I had the honour of attending the Premier of Just One Drop, directed by Laurel Chiten, who had flown in from America to attend, present and discuss this cutting edge film about homeopathy. Organised by 4H, Mani Norland, Principle of The School of Homeopathy and Cristal Sumner, Chief Executive of the British Homeopathic Association introduced the event and had both worked hard with others to ensure its high quality, on every level.  The ‘VIP’ audience had Royal, political and medical representation, the latter including homeopaths, teachers and medical doctors. The venue was a cinema in Soho, London, which hosts many innovative, pioneering films.

Just One Drop did not disappoint.  It is ground breaking in its content. Several homeopathic success stories are featured, including the poignant tale of a family dealing with a child with autism. Conventional medicine failed them as there was no improvement in his condition. They turned to homeopathy and saw a steady, significant, very moving improvement, which continues. Another case documents the journey of a man with MRSA and his totally inspiring healing journey. It was highlighted that homeopathy is one of the main systems of medicine in India as discussed by Divya Chhabra, one of India’s most influential and reputable doctors; the point being made here, is that it should be recognised as such throughout the world.  The mother of the autistic child beautifully stated that should homeopathy be more accepted and understood ‘it would change the world and medicine as we know it.’

The film goes on to introduce famous homeopaths, including Hahnemann himself and modern day ‘movers and shakers’ and teachers such as Jeremy Sherr, the Queens physician Dr Peter Fisher, Miranda Castro, Dr Massimo Mangliavori, Dr Roger Morrison, Hilery Dorrian and Francis Treuherz. The list here is long; many others were also interviewed and mentioned, all equally eminent! What was apparent amongst this diverse group of highly qualified people, was their total conviction in homeopathy as a valuable system of medicine. This is based on years of experience, and positive results and frankly, in the changing of peoples lives.  It is also worth pointing out that in the few here I have named, over 50 % are also medical doctors with stringent, allopathic training; what is clearly demonstrated, is that they have chosen to recognise and integrate homeopathy into their practice, or in many cases, use it exclusively as their preferred method of treatment. Why would they do this when they are highly qualified in both systems of medicine, should homeopathy not work? Food for thought for those that have difficulty in understanding the complexities involved in homeopathic medicine; but this is possibly all you need to know. The vitriol and the vindictiveness of the sceptics discussed throughout is misplaced, ignorant and without foundation, given the evidence set out so magnificently and clearly in this film.

In keeping with the theme of negative representation and distortion of evidence, Rachel Roberts, CEO of Homeopathy Research Institute, gives an in depth analysis of the Australian report, which stated that no health conditions could be helped by homeopathy.  This was in fact a gross misrepresentation as Rachel explains in the video linked here, the conclusion being that there was misfeasance, and it has been asked that the report to be rescinded.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvF8KxbCXzA

Lynn McTaggart, editor of ‘What Doctors Don’t Tell You (who I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with) also alludes to the ‘suppressed evidence’ in this report. You can read more of her findings in her article ‘Of Dirty Medicine and Double standards’ accessible at this link: http://lynnemctaggart.com/of-dirty-medicine-and-double-standards/

David Tredinnick MP, stood up and wholeheartedly and unreservedly stated his conviction in homeopathy, asserting that ‘if we can only get a few trials accepted, the dam will burst.’  This together with Dr Peter Fishers erudite insights added gravitas to an already distinguished, historic event.

Homeopathy will always be controversial due to the fact its roots are embedded in a fundamentally different paradigm which is complex, and requires intense study in order understand its philosophy, practice and mechanism of action. Many people will continue to be sceptical in their approach and will go to any lengths (including deceit and fraudulent behaviour) to deny its credibility, as demonstrated in the reports above. The intention of the film is ‘to pave the way for integration between conventional medicine and homeopathy.’  In my opinion, ‘Just One Drop’ should be shown widely in every community, to educate those who are not familiar with the depth of the healing possible. It is positively inspirational and deserves great acclaim and worldwide recognition. And one thing is for sure, millions of people, despite the detractors, continue to use it. My conclusion?  Homeopathy is clearly here to stay and flourish, even more so once the contents of this film have been absorbed and distributed throughout the world. So please share; it is important to inform and educate at the highest level, with the real facts.

