ES Tests: The Organic Pharmacy’s computerised full body health assessment

We’re all on a quest to live our #bestlife, which explains why health assessments of all kinds – from DNA testing to at-home blood tests – are on the rise. 

When it comes to alternative remedies, high street organic beauty and wellness specialists The Organic Pharmacy offer a homeopathic health assessment (£150 for 90 minutes) that promises to give profiles on vitamin and mineral deficiencies, organ function, hormone balance, viruses, bacteria, fungus, parasites, digestive disorders, stress & food intolerance. 

Here’s what happened when two ES editors booked in to try it…

What happens?

Arrive at one of the clean and calm Organic Pharmacy stores and you’ll be whisked off to a consultation room by one of the in-house homeopaths who begins the 90-minute session with an in-depth chat. In addition to any specific health concerns (insomnia, weight gain or a skin condition say), you’ll also be quizzed on your general wellbeing, emotional state, lifestyle and diet – how often do you exercise? Are you on the pill? Do you have a stressful job?

Once you have agreed on something you are hoping to discover or remedy with the test (whether weight loss, an allergy, insomnia or otherwise), your homeopath will then hook you up to the ‘Quantum QXCI’ machine. The machine essentially comprises a laptop from which come several wires with metal plates on the end which you must attach, via rubber straps, to your pressure points: ankles, wrists and forehead. The machine does not actually send out an electric current, but rather reads your electromagnetic field, our homeopath Claudia (who we both visit at the High Street Kensington branch) explains.

The homeopath will then ask you to switch off your phone (which can apparently interfere with your electromagnetic field) before leaving the room for three minutes (she too can interfere, Claudia explains) while the machine runs its test.

How does it work?

According to the Organic Pharmacy website, the machine works by “sending electric currents round the body, and measuring the reaction with the electric currents of everything it is measuring from vitamins to minerals and ‘toxicity.’” However, as we mentioned, we were assured that the machine was not in fact emitting any electric current.

“Each of these strains,” explains the Organic Pharmacy, “have their own electric current and the homeopaths are trained on what these should look like, so they’re able to tell from the readings given by the machine if one is too high or too low.”

“It was originally developed by Bill Nelson in the nineties and is based on Bioenergetic Medicine,” explains Claudia. “Bioenergetic Medicine is not something new: it has existed for centuries, but only recently new methods have been developed to measure it, and the QXCI is one of them. The machine has specific software that allows us to measure the 3-dimensional body electromagnetic wave form, enabling the measurement of body reaction to an item brought into energetic contact with it.”

Confused? So were we.

The results

Once back in the room, your homeopath will discuss the machine’s findings with you. The machine outputs a seemingly vast amount of data on everything from your vitamin deficiencies and food intolerances, to your mental energy and bodily ’toxicity’ and ‘oxygenation’.

You will leave with a tick sheet explaining which very specific foods you are intolerant to, which vitamins you are deficient in and any other key points. Your homeopath will then make a bespoke plan to suit you. “We take into consideration necessary diet changes, as well as looking at what supplementation is needed, which herbs can be used to shift a condition and what remedy would best suit the entire person,” Claudia explains.

Most people are recommended the Organic Pharmacy’s 10 Day Detox package, which costs an additional £100. The course of supplements is to be taken morning and night and is meant to “rejuvenate, nourish and cleanse the entire system without starvation.” The kit contains the following:

Detox Capsules: The Organic Pharmacy’s bestselling supplement, described as a “powerful but gentle capsules to help detoxify the body.” The capsules contain Burdock Root, Alfalfa, Chlorella, Bentonite Clay, Psyllium Husks, Apple Pectin, Linseed, Barley Grass, Plantain, Yellow Dock, Slippery Elm Bar, Liquorice Root, Glutamine, Fruitoligosaccarides and Aloe Vera Concentrate.

Phytonutrients + MSN: a multivitamin based on superfoods, food nutrients and digestive enzymes which is meant to supply all nutrients to support the optimum health of skin, hair, nails and digestion.

Superantioxidants: a potent all-in-one antioxidant mixture, which is meant to “protect the cells and system from the inside, protect cells from free radical damage and promote good circulation”

Essential Fatty Acid + B Complex: a fatty acid complex to supply omega 3, 6 and 9 to help with skin renewal and supply essential nutrients for the brain and the entire system.  This ones designed to “lubricate the skin and joints from the inside” as well as “supply essential nutrients to the brain and hormonal system”

Our personal experiences

Chloe, senior fashion & beauty writer

I went into this assessment with no particular health concerns – I was mainly driven by a curiosity to know if I am allergic to or deficient in anything – and yet during the initial, fairly probing, consultation I felt some pressure to come up with an ailment or two. The best I could really come up with was that I (like most working people in the UK I imagine), am often tired and that I have been suffering from occasional breakouts – so my homeopath set about looking for reasons why this might be the case.

