The
story of heel
In the late 1920's, a conventionally-trained German physician, Hans-Heinrich
Reckeweg, M.D. (1905-1985), began researching and experimenting
with homeopathic remedies. He was initially drawn to homeopathy
while in medical school when a homeopath cured his father of serious
kidney disease. He completed his medical degree, then went to Berlin
to study with masters of homeopathy. Once he began treating patients
with homeopathic remedies, Dr. Reckeweg noticed how quickly the
patients required another remedy. This concerned him since he was
closely following the guidelines of well-experienced homeopaths.
In his practice he observed that many human diseases seemed to be
caused by exposure to toxins, both of external and internal nature.
He termed this principle homotoxicology, i.e., the study of toxins
to humans. The presence of such toxins was undeniable in view of
the increasingly polluted environment and widespread damaging lifestyle
choices.
 Dr.
Reckeweg expanded homotoxicology into a medical theory with many
innovative aspects. He elaborated a 6-phase Table of Homotoxicosis,
by which physicians can trace a patient's medical history and
locate the present medical complaint. He described 'vicariation'
of illnesses (i.e., improvement and deterioration) and codified
a Great Defense System of five parts. A key principle of homotoxicology
is the definition of diseases: "…expressions of the
battle of the organism against toxins, in its attempt to counteract
and expel them." 1 His treatise on Homotoxicology was published
in 1955.
Dr. Reckeweg obtained better results with combinations of homeopathic
remedies than with single remedies and took to developing formulas
for his own patients. Consequently other medical colleagues began
requesting his combination formulas. The number of requests escalated
so rapidly that in 1936, Dr. Reckeweg founded a company to produce
his medicines. He called the company Heel (an acronym of four
Latin words: Herba est ex luce or 'Plants come from light.' 2)
Between 1936 and 1979, Heel grew to become the world's leading
producer and marketer of homeopathic combination products, with
product distribution throughout the world.
References
1 Bianchi I. Principles of Homotoxicology. Aurelia Verlag.
Baden-Baden, Germany. 1989:1.
2 Ordinatio Antihomotoxica. Heel GmbH. 1986:480.
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