Homeopathy

I confess, I am ignorant as to the difference between homeopathy and Naturopathy. I think they are similar in approach, though probably different in many ways as well. So, I looked it up. While this site might not provide 100% accurate portrayals, it did seem to confirm my thoughts in my limited experiences with both, mainly that Homeopathy is kind of bunk while Naturopathy has at least some elements (perhaps many) of scientific merit. Here is why I think the way I do:

I have been seeing a friend and Naturopath recently for allergies/asthma. I cannot say for certain if it is working, but I can say I am feeling better. There are clinical trials that have studied the effects of many elements of the practice and it largely seems sound, even to someone reared on and currently entrenched in practicing Western medicine. Last night, Tia and I went to see a Homeopath speak on allergies. The concepts, which initially seemed vaguely credible, quickly broke down over the talk with my main concern being her espousal of the idea that dosage DOES NOT MATTER. The idea that you can take something in its most concentrated form and it will provide you the same benefit as its most dilute form. In fact, often the element is barely hinted at in the remedy.

Lets compare that with something more common: aspirin. Now, suppose you have a headache. You might take one pill, you might take 2. You might repeat the dose in 4 to 6 hours if you haven't had relief. You might reasonably assume that a stronger dose would bring more benefit. According to Homeopathy, you could either take 1000mg of aspirin or drop a baby aspirin (81mg) into a gallon of water, shake it liberally, and then take 2 tablespoonfuls of it and achieve a very similar result. You see, it is the essence of the cure that counts. It is that which I have a problem with. The idea of like cures like (flowers to cure allergies, etc) is not unreasonable. However, to assume that concentration and dosage matter not does not compute to me. But then again, maybe it is the belief in the sure as much as the cure itself. Who knows. In the meantime, I will stick with my Naturopath.