Is Obesity in your Genes?

There are many people who will ask why bother trying to lose weight when it’s all in our genes. Some people are just naturally thin while other are prone of gain weight.  The truth is that somewhere between 30 to 60 percent of weight gain is heredity. In essence, our whole body is engineered to survive with limited nutrients and we are genetically built for being active during the sunlight hours. But our hunting days are long gone and most of us now are tied to our desks or sit in our cars or houses, and the food magically comes directly to us.

The trick is therefore, as far as we can, to live and act in accordance to how our systems were originally programmes.  It has been argued by some that obesity really started when cars became popular in  the ’50s and ’60s. Likewise the advent of television made people even more sedentary. Since  1990, the level of overweight people in the United States has moved  from 51 percent to 65 percent. The sad fact is people eat all day long accompanied by a significant decline in activity levels.

How many times have we heard people who say I choose fruit and vegetables instead of instead of bread or fries, I do hour at the gym at least three times and use the stairs instead of the elevator and I still cannot lose those unwanted pounds.  It will often lead people to the conclusion that it’s not their fault, as it is their bad genes.”

It is not that simple. While you can partially blame your obese parents, genetics alone are very seldom responsible for your weight issues. It is true that there are many different genes that regulate body weight although scientists are still trying to get a better idea of the role that genes might play in weight gain. Their view is that we are at least 10 years away from finding more specific answers.

In 1991 a breakthrough discovery found a new protein within fat cells called perilipin. This protein coats the surface of fat that is stored in fat cells and its level seems to regulate the breakdown of fat. The conclusion is the more perilipin in your fat cells, the more fat that gets stored rather than broken down.

SlimAid Weight Loss AcceleratorThe key to weight loss is keep a high level of activity. Never stop moving around and try and burn calories any way you can. Clean the house yourself instead of hiring a maid, walk around as much as you can. If you can stand, don’t sit. If you gain weight easily, you need to force yourself to park further away from the store or take a walk during your lunch hour. And, of course, eat less while making wise choices – eat fruit, vegetables, lean proteins and limit treats to one day a week.

Finding a balance between your weight loss goals and your lifestyle is key.  Anyone who has tried to lose weight knows that’s its difficult. “So the choice is yours. All it comes down to is to exercise more and eat less and dont use genes as an excuse.

Homeopathic Treatment of Obesity

Almost one quarter of Americans are obese and other countries, as they develop, are seeing a big increase in obesity.  There are very many treatments available on the market for weight loss but many are associated with side effects and toxicity problems. The one exception is homeopathy. There are around 200 homeopathic remedies for obesity and the choice of remedy is largely dependent on the unique and individual complete case history of the patient. This makes homeopathy so special.  The right remedy is custom made for a particular patient. In dealing with the problem, it goes to the very root of it, is gentle on the body and takes into account the emotional and psychological aspects of a patient. Homeopathy delivers the remedy in minute but effective doses making it free from any side effects.

Scientists have put forward theories to explain how highly diluted homeopathic medicines actually produce results. Quantum physics may helop explain this in so far as electromagnetic energy contained in the remedies may influence the body on some level. Researchers in the area of physical chemistry have put forward a proposal called the  ”memory of water” theory, whereby the structure of the water-alcohol solution is somehow changed by the remedy during the process of dilution and retains this structure even after none of the actual substance remains.

In terms of some of the remedies used, an example is the Phytolacca berry which may be chosen if the patient’s weight gain is as a result of a sluggish metabolism. Or alternatively Fucus Vesiculosus could be selected when the patient has thyroid problem. This remedy also helps with constipation and it is helpful in burning fat.  Calcarea carbonicum may be chosen if the patient is of fair complexion and is fatty and flabby.  In Homeopathy the choice of remedy relies on the complete symptom pattern of the patient.

To aid in weight loss it is recommended that patients adopt some new habits to augment your homeopathic remedy. These include:

Food portion size. It is suggested you use smaller plates and eat with the non dominant hand.  You should not read or watch TV while eating. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables and fruits with high fibre content and low calories and sugar.

Chew your food properly – swallow after every bite twenty times.

Drink Water lots of water.

