23-Mark McKibben - Homeopathy & Anthroposophic Medicine

Homeopathy
Anthroposophic Medicine
Biodynamic Farming

How are all of these topics related to our health and wellness?  Are they helpful in a person's cancer journey?

Find out more about these emerging areas of whole health as I talk with the founder of Uriel Pharmacy, Mark McKibben.  Mark will share in detail about the history of homeopathy and why it's making a comeback.  You won't want to miss this episode!

Connect with Uriel Pharmacy:
https://shopuriel.com/

Suggested Resource Links:

• Arnica Echinacea Cream
• Solum Aesculus (body oil)
• Rudolf Steiner & the History of the Waldorf Education

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Transcript

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Ivelisse Page 0:06

Hi, I'm Ivelisse Page, and thanks for listening to the Believe Big podcast, the show where we take deep dive into your healing with health experts, integrative practitioners, biblical faith leaders and cancer thrivers from around the globe. Welcome to today's episode on the Believe Big podcast. My name is Ivelisse Page and it's an honor to spend this time with you. Today's episode is all about what you need to know about homeopathy. My guest and friend is the founder of Uriel Pharmacy, Mark McKibben. Uriel Pharmacy sells anthroposophic, homeopathic, and all natural medicines, remedies and body care products. Prior to opening Uriel pharmacy in 1996, Mark worked at the Standard Homeopathic, Weleda USA, Wala in Germany, and even the Ita Wegman Klinik Pharmacy in Switzerland, along with opening up Raphael Pharmacy in California. Mark has been married to his wife Pauline for 10 years, and when not overseeing the operations at Uriel Mark enjoys going to the live theater and beautiful places in nature. Welcome Mark to the show.

Mark McKibben 1:34

Thank you so much. Great to be here.

What is your favorite health tip?

Ivelisse Page 1:36

So our listeners are always interested in discovering what our guest favorite health tip is. Can you share yours with us?

Mark McKibben 1:43

Right off the top of my head, I would say always participate in the conversation with whoever the practitioner is, so you really get to know who they are and what they're saying. I think participating in the relationship's very important.

Ivelisse Page 1:58

Wow, that's a really great tip. I think sometimes we either take one of those sides. We're just listening or we're just speaking and having that back and forth conversation is really important in a relationship. Thank you.

Mark McKibben 2:12

Yeah.

The history of homeopathy

Ivelisse Page 2:13

So what is homeopathy? Can you share a brief history about it?

Mark McKibben 2:17

Homeopathy goes back to the 1700s with Samuel Hahnemann a doctor in Germany, and really it's using natural substances in very minute doses where you prepare them by a sequence of steps where you dilute and siccus or shake or potentize, those are names. You're putting the plant or the mineral or even animal substance into more of a force field that's specific to that substance rather than using as conventional medicine does more strong, concentrated doses of physical substance. So that's why some people don't really think that it can do anything, but of course the people that do use it, both doctors and patients know that it's very helpful, and it's known around the world.

Ivelisse Page 3:01

Yes. And how is it different than like I see homeopathic remedies even in grocery stores now at Whole Foods and other pharmacies.

What is the difference between homeopathy and anthroposophic medicine?

Ivelisse Page 3:09

How is homeopathy different or additionally to what you do at Uriel, which is the anthroposophic side?

Mark McKibben 3:18

Homeopathy is a lot older starting in the 1700s, it's much more well known around the world. Anthroposophic medicine really goes back to Rudolph Steiner about 1920 or so he started giving lectures to doctors that asked him for his advice. While anthroposophic medicine is pretty well known in Europe, in Germany there are whole hospitals that utilize anthroposophic medicine, also in Switzerland, it's not nearly as well known as homeopathic medicine. There are some differences in how we potentized and how we prepare the products. For example at my pharmacy and we're really a manufacturing company as well as being a pharmacy, the plant extracts are prepared for the most part in water instead of alcohol. And we expose them over a seven day period. We incubate them, but we expose them to the light of sunrise and sunset for a period of a couple of hours and stir them in that time. Sometimes there's cooling and warming. So we're fermenting these products without the use of alcohol and we're drawing in what I would call the healing energies of sunrise and sunset, which I'm sure you could relate to. Everybody's seen a sunrise once in a while or a sunset. There's something special going on. There's colors, there's changes, there's a dynamic. And we think that can go into the medicine and maybe quietly in the background promote healing in a stronger way.

