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Discovering Homeopathy: Your Introduction to the Science and Art of Homeopathic Medicine
Dana Ullman, one of the leading advocates of homeopathic medicine, has produced a comprehensive, lucid introduction to this branch of complementary medicine, covering the history and the philosophy of homeopathy as well as scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness for a variety of conditions. A detailed discussion of the effectiveness and the limits of homeopathy in the treatment of infectious disease, allergies, chronic diseases, psychological conditions and dentistry, as well as its applications in pregnancy and labor, women's health, pediatrics and sports medicine follows.
312 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1993
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May 23, 2024
ONE OF THE BEST SUMMARIES AND DEFENSES OF HOMEOPATHY
Author Dana Ullman wrote in the Introduction to the original 1988 edition of this book (revised edition, 1991), “As valuable as conventional medicine is, it also has its limitations and problems. Because conventional drugs are usually prescribed for their individual capacities to act upon specific parts of the body, it follows that several different drugs might be prescribed to treat the various symptoms of one individual. And, of course, it then follows that additional drugs would be needed to control the side effects of one or more of the other drugs being taken. Homeopathic medicine offers an alternative… the homeopathic physician prescribes a single medicine at a time that will stimulate the person’s immune and defense capacity and bring about an overall improvement in that person’s health. The procedure by which the homeopath finds the precise individual substance is the very science and art of homeopathy.” (Pg. xxiii-xxiv)
He continues, “Unlike conventional drugs, which act primarily by having direct effects upon physiological processes related to a person’s symptoms, homeopathic medicines are thought to work by stimulating the person’s immune and defense system, which raises his or her overall level of health, thereby enabling him or her to reestablish health and prevent disease. Homeopathy, of course, cannot cur everything or everybody, but it does offer the real possibility of cure for various deep-seated acute, chronic, and hereditary diseases… As scientists and the general public develop greater understanding and respect for the body’s immune system, homeopathy will gain in popularity as a primary pharmacological means to stimulate immune response. Those conventional medical therapies that primarily treat and suppress symptoms will be accepted for their valuable role in health care, but not necessarily as a first course of treatment.” (Pg. xxvii-xxviii)
He goes on, “In the 21st century, homeopathy will be utilized to heal a wide assortment of acute and chronic conditions… it should be reemphasized that homeopathic medicines complement good medical care… Ideally, homeopaths are taking the best of conventional medicine and the best of the natural medicines to create a kind of care that will commonplace in the 21st century… homeopathy … will inevitably put the concept of HEALING back into medicine. Doctors and scientists today talk about treating disease, combating illness, suppressing symptoms… often neglecting reference to healing the person… In comparison homeopaths talk about stimulating the body’s defenses, catalyzing the immune system, and augmenting the ‘vital force’ when discuss virtually every patient.” (Pg. xxx-xxxi)
He outlines, “There are several assumptions about contemporary and 21st century medicine that underlie much of this book: 1. Despite the various advances in medicine, there is so much more that is not known. 2. Medical care needs to be considerably more scientific than it is at present… it must also comprehend more fully the nature of disease and health… 3. … only in certain circumstances do present-day medical treatments actually cure disease… 8. Homeopathic medicine will be the primary pharmacological means to stimulate immune and defense responses. 10, ‘Alternative’ medicine… will be an integral part of a comprehensive health care system.” (Pg. xxxii-xxxiii)
He explains, “The way homeopaths learn what a homeopathic medicine will cure is through the use of experiments called ‘drug provings.’ In these homeopathic drug trials, researchers administer continual doses of a substance to a healthy individual until a reaction to the substance is achieved. The subject is asked to keep detailed records of symptoms; additional symptoms are discovered through an interview. The subject is instructed to stop ingesting the substance as soon as any particularly discomforting symptom manifests. Once it is known what symptoms a substance causes, it is then known what it will influence and cure when given in extremely small, specially prepared doses.” (Pg. 9-10)
He acknowledges, “Homeopathy’s law of similars and its reliance on individual treatment can be readily understood and accepted by most people. Homeopathy’s special pharmaceutical process is, however, its most controversial aspect. This process, called ‘potentization,’ refers to a specific procedure of serial dilution wherein one part by volume of a medicinal substance is diluted with 99 parts of distilled water or ethyl alcohol… One part of this solution is diluted further with 99 parts of distilled water or ethyl alcohol… This process of distillation … may be continued to different strengths, most commonly 3, 6, 9, 12, 30, 200, 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000. It is initially startling to learn that medicines that have been diluted so many times have any effect. It is even more surprising to learn that homeopaths for the past 200 years have observed that the more a medicine has been potentized---that is, diluted in this fashion---the longer it generally acts, the deeper it usually heals, and the few doses tend to be needed.” (Pg. 11-12) He adds, “Although homeopathic medicine may be so dilute as not to have any molecules, a pattern of substance remains.” (Pg. 13)