Exercise at least 45 minutes daily – this can include walking, jogging or swimming.   

 

Some Simple, Natural and Practical ways to Help you Lose Weight

The options to help you lose weight normally require a lot of hard work and sacrifice. There are very many ideas for you to try but the most important aspect is starting out with the right frame of mind a motivation to what to make a change. Without this you may as well not even start.  It is common knowledge that you will need to find a balance between what you eat and drank and your bodily activities in order to keep obesity at bay. Eat more of the wrong food and don’t exercise and your body will naturally start storing the excess calories in the form of fat, thereby making you pile on the pounds.
 
Following a diet with a high proportion of slow burning carbohydrate and protein along with a  simple exercise regime will ensure you remain in balance and remove the need for your body to store fat. In addition there are a number of  simple home remedies to help you lose weight:
 
• Substitute your regular cup of tea or coffee with green tea. Green tea is naturally rich in flavanoids and vitamin C. Both these components can help stimulate weight loss in your body.
• Unknown to most people who have been told avoid alcohol, drinking one glass of red wine to accompany your evening meal  is a good way to remove flab. Red wine actually contains a chemical  called as pyruvate which aid digestion.
• Avoid sucrose otherwise know as sugar. You can you use natural substitutes such as honey, stevia or Sucralose. Try and avoid all other chemical sweeteners found on the market.  
• Why not walk to the nearest store rather than take the car and take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator to help  burn some extra calories.
• Watch your portion size and rather eat smaller amount on a more regular basis.
• When eating don’t gulp down you food. Eat slowly and really chew your food before you swallow.
• Increase the amount of vegetables, nuts and legumes  that you consume as they really help you lose weight.
• Avoid taking your calories in the form of fruit drinks. Rather have a glass of water. Drinking adequate water is one of the most effective home remedies to help you lose weight. Water helps you in burning calories and in turn losing weight
• Stay away from all processed foods.
• The juice of half a lemon in lukewarm water, with a spoon of honey, sipped at regular intervals throughout the day is a great way to lose weight. It helps in suppress  hunger naturally.
• Follow a healthy exercise regime which can include anything like a  brisk walk, swimming, jogging, yoga, or aerobics. This will help shed those extra pounds  and will help, tone your body. 

Homeopathy for Weight Loss

The use of Homeopathic HCG as a weight loss remedy has mushroomed over the past months, primarily triggered by the internet. Whether Homeopathic HCG actually causes weight loss, or whether it is really the low calorie diet that accompanies it,  is a moot point.

The larger question is whether there is any place for homeopathy as an effective weight loss supplement. Before answering this question we need to delve a bit more into how homeopathy works. Homeopathy is not for everyone and has its many opponents. Scientists in particular struggle with everything about homeopathy as it transcends all their traditional research methods. There are two key theories behind homeopathy. 

Homeopathy states are that every person is subject to a universal “vital energy” which needs to be balanced to promote the body’s self-healing response. When this energy is disrupted or imbalanced, health problems develop. Homeopathic remedies aim to restore vital energy balance and thus stimulate the body’s own healing response.

Homeopathy is based on the principle of curing like with like, or the law of similars. Here is an example. We all know caffeine has the effect of keeping us awake. When caffeine is potentised into a homeopathic remedy it actually causes the exact opposite effect – sleepiness!  So if a patient goes to a homeopath complaining of insomnia (trouble sleeping), he/she will be prescribed homeopathic caffeine.  Another example is arsenic which is a poisonous substance that produces stomach cramps and vomiting if ingested. Homeopathy states that if you are suffering from stomach cramps and vomiting due to any reason, the symptoms can be cured by taking arsenicum album, a remedy prepared from arsenic. The premise is that by introducing something that causes the same symptoms as the condition, it will cause the body’s immune system to remove whatever was causing the original symptoms. 

The third key principle behind homeopathy involves a process known by practitioners as “potentisation” whereby a substance is diluted with alcohol or distilled water and then vigorously shaken in a process called “succussion”. Insoluble solids, such as quartz are diluted by grinding them with lactose (trituration). The founder of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann believed that the process of succussion activated the “vital energy” of the diluted substance, and that successive dilutions increased the “potency” of the remedy.