Ivelisse Page 4:41

I believe so. And there's so much science that is now coming out on simple things that, one can do to benefit your health. Forest bathing I just recently heard about that. Just walking through the forest allows these healing properties to help your health. Grounding, walking barefoot on the ground is becoming more well known about the magnetic forces on the earth that helps to restore our health as well. So yeah, I can see how those factors play a role in how special your medicines and how they are made.

Mark McKibben 5:15

So many things like that used to be well known or understood by people, but we've lost a lot of that connection. So it's good to see it come back. In that regard one doctor told me once that he felt only half of the effect of the medicine was what he prescribed. He said the other half is who gives the medicine. Whether that's the mother giving it to her child or a nurse giving it, or that human connection as you know is so important.

Ivelisse Page 5:41

Yes.

Are homeopathic remedies regulated in the US?

Ivelisse Page 5:42

And so are homeopathic remedies regulated in the United States?

Mark McKibben 5:46

They fall under the category of drugs so the FDA, Food and Drug Administration, will inspect companies that produce them. They're considered drugs. It's a special little category, but we're part of that. We get inspected by FDA. From time to time they come and make sure your procedures and paperwork is in order.

Are homeopathic remedies considered safe?

Ivelisse Page 6:07

Yes. And so are they considered safe?

Mark McKibben 6:09

Absolutely. Homeopathic medicine is so safe. I can't remember the last time that someone was injured by homeopathic medicine. Occasionally you'll see something in the news where maybe something is considered to have been harmful. But usually if you look closer, you'll see it's very much in question if it was actually the homeopathic medicine. Maybe it was something else that was involved. If you're pregnant, you can take them without concern. Old people, children, officially we have to put on the labels, that's a requirement of FDA, if you're nursing or you're under a certain age, consult a practitioner, those kind of things. That's fine. That's just to be safe, but if they ask me as a pharmacist I think it's very safe.

Ivelisse Page 6:50

I've been thankful to have been able to use homeopathy with my kids. I was introduced to it when I was pregnant and we had a at home kit that we would use. It was our go-to anytime there was a runny nose or an earache or flu symptoms. All of our kids got better and they didn't need the harsh antibiotics that need to be reserved for bigger illnesses, in my opinion. And so I love that you can start with something as gentle as homeopathy and that it actually works.

Mark McKibben 7:20

It works. And the great thing is that you get stronger through it because you actually work through the problem as opposed to suppressing it. The classic example is using antipyretic, anti-inflammatory drugs for simple fevers in childhood. Where that really suppresses something that is an important process of taking hold of your own body. We inherit the body from our parents and then we have to rework it. That's a perspective of anthroposophic medicine to be individual to us. And a lot of the inflammatory childhood illnesses are just that. I've seen that happen with my children when they complete whooping cough or some other feverish illness. They really look transformed. They have new capabilities. They've really made a developmental step. And you don't always see that if you come right away with the Tylenol or the ibuprofen to stop that process.

Ivelisse Page 8:09

And I love how simple and specific, like you're saying it is. In our family kit, you can even buy a textbook on how to use it and how to use it in your own home. Ours came with a pamphlet and so Jimmy would open it up and our kids would have a runny nose and it would say things like, is it green? Is it stuffy? Is it worse at night? Is it worse when you lie down or in the morning? And it really helps you to zero in on what's the proper remedy that they need. And so I love how specific it is. And you can really get to the root cause of what was causing the illness to begin with.

Mark McKibben 8:43

You can do a lot on your own. And then you know if it's seeming like it's worse and you need a practitioner. Uriel also refers people to practitioners that do this kind of medicine so they can do telephone appointments, or if you're lucky, you can find somebody in your town.

Ivelisse Page 8:56

I was thankful that my physician who was also my integrative practitioner that helped me through my cancer also knew homeopathy. I even took some homeopathic remedies during my cancer journey that really helped, I believe, my body to restore itself during that time. And so something from as serious as cancer that you would indeed need a licensed practitioner to really help you with those stronger illnesses and diseases, but on the gentler colds and common things that happen within a home, I love that we can be our own advocates for ourselves and our kids to help them through those illnesses.

Where can homeopathic products be purchases?

Ivelisse Page 9:35

So where can they be purchased? I know, I see some of 'em in grocery stores, but yours are specifically anthroposophical remedies that are also created. So how can one purchase homeopathic remedies?

