Organic food advocates - science duds or marketing geniuses or both?

[CSK Fan]

I have benefited a lot from Homeopathic medicine, cant believe it was just placebo. I avoided a tonsillitis operation, recovered from an skin infection that was pathological and allopathic medicines couldn't cure, not to mention the numerous times I have taken homeopathic medicine for cold & cough relief. I guess it may not work for some people and there are strict rules for taking medicine for them to be effective, but is there any evidence that says Science behind it is false?

The scinece behind homeopathy

Hahnemann believed that the underlying causes of disease were phenomena that he termed miasms, and that homeopathic remedies addressed these. The remedies are prepared by repeatedly diluting a chosen substance in alcohol or distilled water, followed by forceful striking on an elastic body.[6] Dilution usually continues well past the point where no molecules of the original substance remain.[7] Homeopaths select remedies by consulting reference books known as repertories, and by considering the totality of the patient's symptoms, personal traits, physical and psychological state, and life history.[8] Homeopathy lacks biological plausibility[9] and the axioms of homeopathy have been refuted for some time.[10] The postulated mechanisms of action of homeopathic remedies are both scientifically implausible[11][12] and not physically possible.[13] Although some clinical trials produce positive results,[14][15] systematic reviews reveal that this is because of chance, flawed research methods, and reporting bias. Overall there is no evidence of efficacy.[11][16][17][18] Continued homeopathic practice, despite the evidence that it does not work, has been criticized as unethical because it increases the suffering of patients by discouraging the use of medicine that works,[19] with the World Health Organisation warning against using homeopathy to try to treat severe diseases such as HIV and malaria.[20] The continued practice, despite a lack of evidence of efficacy, has led to homeopathy being characterized within the scientific and medical communities as nonsense,[21] quackery,[4][22][23] or a sham.[24] The British House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has stated: "In our view, the systematic reviews and meta-analyses conclusively demonstrate that homeopathic products perform no better than placebos. The Government shares our interpretation of the evidence

Homeopathy is a pseudoscience[2][3][4] and its effects are no more than those of placebo.[5] Outside of the Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) community, scientists have long considered homeopathy a sham,[24] and the mainstream medical community regards it as quackery.[4] There is an overall absence of sound statistical evidence of therapeutic efficacy, which is consistent with the lack of any biologically plausible pharmacological agent or mechanism The proposed mechanisms for homeopathy are precluded from having any effect by the laws of physics and physical chemistry.[13] The extreme dilutions used in homeopathic preparations often leave none of the original substance in the final product. The modern mechanism proposed by homeopaths, water memory, is considered erroneous since short-range order in water only persists for about 1 picosecond.[130] Existence of a pharmacological effect in the absence of any true active ingredient is inconsistent with the observed dose-response relationships characteristic of therapeutic drugs[131] (whereas placebo effects are non-specific and unrelated to pharmacological activity[132]). The proposed rationale for these extreme dilutions – that the water contains the "memory" or "vibration" from the diluted ingredient – is counter to the laws of chemistry and physics, such as the law of mass action.[130]

[maniac]

Who The F Cares....TBH I enjoy the apple/strawberries I buy at Whole Foods/Trader Joes that come with the "Organic" tag more than the same fruits I buy at Jewel Osco or any normal store......SO I see the value for Organic I guess. In my world Organic=Tasty,Don't care for anything else :dontknow:

[Brainfade]

Who The F Cares....TBH I enjoy the apple/strawberries I buy at Whole Foods/Trader Joes that come with the "Organic" tag more than the same fruits I buy at Jewel Osco or any normal store......SO I see the value for Organic I guess. In my world Organic=Tasty,Don't care for anything else :dontknow:

Go to the local farmers market and buy the conventional stuff. It'll taste the same because it is picked at the peak of ripeness, and cost a lot less. It has nothing to do with organic.

[Texy]

LOL @homeopathy. People are still subjecting themselves to those sugar pills?