 These ideas are not generally accepted outside the field of homeopathy. Modern biochemistry cannot understand how you can arrive at a higher potency at a lower dilution. In some highly diluted preparations there is a high probability that even a single molecule of the original substance is present.

Despite the skeptics there are millions of enthusiastic homeopathic supporters around the world. The biggest converts are those who have been let down by traditional “allopathic” medicine, only to be cured permanently with the help of homeopathy. I say with the “help of” because all homeopathy does is help the body cure itself.

Getting back to the use of homeopathy for weight loss, how does it work? Homeopathy attempts to correct the three main prerequisites for reducing weight:-

  • digestive disorders
  • improve metabolism
  • ease elimination 

The remedies are prescribed after studying the pattern of symptoms as they appear in the patient. A homeopath will questions the patient extensively before prescribing the remedy for the individual.

Homeopathic remedies for obesity are tailored to the patient. Here are some examples:-

  1. if a patient obese individual has a craving for sweets, the remedy prescribed will be Argentum nitricum.
  2. If an obese patient has difficulty in controlling appetite, eats to calm down nerves, suffers from indigestion and craves hot foods and eggs, the remedy is Calcarea carbonica
  3. Ignatia will be prescribed for people who show symptoms of anxiety and fear.
  4. Nux Vomica is prescribed for a person who indulges in overeating and drinking and prefers rich fatty foods.
  5. Capsicum is suggested when obesity is accompanied by laziness. 

Conventional medications for obesity will inevitably inhibit absorption of nutrients or induce a feeling of satiation. Such drugs have been known to cause side effects like weakness, nausea, vomiting and bowel disorders. On the other hand, homeopathic remedies are safe and work in unison with a regulation diet.

The opinion is divided on the use of combinations. Some experts feel that only one remedy should be given at a time and changed if it does not improve the symptoms. However, combinations of homeopathic remedies for obesity have given positive results to millions of patients. We recommeded SlimAid Weight Loss Accelerator as the best homeopathic combination for weight loss.

Use Homeopathic Remedies for Acute Diarrhea, Nausea and Vomiting

By: Sonya McLeod

(NaturalNews) Acute cases of diarrhea, nausea and vomiting due to a viral or bacterial infection can be effectively treated at home using single homeopathic remedies. Diarrhea, nausea and vomiting caused by overindulgence in food or drink can also be treated homeopathically. Most of the remedies mentioned in this article can be found in a standard Homeopathic First Aid Kit or at your local health food store. They are completely natural, easy to administer, and have no side effects. All the remedies mentioned below should be used in a 30C potency (strength). Look for “30C” written at the end of the given remedy name (e.g. Arsenicum Album 30C).

Arsenicum Album: The first remedy to try in cases of food poisoning or traveler’s diarrhea. There is vomiting and diarrhea. People needing this remedy are weak, chilly, anxious and thirsty.

Nux Vomica: A great remedy for nausea and vomiting, especially after alcoholic drinks or overindulging in food. It’s known as “the hangover remedy.”

Colocynthis: A good remedy for diarrhea anytime there is abdominal pain that is better from pressure and bending double.

Ipecacuanha: Good for persistent nausea, with or without diarrhea, which is not relieved by vomiting.

Podophyllum: Another common diarrhea remedy. The stool is profuse and offensive smelling. The stools may be yellowish or green and are often completely liquid, and the bowel movements can come very frequently.

Bryonia: Diarrhea and/or vomiting that is worse from the slightest motion. This person is irritable, wants to be left alone and feels warm.

Since homeopathy is safe and non-toxic, the remedies can be given to pregnant women and children. Dosage is the same for adults and children: a few pellets dissolved in the mouth, taken preferably 15 minutes away from food or water. The remedy can be repeated every half hour for the first few doses, then a few times per day thereafter. Remedy response is very fast in cases of acute diarrhea and vomiting, so if there is no response after waiting a few hours, it means that you have chosen the wrong remedy.

Dietary Precautions

Avoid heavy, rich foods and sweets. Eat foods that are easy to digest such as yogurt, bananas, white rice, or cottage cheese. Drink lots of diluted juice, vegetable broth, or rice water to avoid dehydration.