He asserts, “The homeopaths in Cincinnati were so successful in treating people during the 1849 cholera epidemic that they published a daily list of their patients in the newspaper… Only 3 percent of the 1,116 homeopathic patients died, while between 48 and 60 percent of those under orthodox medical treatment died. The success of homeopaths in treating the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 that spread throughout the south was so impressive that homeopathy finally began to be noticed in the region.” (Pg. 43)
Of “the AMA’s oppression of homeopathy,” he says, “By 1950, all the homeopathic colleges in the United States were either closed of no longer teaching homeopathy. There were only 50 to 150 practicing homeopathic physicians, and most of these were over 50 years old. And yet, it is hard to suppress the truth. Homeopathy has risen again, and this time history will be rewritten.” (Pg. 47)
He argues, “Whether one is or is not convinced by or interested in homeopathic research, it is worthwhile to note the following facts, which suggest that homeopathic medicines are not placebos and that the doses do have biological action. 1. Homeopathic medicines are commonly used on animals by veterinarians and laypersons… 2. Homeopathic medicines are commonly used on infants… 3. Homeopathy became particularly popular … in the 1800s because of its success in treating the epidemics that raged… 4. The homeopathic medicines have the capacity to heal when they are prescribed in the proper microdose, but they also have the capacity to create the symptoms they are known to heal if certain sensitive people recurrently take microdoses of that particular substance… 5. When a person with a chronic illness is given a homeopathic medicine, it is relatively common for that person to experience ‘a healing crisis’---that is, a temporary exacerbation of symptoms that he presently has or may have had in the past… 6. Presently, many homeopathic pharmacies… voluntarily restrict the use of the hither potencies (200th, 1,000th, 10,000th, and higher) to licensed health professionals.” (Pg. 56-58)
This book is one of the better summaries and defenses of homeopathy, that will be of keen interest to those studying the subject.
Author Dana Ullman wrote in the Introduction to the original 1988 edition of this book (revised edition, 1991), “As valuable as conventional medicine is, it also has its limitations and problems. Because conventional drugs are usually prescribed for their individual capacities to act upon specific parts of the body, it follows that several different drugs might be prescribed to treat the various symptoms of one individual. And, of course, it then follows that additional drugs would be needed to control the side effects of one or more of the other drugs being taken. Homeopathic medicine offers an alternative… the homeopathic physician prescribes a single medicine at a time that will stimulate the person’s immune and defense capacity and bring about an overall improvement in that person’s health. The procedure by which the homeopath finds the precise individual substance is the very science and art of homeopathy.” (Pg. xxiii-xxiv)
He continues, “Unlike conventional drugs, which act primarily by having direct effects upon physiological processes related to a person’s symptoms, homeopathic medicines are thought to work by stimulating the person’s immune and defense system, which raises his or her overall level of health, thereby enabling him or her to reestablish health and prevent disease. Homeopathy, of course, cannot cur everything or everybody, but it does offer the real possibility of cure for various deep-seated acute, chronic, and hereditary diseases… As scientists and the general public develop greater understanding and respect for the body’s immune system, homeopathy will gain in popularity as a primary pharmacological means to stimulate immune response. Those conventional medical therapies that primarily treat and suppress symptoms will be accepted for their valuable role in health care, but not necessarily as a first course of treatment.” (Pg. xxvii-xxviii)
He goes on, “In the 21st century, homeopathy will be utilized to heal a wide assortment of acute and chronic conditions… it should be reemphasized that homeopathic medicines complement good medical care… Ideally, homeopaths are taking the best of conventional medicine and the best of the natural medicines to create a kind of care that will commonplace in the 21st century… homeopathy … will inevitably put the concept of HEALING back into medicine. Doctors and scientists today talk about treating disease, combating illness, suppressing symptoms… often neglecting reference to healing the person… In comparison homeopaths talk about stimulating the body’s defenses, catalyzing the immune system, and augmenting the ‘vital force’ when discuss virtually every patient.” (Pg. xxx-xxxi)
He outlines, “There are several assumptions about contemporary and 21st century medicine that underlie much of this book: 1. Despite the various advances in medicine, there is so much more that is not known. 2. Medical care needs to be considerably more scientific than it is at present… it must also comprehend more fully the nature of disease and health… 3. … only in certain circumstances do present-day medical treatments actually cure disease… 8. Homeopathic medicine will be the primary pharmacological means to stimulate immune and defense responses. 10, ‘Alternative’ medicine… will be an integral part of a comprehensive health care system.” (Pg. xxxii-xxxiii)
