Being Goldilocks - too much, too little, and "just right"

[MeSci]

One thing to be aware of is that the word has different meanings in different countries.

In the US, where I am guessing you live, "homeopathic" refers to extreme dilutions.

In many european countries, it means any naturally-derived medicine. I would argue that this includes penicillin, digitalis, etc.

(Ephedra comes to mind.)

I think you are confusing 'homeopathic' with 'herbal', perhaps?

 

[MeSci]

At the moment I am investigating the literature surrounding ACE inhibitors and bradykinin, largely due to something @MeSci wrote. I am beginning to question the whole notion of giving ACE inhibitors to anyone with CFS or ME. With no exceptions, every single worsening symptom I have had back to about 1998 coincides with the use of ACE inhibitors, and the symptoms are known side effects. Every single doc has missed this, and I have seen many, and indeed when in hospital and they switched me to Ramipril, and I had increased neuropathic problems, and asked the hospital pharmacist, they had no idea. There are even grounds for thinking ACE inhibitors can make OI worse. The test for me is simple: I will be investigating and eventually trialling alternative medications. If many of my symptoms go away then I have some confirmation. This already happened while I was in hospital on Ramipril, which was not my usual prescription. My symptoms changed.

Please let us know what you find, Alex! I'm seeing my GP next week in the hope of persuading him to let me try an alternative to my ACE inhibitor, which I am now fairly sure has caused me harm.

 

[Valentijn]

It's a matter of terminology. In the Netherlands, "homeopathic" basically means everything which isn't a conventional pharmaceutical. That includes properly defined homeopathy, but also herbal remedies, naturopathic practices, etc.

People can argue about the propriety of it all they want, but it's the way the word is used in at least some countries.

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

It's a matter of terminology. In the Netherlands, "homeopathic" basically means everything which isn't a conventional pharmaceutical. That includes properly defined homeopathy, but also herbal remedies, naturopathic practices, etc.

People can argue about the propriety of it all they want, but it's the way the word is used in at least some countries.

Interesting!

 

[NilaJones]

My tube of arnica gel, bought in the US, says 'homeopathic' on the label. But it is not dilute!

The word geek in me feels everyone should unite behind one definition .

 

[Jonathan Edwards]

My tube of arnica gel, bought in the US, says 'homeopathic' on the label. But it is not dilute!

The word geek in me feels everyone should unite behind one definition .

Even more interesting. Are you sure it is not dilute? Does it say how many milligrams of arnica are in it? The homeopathic theory is of course that the more dilute it is the more POWERFUL it is. If it has milligrams of arnica in it maybe you could sue them under the trade descriptions act or equivalent!

 

[A.B.]

If it has milligrams of arnica in it maybe you could sue them under the trade descriptions act or equivalent!

Due to it not being powerful enough?

 

[Snowdrop]

@Dr. Frost

"This my first post here and it starts with an apology: I'm sorry it won't be an upbeat one! I hope to make up for this in future writings, and I look forward to introducing myself properly shortly." (post #1)

"For the record, I should note that I'm not coming from a position against self-treatment, or the methylation cycle. Indeed, I take my hat off to Freddd and Dr. Yasko and Ben Lynch and Dr. Rosenberg and all the others who have helped to pioneer the emerging field of nutrigenomics. In fact, their work (and indeed this forum) helped to save my lite - quite literally." (post #16)

I look forward to hearing about your experience. People with a science background help the rest of us in understanding not just the issues around supplements but a host of other topics resulting from research findings.

One aspect of supplements that did not get touched on but I often ponder is, when you swallow that tablet that is say 11mgs, how do we know how much is actually absorbed? How much is excreted? What are better and not so good formulations?

 

[Sean]

The homeopathic theory is of course that the more dilute it is the more POWERFUL it is.

I am reliably informed that dividing zero by ever larger non-zero numbers is also a more powerful way of extracting ever more dollars per zero.

QED

 

[NilaJones]

Even more interesting. Are you sure it is not dilute? Does it say how many milligrams of arnica are in it?

8%. (NOT '8x'.)

Do you really think I would buy something without reading the label?

If it has milligrams of arnica in it maybe you could sue them under the trade descriptions act or equivalent!

As others have attested, their usage of the term is standard in some countries.

 

[MeSci]

8%. (NOT '8x'.)

Do you really think I would buy something without reading the label?

Lots of people do, at least in the UK. And lots of people believe advertising. A classic case is the belief that laundry products that include the words 'natural' or 'herbal' are entirely or almost entirely natural, when in fact the products only contain tiny amounts of natural ingredients, with the rest being artificial chemicals derived from fossil oil.

And lots of people also meekly take any medication prescribed by their doctors, often having no idea what it's for, or even what it's called!

 

[Sidereal]

My tube of arnica gel, bought in the US, says 'homeopathic' on the label. But it is not dilute!

The word geek in me feels everyone should unite behind one definition .

I don't know how this applies to your arnica gel but I have seen BH4 supplements labelled as homeopathic even though they are not, presumably to avoid the Kuvan patent issue.

 

[NilaJones]

I don't know how this applies to your arnica gel but I have seen BH4 supplements labelled as homeopathic even though they are not, presumably to avoid the Kuvan patent issue.

Interesting!

 

[Mary]

Er...no and no. Sorry. Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. And there is no such thing as "muscle testing". That is just pure fantasy.

@adreno - I wasn't feeling well when I received your response quite awhile ago, so didn't respond. You are right - glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the CNS. It is also involved in Phase II of liver detoxification:
http://www.diagnose-me.com/treatment/liver-detoxification-phase-II-support.html
Three of the amino acids listed in this article cause rather strong detox symptoms for me: glutamine, glycine and inositol.

 

[taniaaust1]

@Dr. Frost I liked your original post here and agree with it. Ive no idea where you've got to and hope you are still here, you seemed to have a lot of knowledge, which is always useful around here.

Even Vit C can be harmful if taken high dose long term and then is suddenly stopped (rebound scurvy as the body adapts to the high dose of C) .

I found out that fish oil may not be good for me due to one of my gene mutations.