Sources

“Homeopathy for Children” Gabrielle Pinto and Murray Feldman, 1996.
“Everybody’s Guide to Homeopathic Medicines” Stephen Cummings and Dana Ullman, 1997.
“The New Synoptic One” Frans Vermeulen, 2001.

About the author

Sonya is a classical homeopath practicing in her own private clinic in Vancouver Canada. She offers homeopathic consultations for chronic health complaints as well as homeopathic immunizations for children.
www.littlemountainhomeopathy.com
littlemountainhomeopathy.wordpress.com

Presenting 50 Facts About Homeopathy

By: Louise Mclean

(NaturalNews) In the last few years there have been many articles in the newspapers attacking homeopathy, claiming it contains nothing more than water, ignoring all the positive studies and saying it works through the placebo effect. So I decided to compile a list of facts to counter this criticism and present the salient points as clearly as possible. So far I have come up with 50.

How Homeopathy Works

* Fact 1 – Hippocrates ‘The Father of Medicine’ of Ancient Greece said there were two Laws of Healing: The Law of Opposites and the Law of Similars. Homeopathy treats the patient with medicines using the Law of Similars, orthodox medicine uses the Law of Opposites, e.g. antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, anticonvulsants, antihypertensives, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics.

* Fact 2 – Homeopathic theories are based on fixed principles of the Laws of Nature which do not change — unlike medical theories which are constantly changing!

* Fact 3 – Homeopathy is an evidence-based, empirical medicine.

* Fact 4 – Homeopathy is both an art and a science.

* Fact 5 – The Homeopathic provings of medicines are a more scientific method of testing than the orthodox model.

* Fact 6 – Homeopathic medicine awakens and stimulates the body’s own curative powers. The potentized remedy acts as a catalyst to set healing into motion.

* Fact 7 – Homeopathic medicines work by communicating a current/pattern/frequency of energy via the whole human body to jump start the body’s own inherent healing mechanisms.

* Fact 8 – Homeopathy assists the body to heal itself, to overcome an illness which brings the patient to a higher level of health. Orthodox medicine suppresses the illness, bringing the patient to a lower level of health.

* Fact 9 – The homeopathic practitioner endeavours to search for and treat the cause of the disease in order to heal the effect.

* Fact 10 – Outcomes of homeopathic treatment are measured by the long term curative effects of prescribing and complete eradication of the disease state.

* Fact 11 – The homeopathic practitioner treats the whole person, believing all symptoms are interrelated and seeks to select a medicine which most closely covers them all.

Homeopathic Medicines

* Fact 12 – Homeopathic remedies are cheap.

* Fact 13 – Pharmaceutical medicines are expensive.

* Fact 14 – There are more than 4,000 homeopathic medicines.

* Fact 15 – Homeopathic medicines have no toxic side-effects.

* Fact 16 – Homeopathic medicines are non-addictive.

* Fact 17 – Every true homeopathic medicine is made using one substance — whether plant, mineral, metal, etc. The exact substance is known, unlike most modern drugs where we are rarely informed of the ingredients.

* Fact 18 – Any remedy up to a 12c or a 24x potency still contains the original molecules of the substance and this is known as Avogadro’s number.

* Fact 19 – Every Patient is Unique so homeopathic medicines are individualized.

* Fact 20 – Homeopaths treat genetic illness, tracing its origins to 6 main genetic causes: Tuberculosis, Syphilis, Gonorrhoea, Psora (scabies), Cancer, Leprosy.

* Fact 21 – Epidemics such as cholera and typhoid were treated successfully using homeopathy in the 19th century with very high success rates, compared to orthodox medicine (http://www.whale.to/v/winston.html) .

* Fact 22 – There are thousands of homeopathic books, available at specialist outlets, not sold in the high street.

Homeopathic Hospitals

* Fact 23 – There are 5 homeopathic hospitals in the U.K. — in London, Tunbridge Wells, Bristol, Liverpool and Glasgow. They cost the NHS under £10 million a year compared to the £100 billion for the total annual NHS budget for 2008!