Should you wish to see the film and host a screening, please follow the link here : http://www.justonedropfilm.com/host-a-screening/

Gill Graham

www.consultanthomeopath.com



 

 

 

As you are possibly aware, The World Health Organisation (WHO) has designated this week (14th-20th November 2016) to making people aware of the global problem of antibiotic resistance. There have been many articles written to highlight this but hopefully the following information will summarise concisely and clearly the problem and present viable solutions.

The key facts, are as follows:

• Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and development today.


• Antibiotic resistance can affect anyone, of any age, in any country.


• Antibiotic resistance occurs naturally, but misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals is accelerating the process.


• A growing number of infections – such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, and gonorrhoea – are becoming harder to treat as the antibiotics used to treat them become less effective.


• Antibiotic resistance leads to longer hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased mortality.

(World Health Organisation, October 2016)

Different approaches required

Given these facts, we need to seek suitable, practical and effective alternatives, as the situation is escalating out of control. Lifestyle changes are also a very important and integral part of this. It must be made clear that most homeopaths accept that there is a time and a place for antibiotics. In certain difficult, severe bacterial infections, they are potentially life saving. However, this being said, there is undeniable over prescription, which has to be addressed, for the sake of world health. It is important that everyone is aware of this and begins to take their own health management seriously and to stop demanding medications for minor ailments that are self limiting. Frequent antibiotic usage is potentially dangerous to one’s health and is a huge cause of iatrogenic disease. Take with caution and awareness of this proven fact.

Ban Ki Moon, the UN General Secretary, at the United Nations conference on drug resistant bacteria in September 2016, stated:‘ It is estimated that more than 700,000 people die each year due to drug-resistant infections, though it could be much higher because there is no global system to monitor these deaths. And there has been trouble tracking those deaths in places where they are monitored, like in the US, where tens of thousands of deaths have not been attributed to superbugs.’ He went on to say: ‘If we fail to address this problem quickly and comprehensively, antimicrobial resistance will make providing high-quality universal healthcare coverage more difficult if not impossible antimicrobial resistance is a “fundamental threat” to global health and safety. (UN: 2016)

Plan of action

It is important to recognise that less is more in terms of antibiotic usage, not only for one’s own health in the short term, but to avoid long term resistance. Save them, wherever possible, for those times of acute, dangerous infection. This could be one of the most valuable things you do for your own health. Check with your health care provider that the use of antibiotics in your case is essential, or if monitored, is the complaint likely to go away in of its own accord with good self care? Common viral infections that do not benefit from antibiotic treatment include: (Mayo Clinic: 2012)

• Colds


• Flu (influenza


• Bronchitis


• Most coughs


• Most sore throats


• Some ear infections


• Some sinus infection


• Stomach flu (viral gastroenteritis)

1. Try and avoid illness in the first place by eating a well balanced diet suitable to you, (taking into account food sensitivities and intolerances.) Exercise and get adequate sleep, supplement with vitamins and minerals and probiotics where necessary. Reduce stress and employ strategies to make this easier (meditation, yoga etc.)


2. Recognise your health is your responsibility. Prevent disease as much as possible optimising the above approach.


3. Understand that there are side effects with antibiotics, which can seriously affect your health. Yeast infections, both local and systemic are often the result of indiscriminate antibacterial onslaught which eliminates healthy as well as unhealthy gut flora; this can result in even more prescriptions, creating a cycle which is difficult to break. Avoid wherever possible.


4. Remove ‘Maintaining Causes (see earlier blog.) In other words, as much as possible remove those things that you know make you sick. eg: if you are a smoker with a hacking cough, stop smoking.