Mark McKibben 9:50

We're a relatively small company, so we don't appear in a lot of stores. Stores can have our remedies if they want to, but it's not our main avenue. The best way would be to go to the website, shopuriel.com and there we have about 85 home remedies body care products, also. We manufacture 1300 different remedies. But the vast majority are things that we really only offer to physicians because they know how to use them. We're not trying to promote them. We want the doctors to say how to use them, but all those home remedies freely available at the website.

Ivelisse Page 10:23

Yes. And I think one that most people are familiar with because you could even go to your local drugstore and they have Arnica gel and things like that. I love yours I've been using recently in a minor back sprain that I had, and it's been just such a huge aid in recovering.

Arnica Echinacea

Mark McKibben 10:39

Is that the Arnica Echinacea Cream?

Ivelisse Page 10:41

Yes.

Mark McKibben 10:42

Yeah. That's a good one.

Ivelisse Page 10:43

It's fantastic.

Solum Aesculus (body oil)

Ivelisse Page 10:44

And one of the favorites that Believe Big for all of our staff is your Solum Aesculus. Am I saying that correct? It's a body oil.

Mark McKibben 10:50

Yeah, it's perfect. You said it. Perfect.

Ivelisse Page 10:52

All right. I always sometimes have a hard time with the names, but that one is a favorite and I've spoken about it before, because I'm very sensitive to EMF and anytime I travel or if I'm gonna be on a computer for quite some time throughout the day, I always make sure I put that on after I shower. And I love that it protects you also from environmental toxins throughout the day. It has that peet moss and the St. John's Wart to calm you. And it has so many benefits outside of being a wonderful lotion to put on after your shower.

Mark McKibben 11:23

It's got such a nice smell doesn't it? And it's something that so many people could use, especially people that tend to be more sensitive. They're the ones that suffer more from environmental stress or distress. But so many people could use it. A lot of children use it too. It can help with going to sleep and just to apply it to the chest or it can even be a complete body rub.

Ivelisse Page 11:42

It's definitely one of the favorites.

Are homeopathic remedies expensive?

Ivelisse Page 11:44

For those who are unfamiliar with homeopathy are homeopathic remedies costly?

Mark McKibben 11:48

Compared to conventional drugs, really not. I would say depends on the size package. If you buy some things in the store, you could buy 10 tablets in a blister pack for under $10. We don't have that dosage form. A two ounce tube of ointment might cost $25 or supply of 1300 pellets that would last six weeks might be under $20. So it's not nothing, but compared to usual drugs it's very reasonable, and the per dose cost is definitely less.

Ivelisse Page 12:17

It's definitely so affordable and easily accessible in order to help with whatever needs that you have in your home.

Who practices homeopathy?

Ivelisse Page 12:25

So who practices homeopathy? You mentioned there are physicians that you refer individuals to.

Mark McKibben 12:31

Strictly speaking, I guess you'd say we're anthroposophic, homeopathic medicine and we rely on practitioners to both create the remedies, to decide what remedies we should make. Unlike big pharma where the marketing department, basically R and D, goes and brews up whatever they think will sell, and then they detail the doctors. We're the opposite. We let the doctors create it. They're almost all available without a prescription. So people who know what they want can order what they want. Practitioners don't require a license in order to prescribe it, but most of our practitioners are either medical doctors or naturopaths, osteopaths, nurse practitioners, physicians assistants, the usual prescribers. But if somebody in homeopathy, classical homeopathy, can take a training course as a lay person and just be a practitioner. Because the homeopathic medicines generally don't require prescriptions. It's just whether you generate confidence in having people come to visit you.

Ivelisse Page 13:29

It's a specialty on its own, so there are many integrative practitioners that know homeopathy and especially the ones that we work with at Believe Big because doesn't mistletoe therapy fall under the Anthroposophic homeopathy label.

Mark McKibben 13:44

That definitely came out of Steiner's work with Ita Wegman the first anthroposophic doctor back in the early 1900s. That's where mistletoe began to be

Explain how mistletoe is used by Anthroposophic physicians for cancer treatment.

Mark McKibben 13:54

used.

Ivelisse Page 13:54

Can you explain how mistletoe is used by anthroposophic physicians in the treatment of cancer?