* Fact 24 – At one of the earliest debates on the NHS Act of 1948 the Government pledged that homoeopathy would continue to be available on the NHS, as long as there were “patients wishing to receive it and doctors willing to provide it”.

* Fact 25 – There is a campaign by certain U.K. Professors to oust homeopathy completely from the NHS after they wrote on NHS headed paper to all Primary Care Trusts in 2006 telling managers not to refer patients to the homeopathic hospitals.

* Fact 26 – The Homeopathic Hospitals are clean, with friendly, well informed staff. The patients are generally pleased with their treatment unlike many orthodox National Health Service hospitals.

* Fact 27 – The chances of contracting MRSA or C. Difficile at a Homeopathic Hospital are extremely rare.

* Fact 28 – Unlike orthodox medicine where two thirds of all conventional hospital admissions are due to the side-effects of pharmaceutical medicines, the bill for negligence claims soaring into billions, one U.K. leading insurance company reported only ‘a couple’ of claims against homeopaths in a ten year period!

Orthodox Medicine Opposing Homeopathy

* Fact 29 – In the United States in the early 1900s there were 22 homeopathic medical schools and over 100 homeopathic hospitals, 60 orphanages and old people’s homes and 1,000+ homeopathic pharmacies.

* Fact 30 – Members of the American Medical Association had great animosity towards homeopathy after its formation in 1847 and it was decided to purge all local medical societies of physicians who were homeopaths.

* Fact 31 – Big Pharma does not want the Public to find out how well homeopathy works!

Scientific Studies

* Fact 32 – In 2005 the World Health Organisation brought out a draft report which showed homeopathy was beneficial causing Big Pharma to panic and The Lancet to bring out an editorial entitled ‘The End of Homeopathy’.

* Fact 33 – In 2005 The Lancet tried to destroy homeopathy but were only looking at 8 inconclusive trials out of 110 of which 102 were positive. This was a fraudulent analysis.
“The meta-analysis at the centre of the controversy is based on 110 placebo-controlled clinical trials of homeopathy and 110 clinical trials of allopathy (conventional medicine), which are said to be matched. These were reduced to 21 trials of homeopathy and 9 of conventional medicine of ‘higher quality’ and further reduced to 8 and 6 trials, respectively, which were ‘larger, higher quality’. The final analysis which concluded that ‘the clinical effects of homoeopathy are placebo effects’ was based on just the eight ‘larger, higher quality’ clinical trials of homeopathy. The Lancet’s press release did not mention this, instead giving the impression that the conclusions were based on all 110 trials.”
(http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/ar…)

* Fact 34 – There have been many clinical trials that prove homeopathy works. In the past 24 years there have been more than 180 controlled, and 118 randomized, trials into homeopathy, which were analysed by four separate meta-analyses. In each case, the researchers concluded that the benefits of homeopathy went far beyond that which could be explained purely by the placebo effect.

* Fact 35 – The Bristol Homeopathic Hospital carried out a study published in November 2005 of 6500 patients receiving homeopathic treatment. There was an overall improvement in health of 70% of them (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/…) .

* Fact 36 – Homeopathy can never be properly tested through double blind randomised trials because each prescription is individualised as every patient is unique. Therefore 10 people with arthritis, for example, may all need a different homeopathic medicine.

* Fact 37 – Homeopathic medicines are not tested on animals.

* Fact 38 – Homeopathic medicines work even better on animals and babies than on adults, proving this cannot be placebo.

* Fact 39 – Scientists agree that if and when homeopathy is accepted by the scientific community it will turn established science on its head.

Homeopathic Practitioners

* Fact 40 – Homeopathic Practitioners train for 4 years in Anatomy and Physiology, as well as Pathology and Disease, Materia Medica, Homeopathic Philosophy and study of the Homeopathic Repertory.

* Fact 41 – Most homeopaths treat patients who have been referred to them by word of mouth. Most patients seek out homeopathy because conventional treatment has not benefited them or because it poses too great a risk of side-effects.

* Fact 42 – The homeopathic community has thousands, even millions, of written case notes that demonstrate the positive benefits of their treatment. Some homeopaths have video proof of their patients before and after treatment.

