Something that shocked me about Charles III - was doing some reading about him. Woo medicine!

[NewHendoLib]

from Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_III

(by the way - anything about this family hasn't been of much interest to me, and this is the first time I read anything about Charles. I am quite shocked!)

"Charles has controversially championed alternative medicine.[212] He first expressed his interest in alternative medicine publicly in December 1982 in an address to the British Medical Association.[213] The Prince's Foundation for Integrated Health (FIH) attracted opposition from the scientific and medical community over its campaign encouraging general practitioners to offer herbal and other alternative treatments to National Health Service patients.[214][14] On 24 June 2004, during a speech to healthcare professionals at a conference, he advocated using Gerson therapy treatments, such as coffee enemas, to treat cancer patients and said he knew of a terminally ill cancer patient who was cured with them.[215][14][216] These comments drew criticism from medical professionals such as Michael Baum.[217][218] In May 2006, Charles made a speech at the World Health Assembly in Geneva, urging the integration of conventional and alternative medicine and arguing for homeopathy.[219][11]

In April 2008, The Times published a letter from Edzard Ernst, Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, which asked the FIH to recall two guides promoting alternative medicine, saying "the majority of alternative therapies appear to be clinically ineffective, and many are downright dangerous." A speaker for the FIH countered the criticism by stating: "We entirely reject the accusation that our online publication Complementary Healthcare: A Guide contains any misleading or inaccurate claims about the benefits of complementary therapies. On the contrary, it treats people as adults and takes a responsible approach by encouraging people to look at reliable sources of information ... so that they can make informed decisions. The foundation does not promote complementary therapies."[220] That year, Ernst published a book with Simon Singh, mockingly dedicated to "HRH the Prince of Wales", called Trick or Treatment: Alternative Medicine on Trial. The last chapter is highly critical of Charles's advocacy of complementary and alternative treatments.[221]

Charles's Duchy Originals produced a variety of complementary medicinal products including a "Detox Tincture" that Edzard Ernst denounced as "financially exploiting the vulnerable" and "outright quackery".[222] In 2009, the Advertising Standards Authority criticised an email that Duchy Originals had sent out to advertise its Echina-Relief, Hyperi-Lift and Detox Tinctures products saying that it was misleading.[222] Charles personally wrote at least seven letters[223] to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) shortly before they relaxed the rules governing labelling of such herbal products, a move that has been widely condemned by scientists and medical bodies.[224] In October 2009, it was reported that Charles had personally lobbied the Health Secretary, Andy Burnham, regarding greater provision of alternative treatments in the NHS.[222]

In April 2010, following accounting irregularities, a former official at the FIH and his wife were arrested for fraud believed to total £300,000.[225] Four days later, the FIH announced its closure, claiming that it "has achieved its key objective of promoting the use of integrated health."[226] The charity's finance director, accountant George Gray, was convicted of theft totalling £253,000 and sentenced to three years in prison.[227] The FIH was re-branded and re-launched later in 2010 as The College of Medicine,[227][228][229] of which Charles became a patron in 2019.[230] In 2016, Charles said in a speech that he used homeopathic veterinary medicines to reduce antibiotic use at his farm.[231] He drew criticism after becoming a patron of the Faculty of Homeopathy on 27 June 2019.[232][233][234][235]

[MyMission]

1. He's also a big environmentalist

As royals go, he is involved and invested in some very good and necessary causes.
I just read this interesting article about him.

The Green King: Charles the Environmentalist
September 11, 2022 5:17 AM

Britain's new King Charles III is a committed environmentalist with a long history of campaigning for better conservation, organic farming and tackling climate change, which is likely to sit well with more eco-conscious younger Britons.

Interspersed between photos of official meetings and other royal duties, his Instagram account as Prince of Wales typically featured pictures showing him furthering environmental causes in Britain and beyond.

They included planting trees, showing off organic fruit and vegetables from his Clarence House residence and colorful flowers growing in the garden at his beloved Highgrove House in Gloucestershire, western England.....

https://www.voanews.com/a/the-green-king-charles-the-environmentalist-/6739925.html

I am a bit of an anglophile, thanks to my Canadian mother who was only 10 months younger than the Queen, and spoke about remembering when Elizabeth, a girl her age, became heir apparent. And Diana was my age, and I remember watching her wedding thinking I was too young to get married, and so was she. I've followed the royal family and actually have respect and admiration for Charles. He was the first heir apparent to earn a university degree, which he did in the late 60's, a time that influenced many. Long may be reign! He could have 25 years.
God save the King.