Mark McKibben 14:01

That's actually a very well known remedy in Europe, where there are several companies that prepare mistletoe as a cancer remedy. It's been used that way since the early 1900s. I believe there's over 250 studies that show its usefulness. Typically it's indicated for quality of life, meaning you feel much better when you're taking that. It does have active ingredients in it, which can both diminish tumors and also increase the immune system's activity. It can also be used to lower the amount of chemotherapy that's used if you're using mistletoe simultaneously. But that's really something that's available in Europe and there's companies that produce it there. If somebody was interested, they could ask their physician, if that's something they can access.

Ivelisse Page 14:45

I know that was one of my treatments that I believe helped me overcome my stage four diagnosis. And for a fact it allowed me to be able to overcome great odds, but it gave me strength. It helped me with my mood. It helped with so many different things besides just that the anti-cancer properties. And I share with individuals today that I'm still on mistletoe and on maintenance dose because I know that it also can prevent a recurrence and it keeps my body in high alert so that I can continue to stay strong for many years to come.

Mark McKibben 15:19

And the great thing about it is that it's relatively harmless. If you take the right dose it's completely harmless.

Ivelisse Page 15:24

Yes.

Mark McKibben 15:25

And that's unheard of being something that's both effective and nontoxic.

Ivelisse Page 15:30

Yeah.

Mark McKibben 15:30

The plant itself has a slight toxicity. You don't take that amount to where it would be a problem.

Ivelisse Page 15:35

I love all these things that God made in nature to help our bodies heal is just fascinating to me.

Mark McKibben 15:40

It's the real pharmacy school. I wish they'd taught that in pharmacy school, but I had to figure it out on my own.

Ivelisse Page 15:45

We're so glad.

Why did you start Uriel Pharmacy?

Ivelisse Page 15:47

What made you decide to open up Uriel Pharmacy?

Mark McKibben 15:50

In a way the bigger question is why did I go into this field at all? I was a student in college and I was already interested in Rudolph Steiner. And I'd been to a Waldner school in high school. I guess I was just interested in that whole approach. But I met an anthroposophic physician who advised me to become a doctor so I could practice anthroposophic medicine. I said that's a great idea, but my grades were just not gonna get me into medical school. So he said why don't you become a pharmacist? We really need a pharmacist because the guy that's doing this at the Weleda in New York, he was an 80 year old Austrian pharmacist. He had fled the Nazis and come to New York. He'd been trying to retire for 10 years, but they wouldn't let him because they didn't have anybody else. And that really appealed to me that there was a need. I think I was driven by the need. I was just a young person working out what I was gonna do next in life. And so I said, hey I'll do that. All it took was somebody to say it. And that's the rest of my life. I've been doing the same thing at different places. I started Uriel in 1996 because I needed to do my own project. Before I had either worked for other companies learning, or I worked for a very nice community non-profit organization. But I realized at age 40 that I needed to have the latitude to follow up my ideas and not have to pass them through a board. I like the idea of having a company where I could make decisions. For some people that's more effective. Some people are better at socially cooperating and working things out. But sometimes you just need to let a person with ideas have the latitude to get stuff done. The availability of all these products is really because with the help of God I was able to just embark on doing this. If I had to pass it through boards and business decisions about whether this or that's worthwhile I think a lot of it never would've happened.

Ivelisse Page 17:38

It's definitely a divine appointment. Seeing that you left sunny California to go to Wisconsin to open up Uriel says something there.

Mark McKibben 17:47

In the frozen Tundra now because this is where it's happening.

Ivelisse Page 17:50

That's right. I've been out to your facility in Wisconsin and it's beautiful. I love that all the ingredients that you all use organic whenever possible, but that you also are surrounded by biodynamic farming that you use in

What is biodynamic farming?

Ivelisse Page 18:05

your remedies. Can you share with individuals, what is biodynamic farming?

Mark McKibben 18:08

That goes back to Steiner. It's really an extension or development. It's definitely organic, but there are also certain herbal preparations that go into the compost piles. So in making compost you add these things to it. There's some things developed from cow manure and from finely ground silica or quartz, which are turned into products that you spray on the ground to increase microbial activity in the ground; or the quartz silica preparation, you spray on the leaves and developing fruit of the plants. And I've seen how they work. They make the fruit develop and become more sweet and tasty. The leaves all stand up when they get this spray on them at the right times of year. So it's something that makes plants more dynamic, which ultimately increases nutritional value. So that helps us to be healthier. It's not even that complicated in a way, the actual carrying out of these procedures. So you make compost anyway. Now you're adding some herbal preparations to it. If you wanna get into the whole background it's quite esoteric and challenging to read about, but it's not necessary. You can be a farmer and just do this because it makes things work better on your farm.

