Health Nugget of the Week
December 14, 2011Herbalism vs. Homeopathy – What’s the Difference?
There is a common misconception that “Herbalism” and “Homeopathy” are the same because they both use plants in their therapeutic approaches. This is not the case. Although herbs are used in Homeopathy, it is fundamentally different from Herbalism in its philosophy and approach to treatment.
Medical Herbalism (aka Phytotherapy) is the practice of using the whole plant to treat people holistically. As herbalists we use many different types of herbal remedies, most commonly tinctures, extracts, teas, capsules, or oils. A herb is selected for the medicinal properties of its chemical constituents to treat and prevent illness in the human body. The herbal remedies encourage the body’s innate ability to heal itself and regain optimal balance of its tissues and organs by enhancing its natural functions.
Homeopathy originated in Germany in the 1800’s with the work of Samuel Hahnemann. Homeopathic remedies are chosen by selecting the remedy that would supposedly cause similar symptoms to the disease itself if used in higher a dose. This is the basis of the homeopathic principle that “like treats like”. Homeopathic remedies are administered in extremely diluted forms and are thought to work by influencing the “vital force” within the body.
Homeopathic remedies are made using a process of dilution and succession (a vigorous shaking by hand or machine) known as potentiation. The general theory is that the more the dose of the remedy is reduced, the more its potency is enhanced. 60% of homeopathic remedies are sourced from plants, the rest are derived from minerals, animal products or nosodes (extracts of diseased tissues).
The original substance is repeatedly diluted and then shaken over and over again to achieve different dilution strengths. Two systems of dilution are used in the processing of homeopathic remedies: the Decimal system or the Centesimal system. The Decimal system dilutes the initial substance by 10 each time and results in remedies listed as 3X, 6X, or 30X etc according to the number of times the solution was diluted. The Centesimal system is used for higher solutions and dilutes by 100 each time. The resulting remedies are referred to as 3C, 6C, 12C, etc. The solutions are then absorbed onto an inert tablet or granule for ingestion.
A remedy may in some cases be given in a dilution so great that no single molecule of the original substance remains. The concept of “memory laden” water implies that the effect lies in a pattern impressed on the water molecules. In this sense homeopathy works more on the energetic plane as it is administering the “energies” of the original substance.
The purpose of this is not bringing into question the value of Homeopathy however, it is important to understand that its use of plants is in no way “herbal”. Homeopathy does have benefits such as being completely safe to use during pregnancy. This is mostly due to the fact that the remedies are SO diluted they do not exert the same medicinal action that the whole herb would.
Hopefully I have succeeded in explaining the distinction between these two modalities, however as always please do not hesitate to leave a comment or contact me for more information!
Have a healthy day with Healthy Way!!
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