[PlutosHeart]

2. In defense of at least the use of alternatives to

antibiotic use on farms, the use of medicinal level oil of oregano, has proved effective.

When my dog contracted a usually fatal disease acquired from nasal inhaling of spores from damp ground debris and also acquired a sever bladder infection at the same time, the only thing that worked is when I researched and gave him medicinal organic oregano oil. All antibiotics failed and then he went into the condition where he began to have reactions for that. There seemed no hope.

I found out about what farms where doing for treating ecoli and related infections and used it on my dog. He recovered and my vet was floored. I coupled it with chest pulsing to move infection from his lungs.It took about 2 weeks to get him over the danger threshold. He died 3 years later at age 18. Springer.

So I can speak to one part of the article from personal experience.

[Liberty Belle]

3. Some alternative therapies can be effective.

Not sure about some of the specific ones he promoted.

But homeopathy remedies have long been used by the royal family. Scientific studies have found mixed results and some studies found certain homeopathic remedies to be very effective: https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/explore-healing-practices/homeopathy/-there-good-scientific-evidence-homeopathy

Most notably with rheumatoid arthritis "Significant improvement occurred in those treated with homeopathic remedies, but not in the placebo group. Within one year, 42% of homeopathically treated patients were able to stop all conventional pharmaceutical treatments (Gibson, 1980)."

I have many drug allergies and bad reactions. As a former editor of a publication that covered natural, alternative and complementary medicines, I've used quite a few. I've found homeopathy remedies to be more effective for sinus problems than anything else -- and that's after even sinus surgery failed to fix the problem. I've never heard of anyone hurt by a homepathic remedy, so in most cases it's probably safe to give them a try; if they don't work you can always use a conventional therapy. I've also used an effective homeopathic remedy to ease pain from insect bites.

One area where I think Charles will be a very positive influence is as an advocate for addressing climate change - one issue where I don't think he'll stay silent or neutral on; after all our planet's survival is at stake. Like Al Gore, Charles has long been vocal on the need to take action on climate change.

[NewHendoLib]

4. homeopathy is a total no go for me - there are no active compounds!

purely placebo effect - and expensive ones at that.

[Disaffected]

7. Purely placebo effect and,

purely quackery. There is NO credible evidence for the efficacy of homeopathic concoctions and, absolutely NO conceptual or theoretical basis for its supposed benefits.

Another reason why they sometimes refer to Charles as Balmy Prince Charlie...

[Treefrog]

8. I think you mean"barmy".

Two different words. Maybe you heard someone with an English accent say it.

But it's "barmy" not "balmy".

[Disaffected]

19. Check out #2

ˈbä-mē , ˈbäl-mē
balmier; balmiest

Definition of balmy

1a: having the qualities of balm : SOOTHING
… 'tis a soldier's life to have their balmy slumbers wak'd with strife.
— Shakespeare

b: MILD, TEMPERATE
balmy weather
a balmy summer evening

2: CRAZY, FOOLISH
the country has gone slightly balmy

[Treefrog]

24. No, it's barmy.

Check the OED

[Disaffected]

30. For heaven's sake

"balmy" is British (& American slang) for crazy or foolish (no matter what it says in the OED) which is the meaning I meant.

BTW, here's another reference:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english/balmy

What a silly argument...

Also BTW, I once had a similar discussion with an American English prof. He thanked me for pointing it out.

[wackadoo wabbit]

12. Expensive? A bottle of 80 pellets (30 doses) retails for around $7

That's less than a quarter per dose. What else can you buy for a quarter per dose?

And yes, it really does work. I used to be like you; I thought "there's no active ingredient in this. It's hooey." Then one day, when absolutely nothing else worked for a dry cough I had — not even codeine cough syrup — that had plagued me for literally weeks, in desperation I tried a homeopathic cough remedy. And I hacked up a little bit of phlegm. And my cough that I'd had for weeks was gone.

Since then I've used homeopathic remedies for root canal pain, diverticulitis, and numerous other ailments. Homeopathy really does work.

[NewHendoLib]

13. Placebo. There is nothing in it that can work.

[wackadoo wabbit]

17. And yet it does

We just don't know how yet.

