Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
Actor Anushka Sharma has sparked a fresh debate over homeopathy after sharing her positive experience with the alternative system of medicine, triggering a heated exchange between a homeopathic doctor and hepatologist Cyriac Abby Philips.
The controversy began after Sharma shared a video featuring homeopathic physician Rajan Sankaran in conversation with entrepreneur Namita Thapar.
“Homeopathy played an important role in my life and Dr Rajan Sankaran has been a key part of that journey. I deeply value his insights on health and mindful living,” Sharma wrote.
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In the video, Sankaran argued for an integrated approach to healthcare rather than competition between medical systems.
“Homeopathy doesn’t treat conditions, it treats people. By treating people it heals them. By healing the human, their pathology also heals. Homeopathy can treat everybody. But can it cure everybody? Like every system it has limitations. Because modern medicine does not have long-term solutions, multiple solutions for multiple sclerosis, allergies eczema, so these are all illnesses for which I would say even modern medical doctors refer their patients for homeopathy. We are living in an era of integrated medicine. We are not here to prove the superiority or inferiority. It’s not either or anymore . We need to know the strengths and limitations of each system,” he said.
The actor’s post drew support from homeopathic practitioner Bhumika, who reflected on the criticism she has received online for practising homeopathy.
“I still remember how people trolled me on Twitter 3–4 years ago because I am a homoeopathic doc,” she wrote.
Bhumika said the criticism motivated her to work harder and maintained that many patients continue to seek homeopathic treatment because they believe it works.
“Many of you will come to us for treatment,” she wrote, adding that “those who have experienced the treatment and seen the results know its value.”
She also argued against judging an entire medical system based on one doctor’s performance.
“If a treatment isn’t working for you, change the doctor but don’t judge an entire system based on one experience,” she said.
Her comments were later shared by Dr. Philips, popularly known as The Liver Doc, who responded with a strongly worded criticism of homeopathy.
“You’re still troll worthy and you have achieved nothing in life. Homeopathy is healthcare fraud which also defines its practitioners. The many who come for treatment are because you lie to them,” Dr. Philips wrote.
He further challenged the legitimacy of homeopathy practitioners, saying, “You lie to yourself every single day of your life that you are a doctor. You’re not.”
Dr. Philips also took aim at the video shared by Sharma, posting a separate critique on social media in which he described the participants as a “triangle of shame.”
Referring to the discussion between Sankaran and Thapar, along with Sharma’s endorsement, he wrote: “Supplement Seller – Legalized Quack – Illiterate Celeb.”
The hepatologist reiterated his long-held criticism of homeopathy, arguing that homeopathic remedies contain no active medicine.
“Homeopathy is ‘medicine’ made of water, alcohol, and sugar. So you’re paying premium prices for fancy sugar pills containing precisely no medicine at all,” he wrote.
Addressing the common claim that homeopathy works for some patients, Philips argued that many illnesses improve naturally over time.
“‘But it worked for me!’ Of course it did. Most illnesses fade on their own, and people reach for these pills right as they’re about to recover anyway,” he said.
Philips also pointed to policy decisions in several countries, claiming that health authorities in the UK, France, Spain and Australia have reviewed the evidence for homeopathy and either withdrawn funding or found insufficient proof of effectiveness.
He ended his post by urging people to seek evidence-based healthcare. “Don’t give your kids homeopathy, demand real science-based care,” he wrote.
A LONG-RUNNING DEBATE
There has been a long-standing disagreement between supporters of homeopathy and advocates of evidence-based medicine.
Homeopathy is recognised under India’s AYUSH system and continues to be widely used across the country.
However, many researchers and medical organisations have argued that scientific evidence supporting homeopathic remedies remains limited.
Supporters cite patient experiences and personal outcomes, while critics argue that treatments should be backed by rigorous clinical evidence.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
