Homeopathy is a scam that causes real harm.

Not a single homeopathic "medicine" is FDA-approved. These expensive sugar pills have zero science behind them.

Homeopathy is a very specific type of “alternative” therapy that is wholly based on pseudoscience.

Today, it is a lucrative market, valued at $11 billion globally and growing rapidly. Its growth is accelerated by the elevation of this pseudoscience by prominent public figures (while, unqualified, they garner a lot of attention). There are more than 8,000 products available over the counter for “treating” various ailments, and they can often be found alongside legitimate FDA-approved medications at pharmacies everywhere.

Many misidentify or conflate homeopathy as “natural” and describe it as plant-based or herbal medicine. It is not. It is a very specific category (which I will get into in just a moment!)

In reality, homeopathic “medicines” are regulated as drugs under the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act and are subject to the same requirements related to approval, adulteration, and misbranding as other drug products.

There are currently no homeopathic products approved by the FDA, because none of them have ever demonstrated the criteria required to be approved.

However, there’s a loophole in the 1938 FDCA for homeopathy. If the homeopathic products state that they are made using the Homeopathic Pharmacopoeia of the United States (HPUS) methods, along with an affiliated dilution and a statement that they are homeopathic, they can be sold. Fun fact: this provision excludes homeopathy from the requirement to demonstrate safety and efficacy through clinical trials as FDA-approved medications are.

As such, the regulation of homeopathic products you find on the shelves is functionally akin to dietary supplements (read here for more on that). This loophole was included by, you guessed it - a Senator who was a homeopath (Royal S. Copeland, to be precise).

What this means is that none of the homeopathic products you can purchase have data to support their use. Their presence on the shelves is a relic of some guy’s desire to legitimize his belief in pseudoscience.

So take a look at some of these products next time you go into the store and see how apparent those labels are. And if you don’t understand the dilution naming convention, you would understandably think these products were offering something beneficial!

And that’s the biggest issue: most people do not realize what homeopathic products are, and that none have evidence to support their use, all due to the insidious way products are labeled and marketed.

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Homeopathy is a pseudoscience that was created by German physician Samuel Hahnemann in the 1700s.

Homeopathy is based on two beliefs:

1. The Law of Similars

2. The Law of Infinitesimals

The law of similars states “like cures like”, which, in homeopathy, is the belief that something that causes a symptom will cure an ailment that also elicits that symptom.

Some examples include:

• Onions cause watery eyes, therefore onion homeopathic remedies can treat allergies, respiratory illnesses, and other things that cause watery eyes.

• Gonorrhea infection (caused by the bacterium Neisseria gonorrhoeae) can cause infertility if not treated properly, thus, it can treat fertility issues.

• Arsenic poisoning causes anxiety as one symptom, therefore arsenic can treat anxiety disorders.

• The Berlin Wall physically separated the city of Berlin during the Cold War, therefore it can treat separation issues.

Already sounding a bit absurd, right? It gets better.

The law of infinitesimals states that the remedy gets more potent the more diluted it is.

These remedies prepared by diluting the original substance many times sequentially. The degree of dilution is denoted by a combination of numbers and letters. For example, a number 12 means 12 sequential dilutions, and the letter C means each dilution is a 1 in 100 (1 part substance to 99 parts water). Each dilution is succussed, or shaken, to capture the "essence" of the substance.

In other words: proponents of homeopathy claim that the water remembers the presence of the supposedly therapeutic substance, and that memory is what provides the benefit.

Homeopathic remedies range in dilution. Dilutions like 30C are common, and in some cases dilutions go as high as 200C. So, in a 12C remedy, the substance is diluted 12 times in a 1 part per 100 solution.

12C means 1 part of the substance per 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 parts water. For context, a 12C remedy is more dilute than pouring a cup of the substance into the Atlantic Ocean.

Many homeopathic preparations have zero plausibility that there is even a single molecule of the purported substances contained within.

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Homeopathy has zero biological plausibility or evidence.

Proponents of homeopathy claim that this process of potentizations and serial dilutions via "succussions" (vigorous shaking) will increase the activity and therapeutic benefit of the resulting remedy. Just to be clear, there is ZERO biological plausibility of any of this, and zero clinical evidence to support homeopathy.