* Fact 43 – Homeopaths charge patients an average of £50 an hour. Specialist Doctors can charge up to £200 or more.

Popularity of Homeopathy

* Fact 44 – The popularity of homeopathy has grown in the past 30 years, its revival entirely through word of mouth and estimated to be growing at more than 20% a year the world over.

* Fact 45 – Hundreds of famous people throughout the past 200 years have enjoyed the benefits of homeopathic medicine (www.homeopathicrevolution.com) .

* Fact 46 – The aristocratic patronage of homeopathy in the U.K. extended well into the 1940s and beyond can be easily demonstrated. In the Homeopathic Medical Directories there are lists of patrons of the dispensaries and hospitals. They read like an extract from Burke’s or Debrett’s.

* Fact 47 – The Royal Families of Europe use homeopathic medicine and Queen Elizabeth II of England never travels anywhere without her homeopathic vials of medicine.

* Fact 48 – Homeopathy is practised nowadays in countries all over the world. In India there are 100 homeopathic medical schools and around 250,000 homeopathic doctors.

* Fact 49 – In a recent Global TGI survey where people were asked whether they trust homeopathy the following percentages of people living in urban areas said YES: 62% in India, 58% Brazil, 53% Saudi Arabia, Chile 49%, United Arab Emirates 49%, France 40%, South Africa 35%, Russia 28%, Germany 27%, Argentina 25%, Hungary 25%, USA 18%, UK 15% (http://www.tgisurveys.com/documents…)

* Fact 50 – The media as a whole has been unwilling to air a defence of the efficacy of homeopathy and the validity of this 250 year old profession.

Copyright Louise Mclean © 2008
Reprinted with permission

About the author
Louise Mclean, LCCH MHMA, is a homeopathic practitioner with 20 years experience. She is also the Editor of two newsletters – Zeus News International and
Zeus Homoeopathy News. www.zeusinfoservice.com

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/024512_homeopathic_homeopathy_medicine.html#ixzz1bQJPIriO

Homeopathy Made Easy – History of Homeopathy

TheHomeopathicCoach-SamAdkins

HCG weight-loss products are fraudulent, FDA says

By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
A popular type of weight-loss products, heavily promoted on the Internet, is fraudulent and illegal, Food and Drug Administration officials say.

HCG weight-loss products that promise dramatic results and claim to be homeopathic are sold as drops, pellets and sprays on the Web, in drugstores and at General Nutrition Centers. They are supposed to be used in combination with a very low-calorie diet of 500 calories a day.

Many of the labels indicate the products contain HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, a hormone made by the placenta during pregnancy. The hormone itself is approved as a prescription treatment for infertility and other conditions.

There is no evidence the oral over-the-counter products are effective for weight loss, says Elizabeth Miller, FDA’s leader for the Internet and health fraud team. While they may not be dangerous, they’re at least “economic fraud,” she says.

Because the products do not seem to be “a serious direct health hazard or a serious indirect health hazard,” they have been a lower priority for FDA action than other products. Still, Miller says, “they could be subject to enforcement at any time.”

One of the issues is the homeopathic label. Homeopathy is an alternative medicine practice of using very small or diluted preparations of medicines or remedies to treat a condition. Miller says, “We are aware of HCG products that claim to be homeopathic, but it is not recognized in the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia.” Therefore, these products “are not recognized by the FDA as homeopathic drugs, so they are unapproved drugs and are illegal,” she says.

Miller says HCG began being used for weight loss in the 1950s when a British physician had a theory that it could help people on a near-starvation diet not feel hungry. “Since then, a lot of research and clinical trials debunked that theory.”

Samuel Klein of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis agrees: “Data from most randomized controlled trials show that HCG is no better than placebo in achieving weight loss or reducing hunger.”

Stephen Barrett, a retired psychiatrist who operates quackwatch.org, says, “The bottom line is there is no reason to think the product works.”

Even experts in the supplement industry say the products aren’t legal and don’t work. Andrew Shao of the Council for Responsible Nutrition, an industry group, says HCG is “not considered a legal dietary ingredient and therefore cannot be sold as a dietary supplement. I am not aware of any scientific evidence that supports its use when taken orally.”

