Homotoxicology

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The homotoxicology is a pseudo-scientific theory of Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg was developed and forms the basis for a form of alternative medicine . He saw a connection between scientific medicine and homeopathy and also referred to it as modern homeopathy . The assumptions on which the theory is based contradict scientific knowledge; there are no independent studies that prove the effectiveness of the therapy. In Germany, homotoxicology services are accordingly not reimbursed by the statutory health insurance companies.

The International Society for Homotoxicology was founded on June 24th, 1961 in Baden-Baden , which has since endeavored to spread this theory and the therapy based on it.

theory

Reckeweg published his theories on homotoxicology in the 1940s. From his point of view, diseases and the symptoms that express them are basically due to poisons. A disease is nothing more than a physical reaction to external or internal pollutants called homotoxins . According to the theory, these can be environmental toxins , toxins in food or harmful metabolic products . According to this theory, the type and harmfulness of the homotoxins depend on the immune system and the ability of the organism to regulate, as well as on the type, strength of irritation and duration of exposure to the toxin. Reckeweg called the disease homotoxicosis .

According to this doctrine, illness is a sign of the body dealing with toxic substances. Basically, the body wants to render harmful substances harmless or eliminate them. If this succeeds, he remains healthy; if this does not succeed, he becomes ill. According to this theory, a disease occurs when the exposure to toxins in the "meshwork" of the connective tissue ( matrix ) becomes too strong, so that the matrix becomes clogged and the supply of the body cells is hindered, which ultimately leads to the blocking of important body processes and disruption of the steady state in the organism.

If the body's defensive measures against toxins are disturbed - for example by conventional therapy or the use of medication - the body becomes “re-poisoned”. Reckeweg claimed, among other things, that treating tonsillitis with antibiotics could trigger leukemia in this way .

Reckeweg defined several homotoxins , where he classified eight different sutoxins as crucial. These are said to be toxins found in pork , from which he concluded that eating pork leads to disease. Among the sutoxins he counted among others cholesterol , growth hormones , sex hormones and the flu virus . It is said that pork eaters are more likely than other people to develop appendicitis , boils and inflammation of the gallbladder . With regular consumption of pork, pig tissues gradually replace human body tissue. "The result predicted by Reckeweg: over time, pork eaters become similar to the animals they eat."

Defense phases against homotoxins

According to Reckeweg, the body's defense process against homotoxins takes place in six phases, which do not necessarily all take place one after the other.

  • From the point of view of homotoxicology, the organism first tries in phase 1 to get rid of the homotoxin through excretion. These include, for example, a runny nose , diarrhea or vomiting .
  • In phase 2 there is inflammation , which z. B. expressed as fever , acute bronchitis , rash or pus .
  • Phase 3 is then deposited ( deposition ), thus a storage of toxins in body tissue, wherein a symptom of atherosclerosis could be. These first three phases did not lead to a permanent illness ( homotoxicosis ).
  • The next phase is the damage ( impregnation ), whereby the function of body cells is impaired. A possible sign could be a migraine .
  • According to this theory , in phase 5 there are changes ( degeneration ) in which, for example, the blood count changes pathologically.
  • The last phase is the new formation ( neoplasm ), in which tumors then form.

therapy

The homotoxicology wants to support the detoxification of the body with the help of special antihomotoxics . The preparations developed for this purpose allegedly partially intervene in the "system of basic regulation" of the connective tissue. Further starting points of the therapy are the stimulation of so-called enzymatic detoxification processes in the liver , the stimulation of the immune system , the stimulation of so-called neural healing reflexes and the influencing of the hormone production of the pituitary and adrenal glands .

Mainly complex preparations are used, which are supposed to lead the diseases back to one of the first three defense phases described. When selecting the preparations, the users follow the homeopathic principle of treating similar with similar. Treatment is based on the theory of isopathy . Mainly homeopathic combination preparations are used, so-called Suis organ preparations , which are obtained from organ tissue from pigs and injected, as well as nosodes . Basically, patients are required to refrain from eating pork.

criticism

  • The explanatory approach of homotoxicology is monocausal. It is referred to by its representatives as a further development of homeopathy, but it has no monocausal explanations for diseases and takes a holistic approach.
  • Reckeweg's basic assumptions do not correspond to the findings of scientific medicine; there are no independent studies that prove the effectiveness of the therapy. There is also no scientific evidence for the existence of sutoxins ; it is speculation.
  • "Reckeweg's statement that so-called stray, cancer-causing genes could develop from viruses under the influence of the usual drugs is absurd."
  • In placebo- controlled randomized clinical studies , no evidence of any therapeutic efficacy could be provided.

swell

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Stiftung Warentest : The other medicine. Benefits and risks of gentle healing methods. 2nd Edition. Berlin 1992, p. 184 f.
  2. ↑ "Since there is insufficient scientific evidence for the effectiveness, no cost assumption is possible for homotoxicology" (AOK).
  3. ^ Medical Tribune on Homotoxicology (2005) .
  4. ↑ Homotoxicology: First healing principle: detoxification. ( Memento of October 8, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) In: Health. 5/2002. on: Gesundheit.co.at
  5. ^ Stiftung Warentest (Ed.): The other medicine. P. 185.
  6. ^ E. Ernst, K. Schmidt: Homotoxicology - a review of randomized clinical trials. In: Eur J Clin Pharmacol . 60/2004, pp. 299-306. PMID 15197516 .