The Health and/or Diet Thread

[ThinkAnarchy]

I'm a big follower  of homeopathic remedies. 

You can't be serious! You think that something diluted to the point of non-existence has medicinal properties beyond placebo?! Just going with regular contaminants in water, you are getting pretty much every homeopathic treatment imaginable by drinking a glass of it - the only thing it cures is dehydration.

I seriously think so many health problems are connected to your diet.

Yes, such as food poisoning, malnutrition, obesity, a couple of cancers... See the pattern in my examples?

I agree that homeopathic remedies are usually simply the placebo effect, but the mind does play an important role in the healing process. If a person believes they will get positive results from the treatment, it has the potential to be more beneficial than traditional medicine. There also could be a few hidden gems, and it is a good alternative when traditional medicine fails to treat a problem adequately. It's also a decent option for people who don't like putting chemicals in their bodies and risking negative side effects like anal leakage, depression, blood clots, instant death, or any other potential side effect a drug might have.

[Asmodean]

I will say in SD's defense that the only time I ever tried a homeopathic remedy, it worked like a charm and it was highly unlikely to be a placebo effect.  When T was a baby, we went through a phase where he was cutting like 4 teeth all at the same time, and he was also sick with an ear infection.  Awful awful awful.  We were doing the usual baby Tylenol and ear drops and a cold wet washcloth on his gums and whatnot, but we were still up and down with a screaming baby all night.  The next day, I was whining to a friend of mine, and she suggested that I try these homeopathic teething tablets.  I'm not a big believer in homeopathic remedies myself, but I was desperate, so I got them.  That night, we started going through the same wailing baby routine.  Granted, I had also again dosed him with Tylenol and numbing ear drops and all of that.  But I popped one of those teething tablets into this mouth, and I swear he stopped crying and went to sleep immediately.  Unlikely to be a placebo effect, since he was about 8 months old and had no clue what a teething tablet even was.  After that night he was better.

So, coincidence?  Maybe.  But if another mom was in the same "ZOMG I haven't slept in days" place that I was in, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that she give those teething tablets a try.

Homeopathy works out of the assumption that you can treat fire with fire, so to speak. How was that tablet supposed to do that? Are you sure it wasn't some herbalist crap? For that matter, are you sure it didn't just contain some better dope than Tylenol?

[DeterminedJuliet]

You can't be serious! You think that something diluted to the point of non-existence has medicinal properties beyond placebo?! Just going with regular contaminants in water, you are getting pretty much every homeopathic treatment imaginable by drinking a glass of it - the only thing it cures is dehydration.

I will say in SD's defense that the only time I ever tried a homeopathic remedy, it worked like a charm and it was highly unlikely to be a placebo effect.  When T was a baby, we went through a phase where he was cutting like 4 teeth all at the same time, and he was also sick with an ear infection.  Awful awful awful.  We were doing the usual baby Tylenol and ear drops and a cold wet washcloth on his gums and whatnot, but we were still up and down with a screaming baby all night.  The next day, I was whining to a friend of mine, and she suggested that I try these homeopathic teething tablets.  I'm not a big believer in homeopathic remedies myself, but I was desperate, so I got them.  That night, we started going through the same wailing baby routine.  Granted, I had also again dosed him with Tylenol and numbing ear drops and all of that.  But I popped one of those teething tablets into this mouth, and I swear he stopped crying and went to sleep immediately.  Unlikely to be a placebo effect, since he was about 8 months old and had no clue what a teething tablet even was.  After that night he was better.

So, coincidence?  Maybe.  But if another mom was in the same "ZOMG I haven't slept in days" place that I was in, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend that she give those teething tablets a try.

When I'm in a "ZOMG I haven't slept in days" place, I would probably, literally, try fairy dust if it was given to me as an option. I'd probably try ANYTHING that wouldn't hurt wee man when I get to that point.
At some point you just have to shrug and say "Whatever works, works."

[Anne D.]

Regarding homeopathy:

http://www.quackwatch.org/01QuackeryRelatedTopics/homeo.html

http://www.cancer.org/Treatment/TreatmentsandSideEffects/ComplementaryandAlternativeMedicine/PharmacologicalandBiologicalTreatment/homeopathy

http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy

Excerpt from "What is the evidence?" section of the American Cancer Society web page on homeopathy (bolding mine):

There is no reliable clinical evidence showing that homeopathic remedies can treat cancer. The basic premises of homeopathy, developed more than 200 years ago, are not in agreement with modern scientific principles. Some researchers suggest, however, that homeopathy may result in helpful effects for patients who believe the treatment is working--a phenomenon known as the placebo or expectation effect.

