Proud to be a member of the Quebec Coalition for Homeopathy (QCFH), Boiron Canada has the pleasure to present a story written by Paul Labr\u00e8che, homeopath and president of the QCFH, published in the fall edition of the Mieux-\u00catre Magazine.<\/p>\n
Below is the full article that appeared in the Fall 2021 edition of Mieux-\u00eatre magazine. The article is also available on\u00a0Mieux-\u00eatre website<\/a>.<\/p>\n A downloadable and printable version (with graphics and photos) is available here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Homeopathy has been the subject of much debate and discussion in recent years. The Mieux-\u00catre magazine gives the floor to an expert in the field to hear his point of view.<\/em><\/p>\n A WORD FROM AN EXPERT<\/strong><\/p>\n I will always remember a mother that had come in for a consultation. Her child would be waking up screaming every night since the start of the school year. It was November. She could not take it anymore. The child wanted the lights on everywhere all the time and could not bear it anymore either. I especially remember what occurred one month later. Nightmares having reduced from once per night to once a week, the mother had said to me: he stopped fighting in school, he no longer throws things around for no reason, he can now go into the basement at home without me and I am now able to leave the house without this great drama all the time. -And his eczema? His eczema? Almost entirely gone.<\/p>\n This is homeopathy. It is the little stone we toss into a lake to watch the whole lake surface move and sometimes the surrounding mountains too. In two words: it works!<\/p>\n MANY HAVE UNDERSTOOD IT:<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n These last years, however, it is true that homeopathy has had more than its fair share of bad press. A handful of skeptics with important forums in Quebec, as well as within English Canada, have hammered their views repeatedly on this subject.<\/p>\n Result? Those who have not experienced it are more reluctant to try it.<\/p>\n And what if we were to run these three same arguments that are constantly repeated through a \u00absolidity tester\u00bb? Would their arguments be made of armed concrete or are they a house of cards? You decide\u2026<\/p>\n NOTHING BUT SUGAR AND WATER? FALSE<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Various advanced technologies today allow for a comparison between pure water and a homeopathic solution. To keep just one in mind: nuclear magnetic resonance (4). And lovers of the Scrabble game can add the following to their word list: spectroscopy (5) and solvatochromic dyes (6)!<\/p>\n What do these diverse technologies reveal? That pure water and\u00a0homeopathic\u00a0preparations\u00a0are not identical,\u00a0and\u00a0their respective properties are also different. This can now be\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0scientifically. So, if\u00a0you\u00a0happen to hear a chemist state that his instruments could not detect any active ingredient, then he is\u00a0much\u00a0like\u00a0an astronomer that would use opera binoculars to be counting the moons of Jupiter!<\/p>\n NOTHING BUT PLACEBO EFFECT? FALSE<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In fact, a growing number of experiments are being published about the effects of homeopathy on plants, animals and cells being cultivated. There is sufficient evidence that demonstrates that placebo effect cannot explain what is being observed. Geraniums are not particularly known to have much feelings and expectations!<\/p>\n T H R E\u00a0E\u00a0\u00a0 E\u00a0X A M P L E S<\/strong><\/p>\n NO SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESS? FALSE<\/strong><\/p>\n When it comes to human health, research is not left out either. One of the most recent studies published in 2020 in\u00a0The\u00a0Oncologist\u00a0<\/em>demonstrated how homeopathy, when used in conjunction with conventional medical therapies, improved a cancer patient\u2019s quality of life. The study further confirmed an augmentation in the patient\u2019s survival rate. (10)<\/p>\n Let us also mention the study of Dr Robert Mathie, and English researcher, who in 2014 analyzed several diverse individualized homeopathic treatments. He selected 22 of the most rigorous studies and his statistical analysis showed that the efficacy of homeopathic treatments was superior to placebo. (11)<\/p>\n Is there any research in homeopathy that has not given the expected desired results? Of course, there is. And it is the case in all areas. In 2017, the British Medical Journal published that out of 3000 conventional medical treatments in the United Kingdom, only 11% had enough sufficient evidence to be categorized as \u00abbeneficial\u00bb. And on 1,500 of those 3,000 treatments that were routinely used, the effectiveness could not be determined. (12)<\/p>\n AND WHAT ABOUT HERE IN QUEBEC?<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n In Quebec, Homeo-Populi, a citizen\u2019s\u00a0movement,\u00a0was born in 2019. It brings together a community of homeopathic users to offer them a collective voice and presence to preserve freedom of choice. Their voice is\u00a0deemed\u00a0essential.