Friday, June 15, 2012

An Absurd Claim of Homeopathic Efficacy: NDs Fleck-D'Andrea, German, and Valencia

here, I cite from the web page of 3 California NDs [look what ND licensure in California has wrought!  Licensed falsehood!]:

001. Fleck-D'Andrea, T. (ND SCNM), German, H. (ND SCNM), Valencia, I. (ND SCNM) state in "What is Homeopathy?" [vsc 2012-06-15; my comments are in unquoted bold]:

"many Californians mistakenly use the terms 'homeopathy' and 'naturopathy' as one in the same [...] naturopathic doctors receive homeopathic training as part of their medical school program [...] many naturopathic doctors are also homeopaths [...]";

so, broadly speaking, it is naturopathy subset homeopathy.

"most Americans have grown up with the conventional medical paradigm; learning to suppress symptoms as a means to 'cure'  [...] when you have pain you take an aspirin to stop feeling the pain, or if you have a cough you take a cough suppressant, or suppress a fever with Tylenol. The symptoms may disappear and you may feel better, but these medicines do not cure [...]";

so, the accusation is that regular medicine would give you an aspirin even if the pain was from a stroke, or codeine even if you were dying of pneumonia, or a fever reducer even if you had septicemia.  That's a ridiculous typification of modern medicine.  It is quite the strawman argument.  This is bullshit.  Modern medicine does not 'suppress' as an approach to anything.  This language is a hold-over from medicine's prescientific days.

"homeopathy offers an approach that works with the body’s natural ability to heal [coded vitalism]. It is a system of medicine that is based on the laws of similars. This law of nature states that a disease can be cured by using a substance that can produce the same or similar symptoms of the disease [...]";

'like cures like' is not supported by any science that is known.  It is a sectarian law that only exists in their homeopathic-land-of-figmentation.  Vitalism, of course, is often coded by naturopathy.  Why don't they use the language they were taught in ND school, of "vital force"?

"although the popularity of homeopathy has waxed and waned over the past two hundred years it has been again growing in popularity as people acknowledge its ability to restore health and often cure the incurable [...] homeopathic medicines are extremely safe and effective [... ] this powerful medicine is also extremely cost effective.  Homeopathy can be effective in treating most acute conditions, like the common cold, the flu and ear infections.  It is also successful in treating more serious and chronic diseases like ADHD, Autism, irritable bowel, crohns, ulcerative colitis, eczema, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and other auto-immune conditions to name a few, as well as mental emotional disturbances such as depression, anxiety, and bi-polar disorder";

ah, quite the claims of efficacy.   In fact, though, homeopathic remedies are extremely inert.  There is nothing in them and our best science to date shows that they are merely PLACEBO.

002. so:

NDs love homeopathy, and they are quite deluded about cause and effect, and regression to the mean, and what science preponderantly says about homeopathic magic beans and unicorn tears.

isn't it great that California licensed NDs?

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