SAMUEL HAHNEMANN CHOSE MILK SUGAR AS A VEHICLE FOR HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES

Did you know milk sugar is used for homeopathic remedies? Hahnemann chose globules of Saccharum lactis (milk sugar) as the chief vehicle of his remedies because he considered it the most inert substance he could find. But his method of attenuating remedies had shown that no substance is inert in potency’s and experience shows that no substance is absolutely inert in any form.

WHAT IS LACTOSE?

Milk Sugar = Saccharum lactis = Lactose

Lactose is a disaccharide sugar derived from two sugars, galactose, and glucose, that is found in milk. A disaccharide is a sugar (a carbohydrate) composed of two monosaccharides. Monosaccharides are the smallest form of sugar.

HOW LACTOSE IS MADE

Lactose is extracted from sweet or sour whey. It makes up around 2–8% of milk (by weight), although the amount varies among species and individuals, and milk with a reduced amount of lactose also exists. The name comes from lac or lactis, the Latin word for milk, plus the -ose ending used to name sugars. It has a formula of C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁.

HOW MUCH LACTOSE?

The amount of lactose in homeopathic pellets and tablets is very small and will not trigger symptoms caused by lactose intolerance. Pellets and the tablets are usually taken under the tongue (sublingual absorption), so the amount of lactose that reaches the intestine, where lactose intolerance symptoms are triggered, is even less.

For small homeopathic pellets (for example, Oscillococcinum®), 1 gram (1 entire unit-dose – a small tube holding many pellets) contains 150 mg of lactose, equivalent to 1/80th of a cup of milk.

For large homeopathic pellets (such as in Boiron’s “blue tubes”), 5 pellets contain 42.2 mg of lactose, equivalent to 1/300th of a cup of milk.

For large homeopathic tablets (for example, Coldcalm®), 2 tablets per dose contain 492.5 mg of lactose, equivalent to 1/24th of a cup of milk.

NOTE ABOUT NANOPARTICLES & LACTOSE

It is interesting to note that lactose has been chosen as the substance to coat nanoparticles for oral drug delivery: Drug nanoparticles offer promising applications in drug delivery because of their potential to improve the dissolution rate and oral availability of poorly water-soluble drugs. The present research was aimed at developing three layered ceramic nanoparticles (aquasomes) for the delivery of the hydrophobic drug, pimozide to enhance its dissolution. Some of the nanoparticle theory seems to be compatible with the theory about homeopathy.

WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT HOMEOPATHY?

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SOURCE
Murphy’s Materia Medica
Wikipedia, Journal of Pharmacy Research
Ohm Pharma

PHOTO CREDIT
“BalanzaAzúcar” by Tamorlan, Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Myra Nissen, CCH

Copyright © 2014–2018, Myra Nissen.
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This article was brought to you by Myra Nissen, CCH, RSHom(NA), Board Certified Classical Homeopath. Myra teaches women how to recognize their body’s unique needs and cues and uses Homeopathy to help empower women to take control of their bodies, health and well-being. Find out more, visit her blog www.myranissen.com/blog.