It isn’t just homeopathy that conventional medicine rejects. It’s anything that isn’t drugs. Let me illustrate.Thousands of patients in hospitals suffer from Clostridium difficile infection. It’s a bacterium that lodges in the gut, resulting often in severe diarrhea, cramping, dehydration, weight loss and sometimes kidney failure. Each year this infection sickens thousands in the U.S. and 14,000 die of it. It usually occurs from taking antibiotics and the normal treatment is to use… other antibiotics!
A 2004 study done in the Netherlands, treated this condition with whey protein concentrate from the milk of cows that had been immunized with C. difficile. In all but one case, C. difficile toxins disappeared from the patients’ faeces after the treatment. During follow-ups for up to one year, none of the patients suffered any recurrence of C. difficile diarrhoea. That was 9 years ago, yet doctors in the U.S. are still using antibiotics to treat C. difficile.
In other studies on C. difficile going back to 1958, faecal enemas prepared from healthy stools were used to replace healthy flora. The procedure was overwhelmingly successful: “Symptoms disappeared within 24 hours”, “Complete normalization of bowel function”, “Rapid relief of 90% of patients”, “Bowel function, blood pressure and leukocyte count normalized.” The Mayo Clinic first did a fecal transplant in 2011. The patient left the hospital 24 hours after the procedure, after having been bedridden for weeks. Forty five years after that first study, this is still not a first line treatment and is resorted to only after many rounds of antibiotics have failed.
It turns out there may be a simple prophylactic solution to C. difficile. A meta-analysis published in May 2013 of 23 randomized controlled trials1, found that probiotics (the kind you buy at the health food store) are both safe and effective for preventing Clostridium difficile-associated diarrhea. As of this writing, patients on antibiotics are not routinely given prophylactic probiotics.
Of course, homeopathic remedies offer an easier and more elegant solution once the infection has occurred. But that may have to wait until the medical community accepts immunized milk whey and probiotics.
1. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23728658
In this issue:
In this issue we have a special presentation from the Canadian College of Homeopathic Medicine (CCHM). Founded in 1994, their programs are based on classical homeopathy and emphasize clinical ability. They present a number of excellent cases and articles you don’t want to miss. I especially enjoyed the blog posts from CCHM graduates about their worldwide travels. Beverly Isla interviews Raymond Edge, founder and dean of the Canadian College of Homeopathic Medicine.
We present the Hpathy International Fiction Contest 2nd prize story, Life and Times by Dimple Kirpalani. A lovely story, so be sure to read it!
We have insightful cases from Dr. A.P. Sivakumaran (Gold Allergy and Hydrosalpinx), Kiran Grover (Asthma), Pauline Ashford (Leg Ulcer) and Dr. Shilpi Gupta (ADHD).
You will find articles from Grant Bentley, Robert Medhurst, Dr. Nahida Mulla, Dr. Rajneesh Kumar Sharma, Andreas Bachmair, Uta Mittelstadt and Iman Navab. We also have an interview by Gill Graham with Iman Navab, who has been producing articles on the history of homeopathy each month.
For our animal lovers we have veterinary cases by Joan Goddard and Dr. Edward De Beukelaer .
Be sure to see: Elaine Lewis’s acute Quiz and her Tidbits, the Plant Doctor, the new Tips & Secrets, Crossword Puzzle and the Cartoon. Send your questions, comments, cases and articles to: [email protected]
Your editorial was so timely, I actually added a portion of it to my Tidbits article as it fit perfectly with what I was trying to say! Great topic!!! Thanks!
Although homoeopathy was central to my recovery from a terminal diagnosis (15 years next January) during the early days of my fight, I also saw a doctor of Chinese medicine who taught me cancer control qigong, and a Tibetan doctor who eventually became one of His Holiness The Dalai Lama’s doctors. Tibetan medicine has an excellent record in treating cancer with some extremely sophisticated herbal treatments, and their diagnostic skills, largely using pulse analysis, really put conventional medicine to shame.
The Chinese doctor, former Red Guard from an important family within the Communist hierarchy, like most Chinese, was extremely chauvinistic about China’s role in the world, nevertheless, she had the deepest respect for Tibetan medicine. When she learned that I was being treated by a Tibetan doctor, she stated, you don’t need any medicine from me then. As for homoeopathy, she was well aware of it, extremely interested, indeed respectful of it.