Because HCG is a peptide hormone, it would be broken down by the stomach and rendered ineffective, he says. He says the products are mostly sold over the Internet, so it’s difficult to track sales.

Kevin Wright, president of HCG Platinum, says his company made HCG products until about two months ago; it stopped because it found a formula that doesn’t use the hormone. Some bottles of the HCG formula are still on store shelves, selling for about $70 an ounce.

Many other companies are still selling HCG products, and there are weight-loss clinics that use the prescribed injectable hormone, he says.

FDA’s Miller also has concerns about injectable versions of HCG for weight loss. The drug is not approved for weight loss, she says. Dieters getting injections of the hormone from people who aren’t licensed to do so run the risk of getting infections and can’t be sure what product they’re getting.

SlimAid Weight Loss Accelerator spray is a homeopathic weight loss remedy free of HCG

Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?

Once upon a time, doctors had little patience with the claims made for alternative medicines. In recent years the climate has changed dramatically. It is now politically correct to have an open mind about such matters; “the patient knows best” and “it worked for me” seem to be the new mantras. Although this may be a reasonable approach to some of the more plausible aspects of alternative medicine, such as herbal medicine or physical therapies that require manipulation, we believe it cannot apply across the board. Some of these alternatives are based on obsolete or metaphysical concepts of human biology and physiology that have to be described as absurd with proponents who will not subject their interventions to scientific scrutiny or if they do, and are found wanting, suggest that the mere fact of critical evaluation is sufficient to chase the healing process away. These individuals have a conflict of interest more powerful than the requirement for scientific integrity and yet defend themselves by claiming that those wanting to carry out the trials are in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry and are part of a conspiracy to deny their patients tried and tested palliatives.

To read this article in its entirety, please visit The American Journal of Medicine website.

– Michael Baum, MD, ChM, Edzard Ernst, MD, PhD

This article was originally published in the November 2009 issue of The American Journal of Medicine.

Could This ‘Forbidden Medicine’ Eliminate the Need for Drugs?

By Amy L. Lansky, PhD

How I Broke Out of the Mold and Reliance on Failed Medical Therapies Of course, I used to be a lover of conventional medicine like most people. Back in the early 1990s, my husband Steve Rubin and I were both computer researchers in Silicon Valley and followed our doctors’ instructions obediently, loading our kids up with every recommended vaccine on schedule. Our allopathic trance began to break in 1994 when our 3-year-old son Max began to show signs of autism.

I first read about homeopathy in the January 1995 issue of Mothering Magazine, which contained an article about the successful homeopathic treatment of ADD and other children’s behavioral problems [16]. Steve and I decided to give it a try and found a practitioner in our area. Within a week we began to see small and subtle improvement in Max – improvement that became a slow and steady trend. After two years of treatment, he was testing normally and was released from eligibility for special education benefits. His speech and language therapist told the county representative that she had never seen an autistic child recover like Max had, and she fully credited homeopathy for his recovery. By the time he was eight, nearly all signs of Max’s autism were gone. Today he is 18, a freshman at a leading university, completely autism free, and without restrictions of any kind.

Needless to say, this experience was both mind-boggling and life-transforming. I began to study homeopathy myself and ultimately wrote what became the best-selling patient education book in the USA – Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy [17] – a comprehensive introduction to homeopathic history, philosophy, science, and experience, sprinkled with dozens first-person cure stories for a variety of ailments, along with a chapter about Max’s cure.

In the end, I left my work in computer science and devoted myself to letting others know about the healing powers of homeopathy. I got involved in the successful campaign for health freedom legislation in California too [18]. Steve also got involved and developed the National Vaccine Information Center’s online interface to the VAERS database [19] (the CDC’s public record of vaccine injuries). I guess Max’s healing led us both to become alternative medicine activists, and we haven’t looked back.
Conclusion

So why not take a look at homeopathy for yourself? Make it your New Year’s resolution to find a good classical practitioner and to learn more about this amazing medical modality. The skeptics manage to create a lot of smoke in an effort to hide homeopathy from public view. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Find out about how this powerful healing system – a system that packs a lot of firepower into an infinitesimal punch – can help you and your family.
Resources

(1) Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy – www.impossiblecure.com. This website includes: book ordering information; autism help page; free archive of Amy’s show on AutismOne Radio – There’s Hope with Homeopathy; Cure Stories Database; helpful links.

