Episode 023 Do Homeopathic Remedies or Medicines Work

Summary

• Homeopathy is an alternative “medicine” founded by Samuel Hahnemann in 1796
• Homeopathic remedies are diluted with alcohol or distilled water and then vigorously shaken by ten hard strikes against an elastic body in a process called succussion
• 30C indicates a ten to the negative 60th dilution, which would require giving two billion doses per second to six billion people for four billion years to deliver a single molecule of the original material to any one person
• Systematic reviews have found that homeopathic remedies display no ability to heal beyond placebo
• Tim Ferriss experienced faster healing with oral 30C Arnica, which could be explained by the placebo effect, regression toward the mean, or an as yet unexplained mechanism
• Tim Ferriss discusses the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies and medicine.
• He explains that homeopathic remedies are based on the idea that “like cures like” and that the remedies are diluted to the point where there is no active ingredient left.
• He talks about the placebo effect and how it can be used to treat certain conditions.
• He also discusses the importance of understanding the context of the patient and the environment in which the treatment is being administered.
• He encourages listeners to check out his second book, The Four Hour Body, which contains more information on this topic.