Herbal Remedies vs Homeopathic Medicine
The simple answer is that herbs nourish a certain part of the body (e.g. Milk Thistle helps to nourish the liver), while homeopathy works by stimulating your immune system responses (more like a vaccine).
With homeopathy, the basic principle is that like supports like. A weakened or killed organism primes the body’s immune response so that the body is prepared to deal with “the real thing” if necessary. Essentially, you’re helping the body to heal itself. Many practitioners feel that the more dilute a solution is, the more effective it is.
Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution. Any solution with an “X” in the concentration is prepared by a 1:10 serial dilution. For a 6X remedy for example, 1 part of the substance is mixed with 9 parts of water. 1 part of this first solution is transferred to second tube and mixed with an additional 9 parts of water. This process of transferring from one dilution to the next is carried out a total of 6 times to achieve the final dilution. If the concentration was 12X, the 1:10 serial dilution would be carried out 12 times. A 30X would be serially diluted 30 times.
The higher the number in front of the X, the more dilute the final solution is—hence, the more effective it is. Any homeopathic with a “C” in the concentration is prepared by a 1:100 serial dilution. For a 30C, 1 part of the substance would be mixed with 99 parts of water. One part of the first dilution would be transferred to the next tube, and an additional 99 parts of water added. The process of serially diluting would be continued a total of 30 times to achieve the final dilution. A 200 C would be serially diluted 200 times. The “C” concentrations are more dilute than the “X” concentrations and would be regarded as more potent.