Hoax or panacea? Look at the trials, then decide.
Homeopathy is often dismissed as “just placebo”. Yet it has been tested in double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, the same design used to test modern drugs. Several of these trials were published in leading medical journals. This page shares some of them, and my own experience.
What homeopathy is
Homeopathy was developed by the German doctor Samuel Hahnemann around 1800. It rests on the idea of “like cures like”. A substance that causes symptoms in a healthy person is given, in tiny amounts, to someone with similar symptoms.
The remedies are diluted step by step and shaken hard between each step. This is called potentisation. Higher potencies, such as 1M or 10M, have gone through many more of these steps.
Why people choose it
Many people who use homeopathy say they value the consultation. It is often long and personal. A homeopath asks about sleep, mood, food and daily life, not only about the symptom. Feeling heard matters. The remedies are also gentle and easy to take.
What the trials found
- Hay fever: a double-blind trial at the Glasgow Homoeopathic Hospital treated 144 patients. Those given a homeopathic preparation of grass pollen had fewer symptoms than those given a placebo. (Reilly and colleagues, The Lancet, 1986.)
- Childhood diarrhoea: a double-blind trial in León, Nicaragua, treated 81 children. Children given an individually chosen remedy, along with oral rehydration, recovered faster than children given a placebo. (Jacobs and colleagues, Pediatrics, 1994.)
- ADHD: a double-blind crossover trial in Switzerland followed 62 children. They did better on their individually chosen remedy than on the placebo. (Frei and colleagues, European Journal of Pediatrics, 2005.)
- Cancer cases: the US National Cancer Institute reviewed lung and oesophageal cancer cases treated with the Banerji protocols in Kolkata, India. In four cases, the diagnosis and the shrinking of the tumour were independently confirmed. The Institute judged this enough to justify its own follow-up study. (Banerji and colleagues, Oncology Reports, 2008.)
- The bigger picture: a 1997 review in The Lancet pooled 89 placebo-controlled trials. Its authors concluded that the results “are not compatible with the hypothesis that the clinical effects of homeopathy are completely due to placebo”. (Linde and colleagues, 1997.)
Homeopathy research receives only a tiny share of the money that goes into drug trials. Even so, these results are published in peer-reviewed journals for anyone to read. The Homeopathy Research Institute collects many more trials.
My own experience
I went through chemotherapy on an oncology ward. Alongside my treatment, I took Arsenicum album 10M. When I told the staff, they laughed. A little later they saw me going strong to my yoga sessions in the morning. They could not believe their eyes.
For me, homeopathy was a companion to my medical treatment, not a replacement for it.
Our view
At The Artha Project we care about the whole person: body, mind and daily life. We believe gentle practices like homeopathy deserve an open mind, and far more research than they receive.
This page shares published research and personal experience. It is not medical advice.
Explore more about holistic living at The Artha Project.