Maria Treben

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Maria Treben , née Günzel (born September 27, 1907 in Saaz , Austria-Hungary as Marie Günzl, † July 26, 1991 in Grieskirchen , Austria ) was an Austrian herbalist and author . She was considered a specialist in the field of herbal medicine and other alternative treatment methods in the tradition of Sebastian Kneipp . Her book Health from God's Pharmacy has been published in more than 20 languages ​​and has a total circulation of over eight million copies.

Life

Maria Treben was born in 1907 as the middle of three sisters. The father Ignatz Günzl (* 1876) owned a printing company , the mother Marie Anna nee. Marek (* 1879) housewife . When the child was ten years old, the father died in an accident. Two years later the family moved to Prague . The 19-year-old learned a trade in which she worked for fourteen years. She married the engineer Ernst Gottfried Treben in Kaptitz on August 12, 1939 , gave up her professional activity and was a housewife and mother. As a result of a life-threatening illness of her own in 1947, she started herbal medicine. After the expulsion, Treben lived in Bavaria and Austria for the rest of his life.

Activity in herbal medicine

In January 1947, as a result of the expulsion of the Germans from Czechoslovakia, Maria Treben was housed in a collection camp on the Wülzburg (Bavaria). There she developed a rash and after a three week stay there was typhoid fever . She was transferred from the camp to a hospital, but due to the war there was hardly any medication and there was no prospect of rescue. The sisters gave her celandine juice , and her condition immediately improved. This key experience led her to learn herbalism.

Treben ran a self-study in the following years and dealt with herbal medicine ( phytotherapy ). She practiced - without being a recognized alternative practitioner - in Austria and Germany . Her experiences with Schwedenbitter ("Swedish herbs") became particularly well known . This practice was based on the rediscovery of a recipe after the Swedish doctor Claus Samst, who in turn traced it back to Urban Hjärne (1641–1724).

Maria Treben's books became bestsellers and continued distribution. The writing Health from God's Pharmacy - Advice and Experiences with Medicinal Herbs reached millions of copies .

criticism

The Stiftung Warentest expressed considerable doubts about Maria Treben's expertise. She recommends plants for the treatment of serious diseases including cancer , the effectiveness of which has not been proven for these plants. Treben sometimes confuses important technical terms, for example the sugar inulin with the hormone insulin , which is why she falsely recommends dandelion against diabetes mellitus . “Your celandine recipe for liver and gallbladder disease is a guide to poisoning. The advice to give the unconscious a tablespoon of Swedish bitter is life-threatening. "

The University Clinic Freiburg stated in its guide for cancer patients: “(...) dangerous is (...) the basic tendency to present all diseases as curable with herbs. Treben claims, referring to Sebastian Kneipp, that horsetail brings every benign or malignant tumor to a standstill and slowly dissolves it. (…) Skepticism and restraint are required in relation to the advice and experiences with medicinal herbs of Maria Treben. (...) It is dangerous to give advice to treat tumors that are primarily easily operable and thus curable on a trial basis with herbs, e. B. testicular cancer with plantain -Umschlägen. This means that (...) a lot of time and possibly the chance of recovery is lost. All of these drugs have not been proven to be effective against cancer. "

Works (selection)

  • Health from God's pharmacy - advice and experiences with medicinal herbs. Ennsthaler Verlag, Steyr 1980, ISBN 3-85068-090-8 .
  • Maria Treben's healing successes - letters and reports of healing successes. Ennsthaler Verlag, Steyr 1980, ISBN 3-85068-082-7 .
  • Allergies - prevent - recognize - heal / healthy with Maria Treben. Ennsthaler Verlag, Steyr 2008, ISBN 978-3-85068-813-0 .
  • From my medicine cabinet. Heyne, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-453-02481-8 .
  • Stress in everyday life. Prevent, recognize, heal / healthy with Maria Treben. Ennsthaler Verlag, Steyr 1994, ISBN 3-85068-806-2 .
  • Childhood diseases - prevent - recognize - heal / get healthy with Maria Treben. New edition. Ennsthaler Verlag, 1993.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maria Treben: From my medicine cabinet. P. 48.
  2. ↑ a b c Stiftung Warentest (Ed.): The other medicine. Benefits and risks of gentle healing methods. 2nd Edition. Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-924286-70-1 , p. 117.
  3. ↑ Dr. med. Hartmut Henß, Dipl.-Psych. Elke Reinert: Complementary procedures. In: Freiburg University Medical Center. Cancer Association Baden-Württemberg eV, April 2015, accessed on April 6, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Treben, Maria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian author, naturopathy, alternative medicine
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1907
PLACE OF BIRTH Saaz
DATE OF DEATH July 26, 1991
Place of death Grieskirchen