(2) National Center for Homeopathy – www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org. Leading open-membership organization for homeopathy in the USA that organizes the yearly national conference. Membership buys a quarterly magazine, Homeopathy Today, monthly eNewsetter, online chats with leading experts, extensive online resources and social network. Website includes many free resources, including practitioner and resource referrals lists and flu treatment information.

References
[1] Baum, Michael and Edzard Ernst, “Should We Maintain an Open Mind about Homeopathy?” The American Journal of Medicine, Vol. 122, No. 11, pp. 973-974 (November 2009).
[2] Shang, A. et al. “Are the Clinical Effects of Homeopathy Placebo Effects? Comparative Study of Placebo-Controlled Trials of Homeopathy and Allopathy,” The Lancet, 366, pp. 726- 732 (2005).
An extensive refutation of the results of this study, including statistical analyses and evidence of foul-play, can be found here
[3] Linde, K. et al. “Are the Clinical Effects of Homoeopathy Placebo Effects? A Meta-Analysis of Placebo-Controlled Trials,” The Lancet, 250, pp. 834-843 (1997).
[4] Kleijnen, J. et al. “Clinical Trials of Homeopathy,” British Medical Journal, 302, pp. 316-323 (1991).
[5] Jacobs, J. et al. “Treatment of Acute Childhood Diarrhea with Homeopathic Medicine: A Randomized Clinical Trial in Nicaragua,” Pediatrics, Vol. 83, No. 5, pp. 719-725 (1994).
[6] Bell, I.R. et al. “Improved Clinical Status in Fibromyalgia Patients Treated with Individualized Homeopathic Remedies Versus Placebo,” Rheumatology, 2004b; 43 (5):577-82.
[7] Taylor, M.A. et al. “Randomised Controlled Trial of Homoeopathy Versus Placebo in Perennial Allergic Rhinitis with Overview of Four Trial Series,” British Medical Journal, 321, pp. 471-476 (2000).
[8] For more trials, see www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org (under Articles, click Research).
[9] Rao, et al. “The Defining Role of Structure (Including Epitaxy) in the Plausibility of Homeopathy,” Homeopathy, 96, pp. 175-182 (2007).
[10] Rao, et. Al. “Characterization of the Structure of Ultra Dilute Sols with Remarkable Biological Properties,” Materials Letters, Vol. 62, Issues 10-11, pp. 1487-1490 (2008).
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[13] Brown, V. and M. Ennis. “Flow-Cytometric Analysis of Basophil Activation: Inhibition by Histamine at Conventional and Homeopathic Concentrations,” Inflammation Research, 50, Supplement (2), S47-S48 (2001).
[14] Montagnier, Luc, et al. “Electromagnetic Signals Are Produced by Aqueous Nanostructures Derived from Bacterial DNA Sequences,” Insterdiscip Sci Comput Life Sci, 1:81-90 (2009).
[15] http://homeopathyresource.wordpress.com/2009/01/01/successful-use-of-homeopathyin- over-5-million-people-reported-from-cuba
[16] Reichenberg-Ullman, J. “A Homeopathic Approach to Behavioral Problems,” Mothering, Number 74, pp. 97-101 (1995).
[17] Lansky, Amy. Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy. R.L. Ranch Press (2003).
[18] www.californiahealthfreedom.com.
[19]www.medalerts.org.

About the Author

Amy L. Lansky, PhD was a Silicon Valley computer scientist when her life was transformed by the miraculous homeopathic cure of her son’s autism. In April 2003 she published Impossible Cure: The Promise of Homeopathy, one of the best-selling books on homeopathy in the USA (www.impossiblecure.com). Amy is an executive board member of the National Center for Homeopathy (www.nationalcenterforhomeopathy.org). She speaks and writes internationally about homeopathy and hosts a monthly radio show on Autism One Radio (www.autismone.org).