P is for Pseudomedicine

Pseudomedicine attempts to provide medicinal healing as an alternative to provable medicines, but has no scientific evidence of effect.

Also known as alternative medicine, natural medicine, or ‘complimentary’ medicine, pseudomedicine has enjoyed an increase in popularity following natural-living based movements and as a reaction to Covid-19 vaccines. There are, however, a number of incorrect ideas that as these treatments are in opposition to the synthetic nature of many scientific medical interventions, they contain only ‘natural substances’ and ‘no chemicals’. It is true that they contain primarily natural substances, but these substances include a number obtained from animals. It is also a misnomer that they contain ‘no chemicals’, as every substance in the universe is a chemical, including water and air. Natural products are not always ethical, and there is no such thing as a chemical-free product.

Homeopathy is an example of an industry which has recently found a substantial increase in public and (some) governmental support, globally growing to $AUD9.5 billion in 2020 and expected to reach $AUD30.1 billion by 2030. Homeopathic remedies are claimed to contain plant, animal, and mineral substances and are usually delivered orally via sugar globules or liquid, or topically via creams. It is widely accepted that there is no evidence that homeopathy works in a medicinal capacity, however there may be evidence of a placebo effect, either from the patient’s belief that the remedies work, or from the positive interaction when engaging with a homeopathic practitioner.

Homeopathic remedies are created by a process of dilution, many times over resulting in no traceable element of the original substance in the remedy. This process is the equivalent of dunking a tea bag in the Pacific Ocean then taking a sip.

The solid-state sugar globules are often bound using lactose and the creams may contain beeswax or lanolin. There are a number of remedies themselves which are formulated using whole ground-up animals, such as spiders, ants, bees, and tapeworms. Viper and toad venom are used as ingredients, as is cuttlefish ink, American eagle blood, deer antler velvet, and oyster shell, among a few others. However, it must be repeated that the homeopathic process of dilution leaves no traceable molecules of the original substance in any remedy.

As an initiative to both prove the effectiveness of homeopathic remedies (by the homeopathic industry) and to discredit the industry (by research and government institutions), researchers have focused their studies on the effects of these remedies on animals. Homeopaths often claim that their remedies cannot be studied as they are prescribed uniquely to an individual following a detailed consultation, which is why evidence of their effectiveness has been impossible to observe in human or animal tests. Additionally, as there is no active ingredient in a homeopathic remedy, there is essentially nothing to test.

The increase in animal research for remedies has caused concern even among the homeopathic industry itself, particularly when they have observed the effect and safety of remedies in humans for two hundred years. The animal tests are not to alleviate toxicity or safety concerns, but simply out of interest. The animals in laboratory tests are first given the ‘illness’ for which the homeopathic remedy may treat including, but not limited to, intestine punctures, scalds and burns, electric shocks, and depression or anxiety through forced swim tests. The animals, which in most studies are mice and chickens, are then observed for effects, and killed at the end of the experiment. Despite their objection to the animal experiments, practitioners and industry peak bodies will still use for their promotion and benefit the results of those animal tests which shine a positive light on homeopathy.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is another established, popular, and growing pseudomedicine industry, with an estimated global market share of $AUD51 billion in 2023. TCM’s basic concept centres around Qi, the body’s ‘vital life source’, and maintaining this balance which encompasses a broad range of ‘medicines’ and techniques, including cupping, acupuncture, and herbal remedies. Similarly to homeopathy, there is no scientific evidence that TCM works in a medicinal capacity.

Famously, tigers have been a major part of TCM remedies due to the belief in their significant ‘healing properties’, with various parts of the killed animal being used to treat a wide range of ailments, including teeth, hair, skin, bones, and urine. Rhinos are another whole animal which are commonly used in TCM, with practitioners using skin, blood, horn, and penis in their treatments.

TCM and the increase in its popularity encourage by necessity the increased hunting, capture, and trade of land and aquatic wildlife, many endangered or threatened. Much of this trade is illegal which makes determining its actual real-world impact almost impossible. The increased pursuit of these animals has the potential to drive them out of their native areas into human populations, contributing to the increase transmission of virus and disease from animals to humans.

As the industry is unregulated, including by peak authorities which claim to monitor its trade and impact, there are additional significant health concerns in the use of animals in TCM remedies. Parts and secretions from, for example, primates and bats are used in TCM, and the ‘safe’ preparation of these substances for human consumption cannot be verified. These species are well known to harbour and transmit viruses to humans, including those which have become endemic and pandemic.

Suggestions for the replacement of many animal ingredients in TCM remedies have led to the industry not using non-animal alternatives, but instead using more commonly accepted or regularly farmed animals, such as pigs. TCM alternatives do not pursue the encouragement of reduced animal use, but simply using alternate animals.

What can be done?

Many pseudomedicine practitioners will be at least familiar with veganism and animal experiments, and will either be familiar with the ingredients and processes which make up their remedies or will have the information at hand to find out. If you have a practitioner, take #thenextsixtyseconds to ask them on your next visit or schedule an appointment to discuss these concerns. They will be able to tell you which medicines are, or contain, animal ingredients and may be able to offer appropriate alternatives.

If you see a homeopath, you may also ask if they make their homeopathic remedies using a radonics machine, or find a practitioner who does. Radonics machines use ‘energy frequencies’ to ‘charge’ the remedies, removing the concern of animal derived ingredients, however they may still use sugar globules bound by lactose.

There may, however, be very limited options for TCM remedies which have not, at least in some capacity, used animals.

Sources:

de Jong, Phil. www.wisdomhomeopathy.co.uk/about-consultations/the-remedies

Delny L. Britton. (2016). Blinded by Conventional Science: Animal Experiments and Homeopathy. Journal of Animal Ethics, 6(2), 123–134. https://doi.org/10.5406/janimalethics.6.2.0123

https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/rise-of-animal-experimentation-in-natural-healthcare-and-what-we-can-do/

Still J. Use of animal products in traditional Chinese medicine: environmental impact and health hazards. Complement Ther Med. 2003 Jun;11(2):118-22. doi: 10.1016/s0965-2299(03)00055-4. PMID: 12801499.