5. Research different approaches should treatment be required, starting with homeopathy, which has been wonderfully beneficial to many. Cases and research links given below.

The Homeopathic Approach/A Solution?

Much of healing witnessed using homeopathy is empirical, in other words, the patient gets better after a consultation and this is easily observed. No formal Randomised Control Trials are needed; it simply works; there are numerous examples of this happening in a variety of conditions on this website here. If formal RCT’s are required to prove or convince one of its efficacy, several cases of success with using homeopathy are included in a prospective, pragmatic study of 499 patients, over 6-months looking at homeopathy as an alternative to antibiotics, by Professor Dr. Michael Frass, Medical University of Vienna, The study can be found here:

http://www.cam-europe.eu/dms/files/CAMIG_April_2014/CAMIG_April_2014_Frass.pdf

Animals, both domestic and farm, often respond beautifully to homeopathic treatment and destroy any preconceived, limited, judgmental idea that homeopathy is placebo.  This recent triple blind randomised control trial with piglets is evidence of healing, without the need for antibiotics:

Prevention of diarrhoea in piglets

A high-quality placebo controlled trials identified by Mathie & Clausen was carried out by Wageningen Univsersity in the Netherlands:


‘In this triple blind RCT, 52 pregnant sows were treated with either Coli 30K (a homeopathic medicine made from E. coli bacteria) or placebo. The sows gave birth to 525 piglets and those in the group treated with Coli 30K had 6 times less diarrhoea than the piglets in the placebo group. This result was statistically significant (p < 0.0001) meaning that it is extremely unlikely to be a false positive result due to chance alone.The homeopathic medicine used in this study was made from E. colibacteria, alternately diluted and succussed to produce an ultra high dilution of 10^-60, meaning that it should no longer contain any molecules of the original bacteria.

The particular technique used, where the medicine used is made from the same substance which causes the disease being treated, is a sub-type of homeopathy called ‘isopathy’. As the only existing way of preventing this disease in livestock is by using antibiotics, this study should be repeated to confirm its findings, as it may provide an effective way to help reduce overuse of antibiotics. (Veterinary Research: 2015.)

Another trial concerning farm animals (cows) having successful outcomes hails from India: ‘The comparative efficacy of homeopathic and allopathic systems of medicine in the management of Indian dairy cows.’ It  can be found here, http://www.hawl.co.uk/fileadmin/HAWL/user_upload/articles/comparativeefficacyindiastudy.pdf  the conclusion being : ‘We conclude that the combination of phytolacca, calc flour, silica, belladonna, arnica and ipecac is effective and cost effective in the management of fibrotic and non fibrotic mastitis in lactating dairy cows compared to antibiotics.’ (Indian Veterinary Research Institute, 2004)

Thus, it is clear that farm animals also respond well to homeopathic treatment and a return to health without resorting to antibiotic treatment.  It is also hugely cost effective. Should you require more research data, in every sphere concerning homeopathy, this is a wonderful resource: http://hpathy.com/scientific-research/database-of-positive-homeopathy-research-studies/

We are an over medicated society, one which has become reliant on doctors to cure our every aliment.  It is time to recapture a sense of responsibility for ourselves and our families that does not include taking medication for minor conditions, rather to look after our own health first, following the above advice. We owe it to ourselves, our children and our families to be as well informed as possible. Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, was right and prophetic in his prediction: ‘If the disease is treated with violent allopathic drugs, other graver, more life threatening ailments are created in its place.’ Aphorism 37 (a), The Organon of Medicine.

As ever, should you wish to consult a homeopath: www.findahomeopath.org.

