Information compiled by Dana Ullman, MPH

NOTE:  This information presented below is provided in much greater depth and breadth in Dana Ullman’s book The Homeopathic Revolution:  Why Famous People and Cultural Heroes Choose Homeopathy.

C. Everett Koop, M.D. and Homeopathy!

I can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a doctor. The doctors I knew as a very young child must have helped to plant the desire in me, when I was as young as five or six. One homeopathic physician, Dr. Justice Gage Wright, was a great model.

Published in Koop , New York : Harper, 1992.

Research Mounts in Support of Homeopathy

The Lancet (September 20, 1997) published a review of 89 controlled double-blind and/or randomized placebo-controlled clinical trials and found that homeopathic medicines were 2.45 times more effective than placebo. When only reviewing the highest quality trials and when adjusting for publication bias, the researchers determined that homeopathic medi­cines were still 1.78 times more effective than placebo.

The British Medical Journal (February 9, 1991) published a review of research on homeopathic medicine and uncovered 107 controlled clinical experiments, considerably more than the non-homeopathic researchers who evaluated the studies had realized existed. An impressive 81 of these 107 experiments showed that homeopathic medicines were effective in treating a variety of common ailments, ranging from arthritis, hay fever, migraine headaches, influenza, post-surgical conditions, and complications of childbirth.

Reference for further information: Dana Ullman, M.P.H., Evidence Based Homeopathic Family Medicine. Paolo Bellavite, MD, and Andrea Signorini, MD, The Emerging Science of Homeopathy: Biodynamics, Complexity, and Nanopharmacology , Berkeley : North Atlantic , 2002.

95% of French pediatricians, dermatologists, and general practitioners prescribe homeopathic medicines.

According to a survey published in 2015 in the journal Family Practice, homeopathy has been proven to be an exceedingly popular treatment amongst French physicians.  Further, the World Health Organization recently deemed France to have the BEST medical care in the world.

Medical Student Interest in Homeopathic and Alternative Medicine

As of 1998, 62% of medical schools taught courses in alternative medicine, including Yale, Harvard, Georgetown , Tufts, Columbia , Johns Hoplins, U.C.L.A., and U.C.S.F. At the U.C.S.F. School of Medicine a 10-week course in homeopathic medicine has been taught for three consecutive years to an average of 120 medical and pharmacy students. Further, 23% of the family practice residency programs had clinical training in alternative medicine.

Reference: JAMA , November 11, 1998; Family Medicine , September, 1997.

The American Physicians’ Interest in Homeopathy

In 1900 there were 22 homeopathic medical schools in the U.S. , including Boston University , University of Michigan , New York Medical College, and Hahnemann University . There were also over 100 homeopathic hospitals and approximately 15% of physicians consid­ered themselves homeopaths. As the result of harsh attacks and political pressures from the A.M.A. and from drug companies, most homeopathic colleges closed down by 1920.

A survey published in 1997 showed that 49% of a random sample of primary care physicians who are members of the AMA want training in homeopathy, that 13.8% refer patients to homeopaths, that 5.9% have prescribed homeopathic medicines, and that one-third “would use or have used” homeopathy in own practice.

Reference for further information on the history of homeopathy: Harris L. Coulter, PhD, Divided Legacy: The Conflict Between Homoeopathy and the A.M.A. , Berkeley: North Atlantic , 1975. Survey: British Homeopathic Journal , July, 1997.

The Sports Connection

Many leading sports figures use homeopathy, including: Miami Heat coach Pat Riley, New York Yankee Paul O’Neil, tennis stars Boris Becker and Martina Navratilova, Olympian Greg Louganis, Jose Maria Olazabel (twice winner of the Golf Masters Tournament), baseball players Jeff Kent (Houston Astros) & Benito Santiago (S.F. Giants), English rugby player Wil Greenwood, former Yankee pitcher Jim Bouton, pro golfer Sally Little, & Dr. Malcolm Brown (Britain ‘s Olympic team doctor for track).

Homeopathy: Europe’s Leading Alternative Therapy

Homeopathic medicine is so popular in Europe and is such an integral part of everyday health care that it is now inappropriate to consider it “alternative health care.” It IS main­stream medicine in Europe . In France , 39% of physicians prescribe homeopathic medicines and 68% of physicians consider them effective. In Germany , 20% of physicians prescribe homeopathic medicines. In England , 42% of physicians refer patients to homeopathic physi­cians, and 45% of Dutch physicians consider homeopathic medicines effective. Dana Ullman, M.P.H., Consumer’s Guide to Homeopathy, New York : Tarcher/Putnam, 1996.

The Royal Connection

Britain ‘s royal family has sought homeopathic care from the 1830s to the present-day. They are the patrons to a homeopathic hospital in London , “The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital.” George VI was so impressed with the healing powers of homeopathic medicines that he named his prize racehorse “Hypericum,” after a common homeopathic medicine for injuries to nerves.

Today, Prince Charles is an outspoken proponent of homeopathic and natural medicine, and he has popularized the term “complementary medicine” because he sees the great value homeopathy and natural medicines have in helping to create a comprehensive health care. Even England ‘s Prime Minister Tony Blair has gone on record saying that he uses homeopathic medicines for his children.

The Hollywood Connection

Major Hollywood stars commonly recognize that beauty starts from within, and growing numbers of Hollywood stars are using homeopathic medicines to help them maintain inner health so that they can exude that outer beauty. Catherine Zeta-Jones, Pamela Anderson, Lindsay Wagner, Tina Turner, Jane Fonda, Jane Seymour, Whoopi Goldberg, Cher, Rosie O’Donnell, Angelica Houston, Mariel Hemingway, Sissy Spacek, Paul McCartney, Priscilla Presley, Lisa Marie Presley, Linda Gray, Martin Sheen, Nick Nolte, ER Star Julianna Margulies, Olivia Newton-John, fashion guru Karl Lagerfeld, Michael Franks, Cybill Sheppard, Ashley Judd, Naomi Judd, Vidal Sassoon, Lesley Anne Warren, Axl Rose, Marlene Dietrich, Michael York, and Courtney Thorne-Smith are but a handful of the stars that use or have used homeopathic medicines.

Homeopathy’s Contribution to the Treatment of Allergies

Little known facts of history show that it was a British homeopath, C.H. Blackely, who in 1871 was the first to recognize that seasonal sneezing and nasal discharge were the result of exposure to pollen. An American homeopath, Dr. Grant Selfridge was one of three physicians to start an organization that became the present American Academy of Allergy.

Although conventional allergy treatment borrows from the homeopathic approach by its use of small doses of substances to which a person is allergic, homeopaths use even smaller doses of allergens. Three studies, two of which were published in The Lancet , have confirmed the success in using homeopathic medicines to treat allergic disorders. Because of this repeat­ed success, the researchers concluded that either homeopathic medicines work or controlled studies do not.