Is Honey, Don’t Coughs “Children’s Buckwheat Honey” a natural product or a homeopathic product? And what is the difference between a homeopathic product and a natural product?
A. This is a very good question because most people incorrectly use the terms homeopathic and natural interchangeably. Homeopathic theory is difficult to understand because it was invented before people understood how the body and chemicals interacted. We will attempt to explain it: Homeopathy comes from the Greek homoios “similar” + pathos “suffering” or “disease.” Homeopathy believes in what they call the “law of similars” that states an ill person can be treated if they are given a chemical that produces, in a healthy person, symptoms similar to those of the illness. For example strychnine (typically called nux-vomica on the labeling package) causes nausea and vomiting, so homeopathic practitioners often use strychnine to treat nausea and vomiting. In order to prevent sickness from the poisons, homeopathy also believes in extreme dilution (with water, alcohol, or some other substance) of the poisons before it is given. The government considers homeopathy safe because the poison is d