He explains, “The way homeopaths learn what a homeopathic medicine will cure is through the use of experiments called ‘drug provings.’ In these homeopathic drug trials, researchers administer continual doses of a substance to a healthy individual until a reaction to the substance is achieved. The subject is asked to keep detailed records of symptoms; additional symptoms are discovered through an interview. The subject is instructed to stop ingesting the substance as soon as any particularly discomforting symptom manifests. Once it is known what symptoms a substance causes, it is then known what it will influence and cure when given in extremely small, specially prepared doses.” (Pg. 9-10)
He acknowledges, “Homeopathy’s law of similars and its reliance on individual treatment can be readily understood and accepted by most people. Homeopathy’s special pharmaceutical process is, however, its most controversial aspect. This process, called ‘potentization,’ refers to a specific procedure of serial dilution wherein one part by volume of a medicinal substance is diluted with 99 parts of distilled water or ethyl alcohol… One part of this solution is diluted further with 99 parts of distilled water or ethyl alcohol… This process of distillation … may be continued to different strengths, most commonly 3, 6, 9, 12, 30, 200, 1,000, 10,000, 50,000 or 100,000. It is initially startling to learn that medicines that have been diluted so many times have any effect. It is even more surprising to learn that homeopaths for the past 200 years have observed that the more a medicine has been potentized---that is, diluted in this fashion---the longer it generally acts, the deeper it usually heals, and the few doses tend to be needed.” (Pg. 11-12) He adds, “Although homeopathic medicine may be so dilute as not to have any molecules, a pattern of substance remains.” (Pg. 13)
He asserts, “The homeopaths in Cincinnati were so successful in treating people during the 1849 cholera epidemic that they published a daily list of their patients in the newspaper… Only 3 percent of the 1,116 homeopathic patients died, while between 48 and 60 percent of those under orthodox medical treatment died. The success of homeopaths in treating the yellow fever epidemic of 1878 that spread throughout the south was so impressive that homeopathy finally began to be noticed in the region.” (Pg. 43)
Of “the AMA’s oppression of homeopathy,” he says, “By 1950, all the homeopathic colleges in the United States were either closed of no longer teaching homeopathy. There were only 50 to 150 practicing homeopathic physicians, and most of these were over 50 years old. And yet, it is hard to suppress the truth. Homeopathy has risen again, and this time history will be rewritten.” (Pg. 47)
He argues, “Whether one is or is not convinced by or interested in homeopathic research, it is worthwhile to note the following facts, which suggest that homeopathic medicines are not placebos and that the doses do have biological action. 1. Homeopathic medicines are commonly used on animals by veterinarians and laypersons… 2. Homeopathic medicines are commonly used on infants… 3. Homeopathy became particularly popular … in the 1800s because of its success in treating the epidemics that raged… 4. The homeopathic medicines have the capacity to heal when they are prescribed in the proper microdose, but they also have the capacity to create the symptoms they are known to heal if certain sensitive people recurrently take microdoses of that particular substance… 5. When a person with a chronic illness is given a homeopathic medicine, it is relatively common for that person to experience ‘a healing crisis’---that is, a temporary exacerbation of symptoms that he presently has or may have had in the past… 6. Presently, many homeopathic pharmacies… voluntarily restrict the use of the hither potencies (200th, 1,000th, 10,000th, and higher) to licensed health professionals.” (Pg. 56-58)
This book is one of the better summaries and defenses of homeopathy, that will be of keen interest to those studying the subject.
November 29, 2019
Excellent basic book on homeopathy. It gives a bit of history, explains the principles behind this system of medicine, talks about the scientific validation and then discusses the uses of some of the medicines. It is clearly written and easy to navigate.
It is an introduction but as someone who has been around homeopathy for 30 years, I still found things in here that were put in a new light. This was a great reinforcement for my brain.
It is an introduction but as someone who has been around homeopathy for 30 years, I still found things in here that were put in a new light. This was a great reinforcement for my brain.
June 12, 2021
Had to read the entire book for college. It is super informative but a bit dry. It's an older textbook, there has been a lot of new studies and information regarding homeopathy that were not in the book. If you have this book then, good luck in class :)
January 28, 2018
Awesome book! I loved learning about alternative medicine. Going to get more books on this subject.
July 24, 2018
Quite dated, but still a helpful comprehensive overview of homeopathic medicine. Well referenced and offers useful resource recommendations from the time period.
April 3, 2012
I really love Dana's communication style - it is simple and concise, easy for even a layperson to understand. I hope he plans to update this, since it is around two decades old, and the homeopathy figures have definitely increased around the world. Well done!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews