Homeopathy has long been championed by vocal proponents—yet its treatments have been under scrutiny for years. Could a new study settle the heated debate once and for all?
A new Australian study, conducted by the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) based on the analysis of 225 research papers, concludes that homeopathy doesn't work. Worse yet, those who rely on it could be putting themselves in danger.
Before we delve into the study, quick recap on the definition of homeopathy: The practice is founded on the idea that injecting diluted illness-causing substances in alcohol (or distilled water) can help heal a sick person.
Alas, according to NHMRC:
"Based on the assessment of the evidence of effectiveness of homeopathy, NHMRC concludes that there are no health conditions for which there is reliable evidence that homeopathy is effective."
Among the 225 lengthy papers, some did report the effectiveness of homeopathy. But the NHMRC sick-burned these by concluding they were flawed; in some, the sample size was tiny, and many suffered from basic test-design flaws.
Usually, we teach you kids to be wary of studies. But the size, magnitude, and prestige of this project makes it worth serious consideration.
Let the debate rage on . . .
