Heel

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'''Heel''' is a [[corporation]] that develops, produces, and distributes 
distilled [[water]]
 [[homeopathic]] preparations. The company was founded in 1936 by Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg. Heel has offices in 40 countries worldwide including the [[United States]], where it is located in Albuquerque, [[New Mexico]].

==History==

Reckeweg was a [[German]] physician who practiced homeopathy. In 1936, Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH was founded in [[Berlin]] to develop and market its preparations. In 1953 Reckeweg moved the company to its present location in Baden-Baden. Between 1936 (the company's founding year) and 1979 (when Reckeweg relocated to Albuquerque), he claims to have developed over 1,000 different homeopathic preparations. When Reckeweg relocated to Albuquerque he created Biological Homeopathic Industries (BHI) and began manufacturing combination remedies in tablet form. In 1997, the Albuquerque company was renamed Heel, Inc., which now manufactures and distributes both BHI products and Heel products. Heel products are primarily marketed to homeopathy practitioners, whereas BHI products are primarily marketed to consumers.

==Reckweg's theory of disease==

Reckeweg was a denier of the [[germ theory of disease]] and developed his own idea called [[homotoxicology]]. Reckeweg believed disease was a response to the build-up of [[toxin]]s in the body, relative to bodies' ability to expel these toxins. Heel has embraced this [[quack]] theory and labeled it a "modern cutting edge theory of homeopathy." Many of Heel's [[Snake oil|distilled water preparations]] are marketed to flush these toxins from people's systems. They have also started pushing their theories into [[Europe]]an colleges and universities as part of a [[biological medicine]] program, even going so far as to endow a professorship at a German university.<ref>[http://www.heel.com/Heel_com_Medical_Education_English.homotox?ActiveID=2891 Heel medical education]</ref>

==FDA violations==

In 1984, BHI was labeled by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] as one of the most flagrant violators of [[FDA]] regulations regarding the marketing of homeopathic remedies.<ref>Chastonay RJ. Request for limited inspection Re: Homeopathic Products. Memo, Oct 26, 1984</ref> BHI was given multiple FDA citations and fines during the 1980s and early 1990s.<ref>FDA Enforcement Report, March 25, 1992, p 6.</ref><ref>Health Fraud Actions, October 1993 &mdash; September 1994. Rockville, MD: FDA, 1994, p 3.</ref>

==Stalking and harassment==
Heel engages in personal data-gathering and harassment of those who besmirch their image by telling the truth about their products.<ref>See the April 17 2008 entry at the [http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Heel&oldid=151083 talk page].</ref>  That's ''us''!

==Quitting North America==
Heel’s operations in both the [[USA]] and [[Canada]] were discontinued on August 31, 2014.<ref>[http://www.heel.com.co/heel-com-news-May2014.html In the USA and Canada, manufacturers of OTC homeopathic medicinal products have been confronted with accusations through class action lawsuits.]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Alternative medicine promoters]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Nature woo]]

Categories: Alternative medicine promoters, Pseudoscience, Nature woo