| Homeopathy is a system of treatment that uses minute amounts of plant, mineral, and animal substances to stimulate the defensive systems of the body in a very subtle way. It is widely used in Europe, but not as well known in the United States. The theoretical and empirical basis of homeopathy is a concept called the Law of Similars, often summarized as "like cures like." Perhaps more than anything else, what distinguishes the practice of homeopathy from other approaches to medicine is that instead of focusing on the specific causes of disease (such as viruses and bacteria), it focuses on the specifics of the symptoms of disease, as they are experienced by the individual patient.
The History of Homeopathy
Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) of Leipzig, Germany, created the practice of homeopathy. A medical doctor, Hahnemann did in-depth studies and wrote extensively on chemistry, pharmacology, and medicine. His study of arsenic, written in 1796, remains an authoritative text.
In 1790, Dr. Hahnemann began to question the accepted medical theories of the time. Cinchona officinalis, or Peruvian bark, had been the treatment of choice for malaria since 1700. Conventional medical thought attributed its beneficial action to its bitter and astringent properties. Hahnemann rejected this explanation. He observed that other plants and botanicals had even stronger astringency and greater bitterness, yet did nothing to relieve malaria. In an attempt to better understand how cinchona worked, he experimented by taking some himself. After taking the cinchona compound, Hahnemann promptly developed the symptoms of malaria.
This inspired him to further experimentation with many different plants, chemicals, and minerals. Hahnemann experimented first on himself, then on his family and friends. As his work continued, he noted the same remarkable effect again and again: Derivatives of certain extracts produced symptoms in the body similar to those produced by certain diseases. Pressing on with his experimentation, Hahnemann found that minute doses of extract actually produced the opposite effect. Instead of causing the symptoms of a particular disease, the well-diluted extract reversed the course of the disease. This led Hahnemann to his observation that "like cures like"-that is, a substance that causes a certain set of symptoms in a healthy person will, in minute doses, cure a sick person of those same symptoms. He called this phenomenon the Law of Similars.
Many of Hahnemann's colleagues argued against his practice of using himself as a guinea pig, prophesying dire consequences. But the doctor refused to heed their warnings, saying, "He knows with greatest certainty the things he has experienced in his own person." Through his experiments, Hahnemann learned that a minute dose of a substance would cause illness in a healthy person, but paradoxically effect a cure in a sick individual. For example, a remedy that caused fever, chills, and leg cramps in a healthy person would cure a sick person of similar fever, chills, and leg cramps when given in microdoses.
Homeopathy Today
Homeopathy is accepted as an effective form of medicine in many parts of the world today, including Great Britain, France, Germany, Greece, India, and South America. The British royal family has been under the care of homeopathic physicians since the time of Queen Victoria.
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JANET ZAND, O.M.D., L.Ac. is a nationally respected author, lecturer, practitioner and herbal products formulator whose work has helped thousands of people achieve better 
