Why Homeopathy and Ayurveda are not considered in Medical Sciences?

Homeopathy and Ayurveda have been in practice for a long time but still are not recognized as medical science.

Homeopathy

Homeopathy is an alternate therapy and it was developed by Samuel Hahnemann in the year 1796. It revolves around the following principles:

• Like cures like- It emphasizes that a substance due to which a symptom of a disease is caused in healthy individuals would treat similar symptoms in unhealthy individuals.  

• Law of minimal dosage- It means that lower dosages in medication shall be more effective on the human body. Many of the homeopathic medicines are weakened to the extent that none of the particles of real substance is left.

It is termed as a pseudoscience – a conviction which is incorrectly depicted as scientific for the following reasons:

• Homeopathic medicines prove to be ineffective for curing any conditions. It has been proved by studies that homeopathy has not been effective and the positive effects following treatment are not because of the treatment rather they are due to the factors like regression towards the mean or recovering from illness. 

The principle of homeopathy was developed in the year 1796 and it completely relies on conviction and not scientific proofs. According to David Shaw, Bioethicist at University of Basel, Switzerland, homeopathy does not contain any active ingredient. The dilutions mean that there are no active molecules detected in homeopathy. This puts homeopathy in the category of bad science. 

• There is little evidence to prove that homeopathy is an effective treatment for any particular health condition. Furthermore, it was also assessed by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australian Government that there is no evidence to show the effectiveness of homeopathy for any health condition. 

• Homeopathy is a controversial topic. Its key concepts do not align with the fundamental principles of science. For example, the effect of any product containing little or no active ingredient cannot be explained in scientific terms. The scientists are not able to confirm the components of an extremely diluted material according to the description mentioned on its label. They are even not able to prove the effects of this diluted material on the body. 

• The homeopathic treatments are highly patient-specific. There is no uniformity in prescribing standards of homeopathic doctors. Thus, various homeopathic remedies can be suggested in various dilutions for different symptoms. 

• Many homeopathic products also known as homeopathic immunizations and nosodes have been marketed as substitutes of commercial vaccinations but this has been contradicted by U.S. Centres for Diseases Control and Prevention. It says that a reliable scientific proof is absent for supporting such proclamations.
• It was also found by some of the professors of complementary medicine in the University of Exeter that homeopathy is not more than a placebo. They also claim that homeopathy can be dangerous for curing life-threatening diseases like cancer, asthma and  Ebola. They went to the extent of declaring that promoting homeopathy is unethical. 

• It was further reinforced by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council through its most independent analysis that homeopathy is nothing more than treatment with a placebo.

Ayurveda

Ayurveda is one of the traditional medical systems which practices holistic principles mainly focused on personalized health.  It was originated in India and is amongst the ancient health traditions. It is often referred to as a ‘science for life’  since the meaning of Ayu in Sanskrit is life and Veda means science or knowledge. But the need for scientific evaluation has always been felt in this regard. So, here are some of the reasons which explain why Ayurveda cannot be considered to be a medical science:

• The practitioners of Ayurveda seem to believe in the heritage pride and glory based sentimental attitude. They are not inquisitive of an evidence-based scientific search of the subject. 

• In this context, controlled clinical trials are being used as main evidence and Ayurveda is far behind in proving scientific evidence in terms of quality and quantity of systematic reviews and randomized controlled clinical trials (RCT). 

• Many of the attempts have not been able to produce any processes, protocols and products which can create a desirable impact on the scientific fraternity. It calls for a need to enhance collaboration amongst scientific and Ayurvedic communities. 

• The current scientific proofs for supporting Ayurvedic medicines are extremely low. As a result, the House of Lords and the European Union have restricted Ayurvedic medicines. 

• Many articles regarding the presence of metals and other like substances have been published to show the poor quality of Ayurvedic medicines. These factors can further deteriorate the situation thereby adversely impacting the evaluation of evidence in support of Ayurveda. 

• It is because Ayurveda is an old science and the methodologies to test the medicines are primitive and unreliable. Some scientists try to test them by using modern methods but until their safety is not evidenced, it cannot be considered as medical science. 

• It has been found by the U.S. National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health that some of the Ayurvedic medicines may contain arsenic, mercury and lead up to dangerous levels. 

• However, according to some studies, Ayurvedic medicines may diminish the pain and help in managing the symptoms related to type2 diabetes and osteoarthritis but these trails are not designed well and are trivial. They lack any scientific pieces of evidence on the value of these health issues. 

• It has also been advised by the Centre that the patients should not use Ayurvedic medicines for postponing their visit to a conventional medical practitioner. 

• Moreover, if they are facing some medical issue, then they should consult their doctor before consuming any Ayurvedic medicine. 

• Pregnant women and nursing mothers are also advised to consult their health care practitioners before consuming Ayurvedic medicines as some of the products might contain harmful substances.

Conclusion

Thus the homeopathic and ayurvedic streams must urgently address and recognize the necessity for scientific substantiation. The ayurvedic and homeopathic practitioners must execute appropriate methods, systematic documentation and rigorous experiments according to the established medical standards to move forward to an evidence-based scientific medical approach.