Dairy Allergy from a Homeopathic Perspective

In this article Antonie Peppler, the founder of Creative Homeopathy, writes about dairy and milk allergy from a homeopathic perspective. With this, she touches on symptom language and how our subconscious mind communicates messages through the body—what we call somatization. Regarding the inability to digest milk and dairy products, there might be a more profound psychological imprint that could be the cause that can be treated with homeopathic remedies.

Homeopathic Treatment of Indigestion of Milk

In an age of environmental toxins and allergies, people are too apt to make external factors responsible for their ill health. Time has seemed to change such that a feeling of naturalness and harmony no longer exist. Chemicals and poisons have taken the upper hand, and people today must defend themselves every moment against some toxin. This thought-provoking situation has become so widespread that only a few are willing to confront themselves in the sense of taking on self-responsibility. The language of symbols, which forms an essential part of our colloquial tongue, is unfortunately often forgotten.

People with stomach or intestinal problems are searching for external reasons for their conditions that they could find entirely within themselves. The stomach stands symbolically for security, the warmth of a cozy nest, and being in good hands. People with a great sense of security within themselves that feel at home and find their stability within can eat whatever they want without producing any adverse effects.

The process of digestion

The intestines, in their separate sections, stand symbolically for the processing of various issues that are connected with the specific foodstuffs that we consume. The intestines have the purpose of helping us to clarify these issues as represented by the foods through the process of analyzing (digesting) them so that we can confront the individual aspects (ingredients), integrating them according to our desires and needs, and finally eliminating what is of no use.

Let us take a somewhat different look at the intestines. If you arrange them next to each other with all their turns and bends, it does not take much fantasy to see the analogy between the intestines and the brain. Some things can nourish our spirit, as well as things that nourish our body. With the brain, we mentally decode spiritual issues – with our stomach and intestines, we interpret the symbolic meaning of the various foodstuffs.

Every Food has its Meaning!

Seen symbolically, every food has its meaning. One of our most essential foods is milk. Milk is the substance that keeps us alive from the very first moment. We need this basic food to exist. At first, it is our mother’s milk; later, other types of milk care for us. Milk gives us our lifeline, gives us stability, and gives us strength.

Milk is – seen symbolically – our connection to each other. It stands for being cared for, for being connected. Today, however, more and more people cannot deal with milk. They have digestion problems after consuming milk. Symbolically, this means that these people do not want to be cared for, don’t want a connection with other people, or perhaps even don’t want to live. It is possible that they have been very disappointed in their communication with others.

The most commonly used homeopathic repertory, Kent’s Repertory, has eleven homeopathic remedies in the rubric “Indigestion after milk.” We want to take a closer look at these remedies from the perspective of their symbolic language.

Homeopathic Remedies for Indigestion

Antimonium crudum

The deepest working and most important homeopathic remedy appears to be Antimonium crudum (ant-c).

This remedy signifies:

“Polarity is cruel; doesn’t want anything to do with life’s trials and tribulations!”

Corresponding imprint of Antimonium crudum

Actual life situation Antimonium crudum:

“Cannot deal with polarity. Because of bad experiences, he doesn’t want anything to do with the hard life on earth. The vision of and longing for the ideal partnership. Denial of life. He doesn’t want to confront life on earth. No willingness to deal with conflict. Has an inner vision of harmonious togetherness and communication. Not willing to deal with the conflicts necessary to realize this vision. Would have rather not been born.”

Calcium carbonicum (calc)

Calcium carbonicum as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Denial of life; wants support.”

Corresponding imprint of Calcium carbonicum

Actual life situation of Calcium carbonicum:

“Denial of life. He doesn’t have the backbone to risk taking on life. He believes he needs support. This person meets the expectations of others but doesn’t want to have anything to do with them. Acts out of the need for support.”

Ambra grisea (ambr)

Ambra grisea as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Refuses development of the personality.”

Corresponding imprint of Ambra grisea

Actual life situation of Ambra grisea:

“Caught between wanting to remain a child and wanting to be an adult. It is too much effort to act as an independent individual—neither fish nor fowl. Rather wants to be cared for like a child rather than fulfill an adult’s obligations. He seems to think that adults are always lonesome. He refuses to develop into an independent personality. He doesn’t want to take responsibility for his deeds.”

Aethusa (aeth)

Aethusa as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Wanting to control hinders the development of the personality.”

Corresponding imprint of Aethusa

The actual life situation of Aethusa:

“The experience of assault and suffering has led to the need to control. The personality development may have been interrupted depending on how intense the assault was. Aethusa cynapium is important in the aftermath of anesthesia. The intrusion that was performed under narcosis was experienced as violence. Fears of losing control arose. The confidence in other people was so badly shaken that after the trauma, plants and animals receive more trust than people.”