China has doctors and hospitals both of Western medicine and of TCM and I once had an interesting conversation with a Chinese biophysicist who had done research on conventional cancer treatments. He confided, ‘You were very wise to avoid conventional treatment because I know just how poor it is’.
Likewise, my Tibetan doctor had no difficulties accepting cancer control qigong, Western medicine or homoeopathy. Although I had already read accounts of Tibetan medicine’s successes, I knew perfectly well that Tibetan doctors freely admit to the things they cannot treat successfully.
On the face of it, it does seem strange that allopathic medicine has little time for any of the other healing paradigms. However, when we look at its deplorable weaknesses in almost anything other than the treatment of trauma it is hardly surprising. I came to see that despite its plethora of seemingly advanced techniques, allopathic practitioners are both highly conservative and highly conformist. They have a powerful position within our society and despite an ideology that grants them a special place, their lack of real results must make many of them extremely restive.
Around nine months after my terminal diagnosis I bumped into my doctor at a local clothing store. I know I looked remarkably well and it was the reason he asked me, ‘what’s your secret?’ Some years before he told me of his bad back and asked me if I would lend him books on homoeopathy. A few months ago I learned that he had died of cancer only a few years after my diagnosis. It struck me his request for homoeopathic books was his way of looking for an answer to what was or what became his cancer. He was a lovely, compassionate man and I felt very sad to learn of his demise.
Despite, or rather, because of their unassailable position in our society, a surprising number when confronted themselves with illness, turn to alternatives including homoeopathy. For they know all too well just how poor allopathy is.
Well put Kevin and I’m glad you discovered a more enlightened approach. Thank you for those astute observations about medicine East and West. Aside from the attitude of Western doctors, there is also an institutionalized political agenda, which persecutes any unconventional healing method. An example is Dr. Stanislaw Bruzynski (see link) but there have been many others.
https://hpathy.com/editorials/the-war-on-cancer/
Thanks for your kind comments, Alan – very much appreciated. When I was ill I plucked up the courage to read Ralph Moss’ ‘The Cancer Industry’ and was deeply shocked at what I learned.
It has struck me for a long time that the attitude of western doctors is a form of special pleading, indeed, of trade protectionism. Although doctors are able to garner strong support from the media and other institutions, they are in effect doing little more than what trade unions do and what other unions have been so criticised for, at least here in the UK.
I find a lot of people in ‘alternative’ medical fields including homoeopathy, groaning about ‘big pharma’. I acknowledge that they also have an overexalted position in the world, but if we were more willing to see what is a trade union pushing for its own benefits, often unethically, we would make it easier to confront the weaknesses of western medicine.
My Dear Schmukler,
Indeed I can’t help admiring your well thought out, thoroughly searched and very well expressed articles and thought provoking write ups. I must admit that you are not only a source of inspiration but also a true guide to all other HOMOEPATHS to follow.
We pray for your health and well being, Stay Blessed.
Thanks
Best n Regards
Amir Abbas Ansari
Dear Amir,
Thank you for your kind words. We all share our knowledge in hopes of creating a kindler, gentler world.
My best
Alan
Well done Alan for pointing out that isn’t just homeopathy. Yes, the attack extends to many other areas of healing. See for example the use of bicarbonate for cancer. I don’t know much about you Alan but I presume you are American or live in the states. I noticed that most Americans whenever they write articles or books they often start with statistics in the US. English is an international language so stuff written in this language is read by people around the world. Giving statistics about the US is not so relevant to the international audience. It might be my impression but I get the sense that by quoting only numbers which are relevant to America, the writers exclude the rest of the world. Or am I being too fussy? Thanks for all your hard work! I really love this ezine.
Hi Stefania,
Thanks for your comments. The reason I often focus on the U.S. is because it is so backward in terms of medical care and it’s medical establishment needs reform. Important regulatory agencies of the U.S. are in the pocket of the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. Our current president appointed a lead attorney from Monsanto to be America’s Food Safety Czar. 80% of our food is already genetically engineered with virtually no safety testing.