Bad Science!! Poor research - leading to poor article

[Soroush Ebrahimi]

Kind attn: Dr Ben Goldacre - The Guardian
Dear Ben

In your column in today's Guardian you seem to have confused herbal remedies
with homoeopathic remedies.

You say that "homeopathic remedies are pretty close to pure water, and that
is not going to do you any good or harm."

A substance can only be regarded as homoeopathic if it has been prescribed
on the basis of Symptom Similarity and has caused some reaction in the
patient.
The fact that it has been serially diluted and succussed does not make it
'homoeopathic'. It is probably best called Potentised.
For your information, when Hahnemann first discovered Homoeopathy, he was
using quinine tincture.

To avoid the adverse effects of concentrated 'crude' medicines, he then
found the idea of dilution and succussion which makes the chosen substance
even more powerful as a curative agent.

You called St John's Wort a Homoeopathic remedy.

Firstly a HERBAL tincture extracted from St John's wort has been known about
for a very long time. I understand that during the crusades it was used by
ambulance men to treat deep wounds of soldiers! This herbal tincture has
medicinal properties which have been well logged.

Homoeopaths also use this substance (mainly serially diluted and succussed)
and it is called Hypericum perfoliatum.

Of course if you use St John's wort in tincture form it can and will react
with any other medicine the person will be taking. This much you are
correct.

Now if a homoeopath prescribes it in potency and as you say it is "pretty
close to pure water" you have to decide whether it will have something extra
that will react with substances such a Prozac.
If it is pretty close to pure water what action could it possibly have and
how?
If it has something extra, what is it?
Have you changed your mind that homoeopathy relies on the placebo effect?

One last point, I 100% agree with you that Natural does not mean safe.
Indeed, homoeopathic remedies are really only safe in the hands of a careful
and well trained homoeopath.

The challenge to you to take part in a re-proving of a homoeopathic remedy
is still open! In the meantime I look forward to a point-by-point response.

Rgds
Soroush Ebrahimi
Homoeopath
23 Cornwallis Drive
South Woodham Ferrers
Essex
CM3 5YE
Tel: 01 245 325 460
Fax: 01 245 324 311
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