Iris versicolor (iris)

Iris versicolor as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Does not accept his own real worth.”

Corresponding imprint of Iris versicolor

The actual life situation of Iris versicolor:

“Does not accept his own real worth. He makes himself small to escape the violence. He doesn’t show himself as he is.”

Magnesium muriaticum (mag-mur)

Magnesium muriaticum as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“In a state of war; inner and outer conflict.”

Corresponding imprint of Magnesium muriaticum

The actual life situation of Magnesium muriaticum:

“In conflict with oneself. A state of war – either inwardly with oneself or also externally. There are often “enemies” around, for example, war with the neighbors.”

Magnesium carbonicum (mag-c)

Magnesium carbonicum as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Believes his own needs can only be attained through war.”

Corresponding imprint of Magnesium carbonicum

The actual life situation of Magnesium carbonicum:

“Believes his own needs can only be attained through war. Makes himself small for diplomatic reasons; doesn’t want to show how it is.”

Acidum nitricum (nit-ac)

Acidum nitricum as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Hate and thirst for revenge which are not expressed.”

Corresponding imprint of Acidum nitricum

The actual life situation of Acidum nitricum:

“Hate and desire for revenge, however, are not expressed. Rage that is held back. Should something change in his life, but he doesn’t. An important remedy for detoxification.”

China officinalis (chin)

China officinalis as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Feels dependent and enslaved.”

Corresponding imprint of China officinalis

The actual life situation of China officinalis:

“Feels enslaved or dependent. Feels tossed back and forth. He doesn’t know if he should rebel or give in. The decision for one’s own direction in life is forgotten in the battle against the feeling of dependency. The need for security was the original reason for entering into the dependency relationship.”

Nux vomica (nux-v)

Nux vomica as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Hiding his real feelings through overactivity.”

Corresponding imprint of Nux vomica

The actual life situation of Nux vomica:

“Strategy of distraction. Hiding, covering up his real feelings through overactivity. It isn’t delightful to show his feelings. Showing feelings could cause new hurt.”

Sulphur (sulf)

Sulphur as a homeopathic remedy signifies:

“Growth of awareness is suppressed.”

Corresponding imprint of Sulphur

The actual life situation of Sulphur:

“Growth of awareness is suppressed. Chaos needs clarity. Problems were suppressed and have become crusty and unclear. Create order so that the suppressed problems can be taken care of.”

Homeopathic Conclusion

Suppose we permit ourselves to view these eleven remedies in the manner customary for Creative Homeopathy. In that case, to see them in a relationship with each other and not as separate as usually is the case. These remedies tell us the following story:

The person who cannot digest milk appears fundamentally not to want to have anything to do with life (ant-c). Since he is already here, he would like to have someone to support him, someone who lives his life for him (calc). Possibly because of bad experiences, this person has a great fear of dependency (chin) and constructs various defense mechanisms to avoid falling into such a dependency.

He doesn’t show the strength of his personality (ambr). He wants to control others and himself (aeth). He would rather fight (mag-c, mag-mur) instead of enjoying himself. Above all, he has a great fear of showing himself as he is (iris). He, therefore, thinks he must hide himself and his potential (nux-v, sulf).

Although Calcium carbonicum is known as the “milk remedy” in homeopathy, Antimonium crudum, Aethusa, and Iris versicolor are much more deeply connected with this issue in their inner meaning and have proven themselves to be considerably more effective than Calcium carbonicum.

Especially with adults and, above all, when they already have one or more narcoses (anesthesia during surgery, perceived subconsciously as torture) behind them that possibly traumatized them, Aethusa is the most helpful remedy for milk allergies. This is so because Aethusa is important for indigestion after milk and the ill effects of narcosis. From the perspective of the psychological significance of Aethusa, this remedy portrays a vital aspect of our modern times.

Holding Control over Emotions

In our modern society, holding control over one’s emotions and everything around becomes essential. Spontaneous contacts appear dangerous. A person who acts naturally is looked at with suspicion. Any individual expression must be suppressed as much as possible.

Another significant aspect of indigestion after milk can be found in a person’s reaction to the smallpox vaccination. I have written about this extensively in another article. It is important to note that earlier, the cow produced the smallpox vaccination. On the one side, the cow is the successor of the mother – mother’s milk, cow milk – and on the other side, the cow is the reason for cowpox, which we use as a “protective” vaccination. The cow has two sides: it cares for us, and it is the cause of illness.

This phenomenon is very possibly the basis of disruption in human communication. At least those communication disruptions described by the rubric in Kent find an explanation from the perspective of the smallpox vaccination.

This is an example of how, with the help of symbolism, one can come to an entirely different and profound understanding of symptoms. In understanding the symbolism, the disease can be understood in a completely new way and can so also be healed.