IIT Scientists have countered the British Medical Association’s claims that homeopathy is nonsense by proving that homeopathy pills actually gain in potency on dilution, i.e. their effect becomes greater as they are scaled down, the principle upon which the system of medicine is based. The research, conducted by IIT-Bombay, was published in the latest edition of “Homeopathy”.
Homeopathic pills containing naturally occurring metals such as gold, copper and iron retain their potency even when diluted to a nanometre or one-billionth of a metre, states the IIT-B research published in the latest issue of ‘Homeopathy’, a peer-reviewed journal from reputed medical publishing firm Elsevier.
What is homeopathy?
Homeopathy – in its simplest form – treats the symptoms of your illness with a series of highly diluted medicines, which are expected to trigger the body’s natural healing system. Your homeopath is essentially treating you holistically, i.e. he is treating you as opposed to isolating the disease, so in theory it should help your overall health. The most common illnesses looked at by homeopaths include skin conditions, menstrual and menopausal problems, chronic fatigue, migraines, persistent infections (colds, tonsillitis), and stress relates conditions like anxiety or insomnia.
Physicians and scientists have always been a little skeptical of the practice as nobody can prove, with unequivocal scientific evidence, how it works. Homeopaths maintain that their pills gain in potency on dilution, but they have never been able to explain their reasoning to modern scientists with any integrity. The results of this new research compound their assertion that it is a viable and alternative answer to our health problems.
Retaining their potency
The chemical engineering department at IIT-B purchased ordinary homeopathic pills from a local store and proceeded to dilute these even further. They checked these samples for the presence of some natural metals, i.e. gold, copper and iron, using powerful electronic microscopes.
Dr Jayesh Bellare, from the scientific team at the Institute, said they found nanoparticles of the metals in the samples. He continued that some highly diluted homeopathic solutions made from metals would still contain certain amounts of the original, even after being diluted from one part in ten, to one part in 400. In effect, the pills have the capacity to retain their potency even when diluted to a nanometre or one-billionth of a metre.
Dr. Bellare’s student, Prashant Chikramane, wrote his doctoral thesis on the subject; his paper was entitled “Extreme homeopathy dilutions retain starting materials: A nanoparticulate perspective.”
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