Excerpt from National Institutes of Health page on homeopathy:

Controversies Regarding Homeopathy

Homeopathy is a controversial area of CAM because a number of its key concepts are not consistent with established laws of science (particularly chemistry and physics). Critics think it is implausible that a remedy containing a miniscule amount of an active ingredient (sometimes not a single molecule of the original compound) can have any biological effect—beneficial or otherwise. For these reasons, critics argue that continuing the scientific study of homeopathy is not worthwhile. Others point to observational and anecdotal evidence that homeopathy does work and argue that it should not be rejected just because science has not been able to explain it.

[Asmodean]

That right there. That be The Asmo's point, only with references to sources.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Let me put it to you this way: If I get cancer, I'm going to get chemo and do whatever else my "western" Doctor tells me to do.
If I have trouble falling asleep, I might try a homoepathic remedy just cuz. I drink chamomile tea, for instance, sometimes before bed. Am I certain that the scientific research backs up the usefulness of chamomile? Not really. I've never even looked at it.

But, meh. I don't really care. I like tea that "maybe" works more than pills that I know will work. I think personal preference has a lot to do with those smaller choices and personal preference doesn't always make a lot of sense.  The placebo effect can be useful.

[Asmodean]

If I have trouble falling asleep, I might try a homoepathic remedy just cuz. I drink chamomile tea, for instance, sometimes before bed. Am I certain that the scientific research backs up the usefulness of chamomile? Not really. I've never even looked at it.

Unless it's water with one molecule of whatever that tea is supposed to be made of per whatever value is higher than the Avogadro constant, it's herbalist and not homeopathic.

[Sweetdeath]

Wow guys, its kinda my body, my choice. :<
I've had great success with homeopathic so far. i think a good balance helps. If I have to go to the doctor, I will, but my gf is chinese so I have been learning a lot about natural healing.just because you saw some articles online, doesnt mean you know everything

This is what works for me. My ashtma has been actually improving as well. I still visit doctors for check ups. I dont claim to be health expert, but I know what my body likes or what makes it sick/slower.

[Tank]

Wow guys, its kinda my body, my choice. :<
I've had great success with homeopathic so far. i think a good balance helps. If I have to go to the doctor, I will, but my gf is chinese so I have been learning a lot about natural healing.just because you saw some articles online, doesnt mean you know everything

This is what works for me. My ashtma has been actually improving as well. I still visit doctors for check ups. I dont claim to be health expert, but I know what my body likes or what makes it sick/slower.

True homeopathy has a bad name, because it doesn't work, except possibly as a placebo. However Chinese traditional medicine is not homeopathic in the western sense and could well be effective. I think the issue is definitions.

I think you'll find this video enlightning http://www.ted.com/talks/james_randi.html

[Asmodean]

Article online..?

How about research using peer-reviewed publications due to illness in my inner circles?

Chinese traditional medicine is, as pointed out, not homeopathic, but mostly herbalist.

[Asmodean]

not homeopathic in the western sense

The word is derived from Greek. How many ways CAN you translate it?

[Sweetdeath]

Article online..?

How about research using peer-reviewed publications due to illness in my inner circles?

Chinese traditional medicine is, as pointed out, not homeopathic, but mostly herbalist.

Alright, I wasnt sure if herbal remedies was the proper term or not.

[Asmodean]

Alright, I wasnt sure if herbal remedies was the proper term or not.

It is, even for some animal product or mineral containing remedies.

And, unlike homeopathic crap, those DO sometimes work.

Example: if memory serves, the active component of Aspirin is acetilsalicylic acid. You an chew on willow bark in stead of pills, and it will probably help where Aspirin will. However, the pill is likely to be a lot more efficient and harder to OD on... Provided you can read the instructions.

[Hector Valdez]

Such herbal and un-scientific medicines are complete bosh. Obviously, when your right leg breaks, you need only break the left.

Edited for typo.

[ThinkAnarchy]

Alright, I wasnt sure if herbal remedies was the proper term or not.

I had the same misconception as you, Sweetdeath. I thought most alternative forms of medicine were considered homeopathic.