Gill Graham.  BSc, (Hons) BA, (Hons) RS Hom, DHMH



 

References

Data Base of positive reseach studies (2015) available at: : http://hpathy.com/scientific-research/database-of-positive-homeopathy-research-studies/

Mayo Clinic (2014) Antibiotics misuse puts you and others at risk: available at: http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/consumer-health/in-depth/antibiotics/art-20045720

Homeopathy as an alternative to antibiotics (2014) Professor Dr. Michael FRASS Medical University of Vienna, Department Medicine, Doctor´s Association for Classical Homeopath.  Available at:

http://www.cam-europe.eu/dms/files/CAMIG_April_2014/CAMIG_April_2014_Frass.pdf

The comparative efficacy of homeopathic and allopathic systems of medicine in the management of Indian dairy cows.’ (2004) Available at: http://www.hawl.co.uk/fileadmin/HAWL/user_upload/articles/comparativeefficacyindiastudy.pdf

UN meeting tackles the 'fundamental threat' of antibiotic-resistant superbugs.(2016) Available at:  https://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/sep/20/un-declaration-antibiotic-drug-resistance?CMP=share_btn_tw

Veterinary research (2015) available at: https://www.hri-research.org/resources/homeopathy-the-debate/essentialevidence/veterinary-research/

World Health Organisation, October 2016.Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/antibiotic-resistance/en/)

 

 

 

 

by Gill Graham.  BSc (Hons), BA (Hons) RSHom, DHMHS

When considering whether to follow the homeopathic route in the treatment of our own health or that of our friends and families, there is invariably, much confusion as to what homeopathy is and how it differs from conventional medicine. For ease of understanding, the underlying principles will be clarified, as far as possible.

The Organon and Homeopathic Philosophy

The Organon of Medicine, written by Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy is the cornerstone of homeopathic principles and practice. The first edition was written in 1810 in aphoristic style (paragraphs with numbers.) The book lays out the doctrines of homeopathy in a logical sequence of thoughts and philosophy and practice. In total there were 6 editions, five of which were published in Hahnemann’s lifetime, the 6^th completed in 1842, but he sadly passed away in June of 1843 before it could be published.  Thanks to the efforts of William Boericke the 6^th edition was published in 1921.

In order to fully embrace homeopathy, it is helpful to understand basic homeopathic philosophy. If you have been following my blogs here, you will already be aware that I repeatedly refer to the mind/body connection and how symptoms should be treated in their totality as opposed to being seen as separate problems.  The fundamental tenet of homeopathic medicine is to treat the imbalances of ‘the vital force’ leading to ill health as a whole, ideally with one remedy which matches the symptoms of the mind, body and spirit (this remedy is known as the Simillimum.) The Vital Force is an undefined energy, capable of fuelling an organism, it is inherent in all living things, which if disrupted or disturbed can result in disease. “The material organism without the vital force is capable of no sensation, no function, no self preservation; it derives all sensations, and performs all functions of life solely by means of the immaterial being (the vital force) which animates the material organism in health and disease.” (Aphorism 10, The Organon)

Hahnemann refers to it also as ‘dynamis’, ‘vital principle’ and ‘vital energy’. James Tyler Kent refers to it as ‘The Simple Substance,’ which is the dominating force in the organism, the absence of this force, is death.  To help with an understanding of this, energy parallels can be found in various cultures; the Ancient Chinese know The Vital Force as ‘Chi, the Japanese and Koreans as ‘Ki’ and in the ancient Sanskrit writings of India it is known as ‘Prana.’ Underlying this, there are 4 basic principles which govern homeopathy; each of which will be discussed in the following blog posts.

To find a homeopath or find out more about homeopathy have a look here.

The recent debate about whether doctors should recommend homeopathy, which featured this week in the BMJ has had responses from many about their views.

The debate itself is well worth a read and equally worth listening to the conversation, with some good points being made by Dr Peter Fisher regarding the practice of homeopathy and research into its efficacy. As this is written, the responses to the BMJ vote as to whether doctors should recommend homeopathy stands at 54.7% saying yes, and 45.3% saying no.

What do you think? Have you voted and had your say?