Back in the day, the idea that tiny invisible organisms could cause disease was rejected by most people, precisely because they didn't understand how these organisms could make them sick. We don't currently know how homeopathy works, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't.

Don't knock it if you've never tried it.

[NewHendoLib]

22. That's the placebo effect

[GoneOffShore]

9. I'll just leave this here -

Go to 1:42 for homeopathy - or medical quackery as it's better known.

?t=98

[Raine]

5. I like the that about him

I use some myself and have had good results.

[Sneederbunk]

6. He is head of state. He does not make law or policy.

[MagickMuffin]

10. Historical Perspective of Traditional Indigenous Medical Practices:

The Current Renaissance and Conservation of Herbal Resources


In recent years, increasing numbers of people have been choosing herbal medicines or products to improve their health conditions, either alone or in combination with others. Herbs are staging a comeback and herbal “renaissance” occurs all over the world. According to the World Health Organization, 75% of the world's populations are using herbs for basic healthcare needs. Since the dawn of mankind, in fact, the use of herbs/plants has offered an effective medicine for the treatment of illnesses. Moreover, many conventional/pharmaceutical drugs are derived directly from both nature and traditional remedies distributed around the world. Up to now, the practice of herbal medicine entails the use of more than 53,000 species, and a number of these are facing the threat of extinction due to overexploitation. This paper aims to provide a review of the history and status quo of Chinese, Indian, and Arabic herbal medicines in terms of their significant contribution to the health promotion in present-day over-populated and aging societies. Attention will be focused on the depletion of plant resources on earth in meeting the increasing demand for herbs.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020364/

[NewHendoLib]

11. Herbs maybe as long as there is confirmation of active ingredients and appropriate doses.

But...homeopathy? That is gobbledygook!

[wackadoo wabbit]

14. Have you ever tried it?

In my experience, those who dismiss homeopathy as "gobbledygood" or the like — and I used to be one of you — have never actually tried it.

Homeopathic remedies have cleared up my chronic diverticulitis, taken away the excruciating pain of a tooth that needed a root canal, and done much more.

Don't knock it if you've never tried it.

[Aristus]

18. It's not simply a dismissal as gobbledegook; there is no peer-reviewed evidence to support

the assertion that homeopathy is clinically effective. Any improvement in a patient's condition through homeopathy is attributed to the placebo effect and a patient's natural ability to heal.

It should be pointed out that homeopathy is often mistaken for naturopathy, when in fact, they are two distinct things.

Naturopathy is treatment through non-pharmaceutical means such as rest, exercise, proper nutrition, and often administration of clinically-proven herbal remedies.

Homeopathy is none of these things. No reputable peer-reviewed medical research journal will advocate for homeopathic "cures".

[Disaffected]

21. It's water.

If it's an actual "homeopathic" preparation that is.

Nothing but water.

Some concoctions claim to be homeopathic as it lures the suckers but actually contain some active ingredient that may or may not be helpful (or harmful).

BTW, personal experience is a particularly poor method of determining the efficiency of a medical treatment.

[BlackSkimmer]

15. So why do you care so much?

Started a thread about it?

Many people think it does work.

[kcr]

20. Many people think a lot of things

Many people think Trump is great. That doesn't make him great.

[BlackSkimmer]

25. Many people believe in a God.

Of all faiths.

They all think he's great. Huge monuments, statues, books, cathedrals, mosques, a whole line of work....yeah. many people believing can make something great. So there's that.

I don't have a big belief in homeopathy or religion for that matter, but I think it's fantastic for those who do. I just always get amazed at those here who want to shut down others' beliefs. Not something I used to expect here . But, eh, it's changed a bit here in recent years.

[NewHendoLib]

23. Science. It's great.

[BlackSkimmer]

26. And so is faith.

I'm more on the science side.

But I don't discount the other.

[NewHendoLib]

28. Let's just agree it's a complex issue.

People can do what they want. But they are vulnerable to snakeoil salesmen, peddling their BS and getting rich off of "faith".

[BlackSkimmer]

29. Oh yes. There is indeed a helluva lot of that.

Oh yessiree.

[BannonsLiver]

16. Meh

He’s far from the first and won’t be the last. Who cares, really.

[AntivaxHunters]

27. Coffee enemas?

Is that a Latte or a cold press?

GTFO Charles.