Can homeopathy help you control your diabetes?

Although homeopathy is all but disregarded by medical experts in North America, in the European Union and other countries around the world, the practice flourishes. Here's what your need to know about homeopathy before deciding if it's something that will help you control your diabetes.

About 100 million Europeans use homeopathic medicines.

• In the United Kingdom, for example, members of the royal family are staunch homeopathy advocates, and five homeopathic hospitals are part of the National Health Service.
• In France, homeopathy is the leading alternative therapy. A survey of French pharmacists revealed that 94.5 percent of them advise pregnant women to use homeopathic preparations.
• Other countries where homeopathy thrives include Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Italy, Spain and Russia.
• In India, over 100 million people rely solely on homeopathy. There, 62 percent of homeopathy users have never tried conventional medicine, and 82 percent say they wouldn't switch to conventional medicine.

In homeopathic medicine, a highly diluted dose of a substance that causes particular symptoms is used to treat those same symptoms. And when we say "highly diluted," we're serious — a homeopathic preparation is sometimes so diluted that not a molecule of the original substance is left.

• To tell the truth, even homeopaths admit they don't understand exactly how their medicines work.
• Homeopaths approach each patient differently, and most will question you closely about your family history, your emotional life, your symptoms and how you react to different substances, temperatures and environments. You'll even be asked about your fears and phobias.
• The answers you provide help the homeopath select medication designed to help your body heal itself.

When it comes to diabetes, no medical studies exist to show whether or not homeopathy is an effective treatment — possibly because it's so difficult to study a treatment that isn't uniform from one person to another.

• Still, it's a treatment people with diabetes might want to consider. Homeopathy won't cure type 1 diabetes, but it may be able to help you take less medication and reduce complications. And homeopathy may be able to cure some cases of type 2 diabetes.

Although homeopathy is not widely recommended, it might help you naturally manage your diabetes. Keep this guide in mind and be sure to contact your doctor for more information.