It is in particular the use of highly diluted material that overtly flies in the face of science and has caused homeopathy to be regarded as placebo therapy at best and quackery at worst.

Homeopathy manufacturers use Latin names to make their “remedies” sound more legitimate.

Example: Oscillococcinum is marketed to cure “flu like symptoms” and you can find it at many local pharmacies, alongside actual symptom alleviation medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen. It was proposed as homeopathic remedy Joseph Roy, as a result of his misidentification of a supposed oscillating bacterium he named oscillococcus (not actually a bacteria). He claims in his 1925 book that he found evidence of this substance in samples of patients who were sick with a myriad of illnesses, and then claims to have subsequently found the same thing in the liver of a duckling. You guessed it: Oscillococcinum is derived from duck liver and heart, diluted to 200C—a ratio of one part duck offal to 10⁴⁰⁰ parts water.

This means that Oscillococcinum is is diluted 100-fold 200 times over. That’s 1 part substance in every 10⁴⁰⁰ parts of the solution! Since it is estimated that there are 10⁷⁸ to 10⁸² atoms in the universe, that means there is pretty much no chance that there is even a single molecule of “active ingredient” in this supplement.

Another example: Arnica montana, a common homeopathic remedy sold claiming to alleviate muscle aches, pains, bruising, etc., is frequently sold at dilutions of 12C to 30C. Arnica montana is a plant that is highly toxic to humans upon ingestion. It’s good news then, that homeopathy doesn’t contain any actual ingredients, because Arnica can cause liver failure if ingested. Clinical trials evaluating Arnica homeopathic supplements to placebo have found zero benefit.

Medorrhinum is the homeopathic preparation of Gonococcus bacterium. It is claimed to treat ailments caused by “suppressed gonorrhea” including pretty much anything. Proponents claim it can treat chronic pelvic disorders, chronic rheumatism, irritability of nervous system, pain, tension, stunted growth in children, edema, and more. They advertise it as therapeutic because the potentization process removes the bacteria but “retains the energetic effects” for a safe and effective remedy is created.

It is wasn’t clear by now, homeopathy is perhaps one of the most egregious examples of snakeoil pseudoscience. What’s worse? Most people, when asked about what homeopathic remedies are, do not realize this is what these products on the shelves actually are. Now that you know, would you ever spend money on these things?

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If there isn’t any actual ingredient in these supplements, what is in them?

Filler ingredients to give these pills or tablets bulk are literally sugar. If you look at Boiron Arnica pills, the “inactive ingredients” are lactose and sucrose.

Homeopathic remedies are sugar pills. Literally.

If they’re just sugar pills, what’s the harm?

I’m so glad you asked! Aside from the obvious cost of these things that literally do nothing beneficial, there are an array of harms.

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First: while it might appear benign, people who rely on homeopathy may refuse to seek actual medical intervention and lifesaving treatments for illnesses and injury.

Second: many homeopaths claim that homeopathy can cure or treat everything, misleading people to use these substances that have no demonstrated benefit.

Third: the promotion of homeopathic remedies as if they work gives credibility to an entire branch of pseudoscience, and it opens the door to fall prey to other types of health misinformation. Indeed, data demonstrate that these types of “alternative” wellness behaviors are directly linked to endorsement of harmful medical conspiracies.

Fourth: while they SHOULD be devoid of any of the substances they claim to include, because they are not regulated for quality control, safety, or efficacy (as they are dietary supplements), they can contain measurable levels of “active ingredients” which can cause serious side effects, interact with medications, and cause harm. Since manufacturing labs of homeopathy supplements are not regulated with the same stringency as actual medications, these substances can also be contaminated with things that pose risks.

You might recall the news reports of homeopathic ‘teething tablets’ causing illness and death among infants? These were Hyland’s Teething Tablets which contained toxic levels of Belladonna (their “active ingredient”), and these caused seizures, loss of consciousness, delirium, and even death. Nearly 400 babies and at least 10 deaths were associated with this one product.

