingdoms and is based on the premise that these naturally occurring substances can cure disease symptoms similar to those they produce if taken in overdose. Each medicine is individually prescribed according to how it stimulates the immune and defence systems of the sick person. Sometimes it is called the “royal medicine.
A form of medicine that relies on minute amounts of herbs, minerals, and other substances to stimulate natural defences against disease. It is more widely used in Western Europe than the United States. Developed in the late 18th century by Samuel Hahnemann, MD, the therapy uses the "law of similars" to treat disease. That is, if large amounts of a substance such as quinine cause symptoms of an illness in a healthy person, then smaller amounts should be used for the cure.