Question: What is your opinion on Homeopathy as an alternative to conventional treatment?

Ee Lyn Lim answered on 26 Jun 2013:

I don’t believe homeopathy works. But that’s because people who practice homeopathy don’t make any effort to provide evidence of how it works!

There are certain things that people have been using for centuries, and whole countries of people will swear that they work. Ginseng, for example, is known throughout the world for improving mental alertness and concentration. And it’s not just food – massage and acupuncture are very well-established methods in the health practice in Asia. It’s very odd – I’ve listened to some people who have practiced traditional Chinese medicine all their lives, and they actually study it in great detail – they know exactly which herb works for what illness, and which pressure point should be massaged to relieve any particular part of your body. It’s all so systematic that you think, oh wow, there must be some truth behind it. But then you ask them, so HOW does this work? WHY does this work? – and it all falls apart!

I actually think it’s a pity, because there are clearly some good questions here to be asked and answered. Maybe acupuncture is a way to affect your nervous system – why don’t we look at brain signals that happen during treatment? Maybe ginseng does contain a compound that affects brain function, so why haven’t we tried to isolate it? Instead, the worlds of modern and traditional medicine are pretty much ignoring each other, and neither believes the other knows what they’re doing!

I’ve chosen to do research on modern, science-based medicine because we know where we are going and how we are getting there, but if I got the chance I’d love to take some of the traditional remedies and try Science on them – I might not believe they work now, but who knows what I might find!