<\/p>\n Regarding the practice of homeopathy, the Syndicat professionnel des hom\u00e9opathes du Qu\u00e9bec (SPHQ), affiliated to the CSN labour movement, has been maintaining the quality of this practice with its membership since 1989. Only those that have received and completed a complete training to become a homeopath can be admitted to the union.<\/p>\n The SPHQ was also the initiator of a new grouping, the Coalition for Homeopathy in Quebec. The coalition seeks to communicate accurate information in the field of homeopathy. Bringing together users, practitioners, and manufacturers, the CPHQ began its activities in 2019 with a media event that was chaired by the Honorable Thomas Mulcair and Dr Christiane Laberge. The Homeopathic Research Institute (HRI), situated in the United Kingdom, was also a participant.<\/p>\n RELEVANT\u2026.AND RESILIENT<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Homeopathy has been the subject of controversy from its very earliest days. But it is resilient; homeopathy gets up all the time. And this does not date from yesterday. Did you know that in 1821, in a hospital located in Berlin, research on patients that were treated with homeopathy was suddenly stopped? (13) Why? Because there was evidence that they were healing\u2026<\/p>\n ____________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n PAUL LABR\u00c8CHE<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Homeopath since 2010, Paul Labr\u00e8che previously worked in several different fields, including community organizations, organizations for the protections of French language rights in Ontario as well as in the arts. He is president of the Syndicat professionnel des hom\u00e9opathes du Qu\u00e9bec (SPHQ) since 2014 and President of the Quebec Coalition for homeopathy (QCFH) since 2020.<\/p>\n homeo@b2b2c.ca<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/PaulLabrecheHomeo<\/a><\/p>\n To join Homeo Populi:\u00a0https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/homeopopuli<\/a><\/p>\n To find a homeopath:\u00a0www.sphq.org<\/a><\/p>\n For further information on homeopathy in Quebec:\u00a0www.cphq.ca<\/u><\/a><\/p>\n References:<\/p>\n (1) Borh\u00f6ft, G. et P. Matthiessen (eds) (2011). Homeopathy in healthcare \u2013 effectiveness, appropriateness, safety, costs. Berlin, Springer-Verlag, 234 p.<\/p>\n (2) Homeopathy Research Institute, https:\/\/www.hri-research.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/20191009_HRI-Statement_NHMRC-First-Report-Findings-2.pdf<\/a><\/p>\n (3) Homeopathy Research Institute, https:\/\/www.hri-research.org\/resources\/essentialevidence\/use-of-homeopathy-across-the-world\/<\/a><\/p>\n (4) Van Wassenhoven M, et al. (2017), \u00ab Nuclear Magnetic Resonance characterization of traditional homeopathically-manufactured copper (Cuprum Metallicum) and a plant (Gelsemium Sempervirens) medicines and controls \u00bb, Homeopathy (2017), http:\/\/dx.doi.org\/10.1016\/j.homp.2018.08.001<\/a><\/p>\n (5) SarkarT; Konar A; Sujul NC; Singaha A; Sujul A. (2015) \u00ab Vibrational and Raman spectroscopy provide further evidence of free OH groups and hydrogen bond strength underlying difference in two more drugs at ultrahigh dilutions. \u00bb Int J High Dilution Res. 2015;15(3): 2-1<\/p>\n (6) Cartwright SJ. (2016) \u00ab Solvatochromic dyes detect the presence of homeopathic potencies. \u00bb Homeopathy 2016; 105: 55-65<\/p>\n (7) J\u00e4ger T, Scherr C, Simon M, et al. Effects of homeopathic arsenicum album, nosode, and gibberellic acid preparations on the growth rate of arsenic-impaired duckweed (Lemna gibba L.). Scientific World Journal. 2010 Nov 4;10:2112-2<\/p>\n (8) Endler PC, Scherer-Pongratz W, Harrer B, Lingg G, Lothaller H. Amphibians, and ultra-high diluted thyroxine\u2013further experiments and re-analysis of data. Homeopathy. 2015;104(4):250\u2010256. doi:10.1016\/j.homp.2015.10.001<\/p>\n (9) Marzotto M, Bonafini C, Olioso D, Baruzzi A, Bettinetti L, Di Leva F, et al. (2016) \u00ab Arnica Montana Stimulates Extracellular Matrix Gene Expression in a Macrophage Cell Line Differentiated to Wound-Healing Phenotype. \u00bb PLoS ONE 11(11): e0166340. doi:10.1371\/journal.pone.0166340<\/p>\n (10) Frass et al (2020), Homeopathic Treatment as an Add-On Therapy May Improve Quality of Life and Prolong Survival in Patients with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer: A Prospective, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Three-Arm, Multicenter Study. The Oncologist. Dec;25(12):e1930-e1955.doi: 10.1002\/onco.13548.<\/p>\n (11) Mathie RT, Lloyd SM, Legg LA, et al. Randomized placebo-controlled trials of individualized homeopathic treatment: systematic review and meta-analysis. Syst Rev. 2014;3:142.<\/p>\n (12) BMJ Clinical Evidence, Efficacy Categorizations. 2017<\/p>\n (13) Aulas, Jean-Jacques (1985), L\u2019hom\u00e9opathie : approche historique et critique et \u00e9valuation scientifique de ses fondements empiriques et de son efficacit\u00e9 th\u00e9rapeutique, \u00c9ditions m\u00e9dicales Roland Bettex, Paris, p.149-150.<\/p>\n\n
\n