The bit I really struggled with in this whole assessment was the technology. I have a fairly rational (OK, cynical) mind, and struggled to understand how being wired up, via rubber straps, to a Dell laptop, might provide insights on what food I am allergic to and how good I am, mentally and physically, at dealing with stress. When my homeopath started explaining I had an electromagnetic field I was hesitant, when she started talking about my ‘aura,’ honestly, she lost me. 

When it came to the results, mine were largely fine. The homeopath did hone in on a result that apparently highlighted vitamin B deficiency, a vitamin that helps you have energy and feel less stressed. She also referred repeatedly to my high ‘toxicity’ levels, a term I found very unclear. “Toxicity is a general term that refers to an over-reaction of your body to something,” Claudia elaborated. “For example, you are drinking too much and your body as defence develops a reaction to that, that reaction is toxicity.”

The general consensus was that I should drink less regularly and sleep more, both of which I was not entirely unaware I should be doing. 

The homeopath prescribed the exact same course of action for my mild insomnia and infrequent breakouts as she did for my colleague Suzannah’s fairly serious eczema concerns. The additional cost of the ten-day detox programme means the total sum of this venture was a cool £250. For that price, I would ideally be hoping to receive a treatment plan that was at least in part tailored to me personally.

In terms of whether the homeopathic detox pills work, I am undecided. What I will say though is that by sticking to the instructions of the detox and avoiding a drop of alcohol for ten days (the longest, admittedly, I have achieved in a while), I felt absolutely unquestionably fantastic. Insufferably energetic and smug, in fact.

My recommendation? Skip the assessment and just quit the liquor for a fortnight. You will look and feel unbelievably good – and have a spare £250 for a Zara spree.

Suzannah, digital lifestyle editor 

I am a bit of a wellness nut and willing to try anything once. That, coupled with the fact I was suffering with an extreme bout of allergy-related eczema made me keen, almost desperate, to try this body scan health assessment.

The general results about my hydration, adrenal function and vitamins/minerals were, for me, as expected and threw up nothing much. In fact, it showed me to be pretty healthy and balanced. The results suggested my Vitamin B complex levels were low (Vitamin B Complex helps maintain healthy skin, eyes, hair, liver as well as digestion and proper brain function) so I popped ‘buy some Vitamin B’ on my to-do list.

What I was really hoping is that I would find out was what was causing my eczema. I’d already been referred to an NHS dermatologist who didn’t really shed any light so was wondering if a more homeopathic route could point me in the right direction.

The machine said that I was intolerant to dust and grass, which I know to be true. I’m also allergic to pollen and trees – yay for me – but the machine didn’t say anything about those. Apart from dust and grass, the results also showed a few niche insensitivities. I am, apparently, not good with geranium, asphalt and dandelion. This I found interesting. There happened to be a lot of building work outside my flat at the time, hence, perhaps, the asphalt, and I had started taking a dandelion detox supplement that week. So I don’t doubt that the machine can read your body, but my concern is that it can only read your body on that particular day, in the particular moment, rather than give any conclusive longterm findings. 

As a treatment, the homeopath recommended I buy an air purifier and try the Organic Pharmacy’s 10-day detox, as well as Vitamin B and The Organic Pharmacy’s Liver & Kidney Drops tincture which is made from milkthistle, artichoke, schizandra and berberis among other herbs. 

On top of this, because of my intolerances, some of my numbers, or levels, on the machine were coming up very low. To help boost my tolerance the homeopath pressed a button and told me she was giving me back some energy. She explained it like this: “The Quantum QXCI machine is also called a ‘biofeedback machine’. When a value is detected to be out of balance (AKA a food sensitivity), the machine is able to invert the unhealthy aspect and bio-feed back to nullify the sign of the dysfunctional pattern in the energy field of the body. The machine does this by outputting back a “balanced” electromagnetic field.” I’m not entirely sure what that means, but it was quite a surreal experience. 

After the 10-day detox, during which I didn’t drink booze, I did feel good. I had a headache for the first few days, but after that I certainly had more energy. I bought some vitamin B, but haven’t been able to buy a decent air purifier. My eczema has significantly improved, but I don’t think that’s just because I went on a detox and started popping some vitamin B — there were other factors at play here, like steroid creams and prescription antihistamines. 

Our verdict

This is homeopathy, it can’t cure you but we believe it can be useful combined with scientific medicine for a 360-degree overview of your health. Having a body scan and talking through your lifestyle choices and concerns can only help to make you more aware of your body and what you’re putting in, on and around it. 

The Organic Pharmacy Health Assessment costs £150 for 90 minutes and is available at the Organic Pharmacy stores in Hampstead, King’s Road, Kensington High Street and Great Marlborough Street. Any supplements prescribed come at an additional cost.

For more information visit theorganicpharmacy.com/treatments