Ivelisse Page 19:19

I think that's something that's so missing, even an organic produce that is available now it's so over farmed and used that the nutrients are no longer in the soil because they're continuing that farming process. So I love the biodynamic farming principles because you're really giving back to the soil and allowing the nutrients to do the work to create the plants that flourish. Kind of like ourselves, what we put in is what's gonna come forth. So what we eat

Mark McKibben 19:46

yeah.

Ivelisse Page 19:47

It will be a big determinant of our health and

Mark McKibben 19:51

yeah,

Ivelisse Page 19:51

same with the medications we use and the products we put on our body. I'm so grateful that's one of the values that you all share at Uriel, because it's important to me what I put in and on my body to make sure that I'm healthiest that I can be.

Mark McKibben 20:05

I was just thinking it's such a challenge to create an organization. People who aren't in organizations that have these purposes, like Believe Big or Uriel, it takes a lot to keep it on track. How do you keep the focus in the right place? Or how do you prepare for succession when you get older? So there's a sort of organizational development track to keep things healthy, just like we wanna keep ourselves healthy physically and mentally, spiritually. It's almost like looking at your business or your organization as a being. How do you maintain that health? And, with social issues that come up, how do you know you have the right people in the right places? It's a big undertaking in order to fulfill this purpose. Purpose is one thing. The other is, how do we keep it together?

Ivelisse Page 20:48

Yeah.

Mark McKibben 20:48

So it's nice to look at that as a sort of health challenge also.

Ivelisse Page 20:52

I agree.

What does Uriel mean?

Ivelisse Page 20:54

And Uriel is a unique name and I love the meaning of it. Can you share that with our audience, what Uriel means?

Mark McKibben 21:01

Uriel is one of the archangels, like the archangel Gabriel and the archangel Michael that's talked about in the Bible. Steiner talks about the archangel Uriel as a being that looks down on earth and surveys human beings and is very much about truth and what's right. And looks at and has a assessing or judging look to ascertain where are people are not holding up to the truth. I always say Uriel doesn't take any BS. That's the message that I got from that. And I said that when we built a new building recently, and had a little groundbreaking ceremony, the builders there and the staff is there. I said our goal has to be to not put out BS, to strive to be with the truth.

Ivelisse Page 21:47

I feel like, as Christians, we are to be the hands and feet of Christ. And so by honoring him and what we say and what we do really shares with others in the world that there is good, there is hope, and there is a bright future ahead, no matter what we're hearing in in the news happening in the world around

Any final words on homeopathy or Anthroposophic medicine?

Ivelisse Page 22:05

us. And in closing, I, know our time is already coming to a close. Is there anything else that you would like to add about homeopathy or anthroposophic preparations of medications that I have not asked you yet?

Mark McKibben 22:16

I always think of the future. I've always thought into the future. We're here doing our work right now, but it's also for the future to create a whole different way of medicine that we understand how intellectual, scientific, conventional medicine has come about. And it's so helpful for emergency type situations, the car accidents and things like that. It's amazing. Chronic disease, it really doesn't have a good understanding of, or a good handle on. And there is so much more. That part really needs to be reworked mentally and also in the medicines that are applied. Just as I mentioned before, the usual approach is to have the R and D boys and the marketing department dream up what's the next big opportunity or how can we make an opportunity? And it's all based on financials. Which is totally the wrong approach. It's gotta be based on healing and that all by itself is just like with organic or biodynamic farming. There's a lot of economic pressure on farmers to cut corners and somehow survive because it's not an even playing field. And as you say, we have to be positive and joyful in every day to put out this message that we trust that the future can change if we can embrace it and consider a bigger spiritual context that can support us to do this work.

Ivelisse Page 23:31

You should be very proud for the work that you all do at Uriel Pharmacy. I truly believe that you're a piece of moving modern medicine forward and, we're thankful that we have this available for us today to use. So thank you so much.

Mark McKibben 23:45

For being on the podcast. Sure we do have fun doing it too.

Ivelisse Page 23:49

Thank you. If you enjoyed this episode and you'd like to help support our podcast, please subscribe and share it with others. Be sure to visit believebig.org to access the show notes and discover our bonus content. Thanks again, and keep Believing Big!