According to a spanish Health Department reportHomeopathy treatments are not curative nor harmful?
Homeopathy treatments are not curative nor harmful?
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Scientific evidence on 139 techniques and "natural therapies" analyzed by experts is very limiterd... and not all of them can be harmless.

Last Dicember, 2011 spanish Health Department issued a clarifying report on the so called "natural therapies", with the help from a panel of experts of Carlos III Institute, Education Department and Autonomous Govern Communities.

This document focuses on the scienctific evidence available with the situation of this therapies, both in Spain (centers, professional, techniques) as well as abroad, as a very important first step on the possible control of these therapies, distinguishing which ones can be beneficial to the citizens.


This report points that up to date the number of quality documents published on effectiveness evidence is very scant. In other words: there is no scientifica data that helps to determine if the improvement on the patient's condition is due to the drug or to the placebo effect.

The placebo efect has been widely studied in the scientific medicine, and basically means giving to the patient tablets that do not contain active ingredient (only contains excipients and vehicles, but are exactly the same in look, taste and flavour as the original drug). American universities have studied the psicologhycal effect of these placebo tablets: they trigger a brain area when the patient feels he or she is taking the real drug.

The so called "natural therapies" cover a great variety of techniques from the homeopathy, naturopaty, acupuncture, ayurvedic medicina, herbal medicines, etc. Only some of these have a direct influence on human helth, being the rest focused on wellness or user comfort. Nonetheless, they are not harmless becuse they consist of substances that can mean drug interactions or even toxicity, as well of delaying real treatments to cure diseases.



More Info

Spanish Health Department full report on "natural therapies".

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