But this followed several years of FDA and FTC warnings about these products, because 1) they have no evidence to support their use and 2) can be incredibly dangerous. One of the key findings from the FDA analysis of these products is that the levels of belladonna varied wildly among lots - because these products are not regulated for quality control or good manufacturing.

Hyland’s wasn’t the only brand that was warned. Others included Nova Homeopathic Therapeutics, HomeoLab, and Raritan Pharmaceuticals.

If you didn’t know, belladonna is also called deadly nightshade, and is a plant that produces chemicals, specifically atropine, scopolamine, and hyoscyamine, that can be toxic to animals (including humans) at relatively low doses. These chemicals interfere with a key neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, that is essential for numerous bodily processes.

Belladonna poisoning leads to symptoms such as: fever, pain, delirium, convulsions, coma, and death. So, in true “like cures like” fashion, that is what proponents claim homeopathy belladonna treats. And yes, children suffered and died as a result.

There is no credible scientific entity or individual that would recommend using these products, especially for babies who are teething. However, they still exist. Even a clinical trial in the late 1800s demonstrated that belladonna offered zero therapeutic benefit. And yet, these supplement companies continue to profit off long debunked disinformation.

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Homeopathic vaccines have even more potential danger, because they are used in lieu of actual vaccinations by fraudulent practitioners.

Aaron Rodgers promoted homeopathic vaccines (nosodes) during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is similar to the midwife on Long Island who falsified MMR vaccinations by giving children nosodes earlier this year. And guess what? Now there is measles spreading in New York.

Just like other homeopathic preparations, nosodes have zero evidence. Proponents claim they are prepared from diseased tissues or discharged from someone who is ill. They claim they are both preventive and curative. According to European Coalition on Homeopathic & Anthroposophic Medicinal Products, 95% of homeopathic doctors consider nosodes an important part of their practice. In Canada, nosodes must be labeled with the advisory: “This product is neither a vaccine nor an alternative to vaccination. This product has not been proven to prevent infection. Health Canada does not recommend its use in children and advises that your child receive all routine vaccinations.”

And for those claiming that the “studies just haven’t been done to demonstrate they work”? That’s not true. Randomized controlled trials exist, and they show exactly what you’d predict: nosodes elicit the same immune responses as placebo.

To be clear: homeopathic nosodes are not vaccines, they do not protect against communicable illnesses, and they put you and others around you at risk for entirely preventable disease and death.

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Politicians are moving to get regulations relaxed on homeopathic products, and this is a serious problem.

Just like with the 1994 DHSEA that removed dietary supplements from the regulatory oversight of the FDA and has allowed an unchecked and unregulated market grow while exploiting people, this push is bipartisan. Anyone can deny science and refuse to review data, no matter their political leanings. Unfortunately, we are seeing this occur across many fronts of science and medicine, and that includes homeopathy.

The Senate Committee on Appropriations’ submitted a report this year (S. Rept. 118-44) regarding the “Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, 2024” (S. 2131) and recommended that the “FDA work with the homeopathic community to provide a path for legalization of these products,” efforts which are being led by Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) and Patty Murray (D-WA).

Essentially, these Senators (who are not scientific experts) are trying to force the FDA to loosen the requirement for evidence of therapeutic benefit, so that homeopathic products can be sold even more freely than they already are. This is an egregious use of power and a ploy to control the autonomy of scientific regulatory agencies.

While there are no FDA-approved homeopathic products and every single one on the shelves at this moment are technically being sold illegally, the FDA has limited resources to go after every single one of these products. Thus, they have to prioritize those that pose the most harm to society (like the poisoning of babies). Countless incidents go unchecked every day, because of predatory companies and misleading marketing.

Unfortunately, most of the general public does not know what homeopathy is, and that includes legislators. But if we allow unsubstantiated claims that are in direct conflict with scientific data drive policy and law, we are further eroding public health and our society.

We have a moral obligation to counter misinformation when we encounter it. That includes education on the insidious market of homeopathic products, which preys on people’s lack of awareness.

Thanks for joining in the fight for science! 

Thank you for supporting evidence-based science communication. With outbreaks of preventable diseases, refusal of evidence-based medical interventions, propagation of pseudoscience by prominent public “personalities”, it’s needed now more than ever. 

Your local immunologist,

Andrea