Heel Inc. (Dr.Reckeweg): Homeopathy, Quacks and Covid Cures

I’ve singled out this homeopathic company for good reason, as you’ll see below. They’ve been selling homeopathic quackery in the US for decades, advertising their products aggressively as cures for cancer, gallstones, glaucoma, kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, smallpox, syphilis, tuberculosis, and more than a hundred other diseases and conditions. and now, most recently, Covid.

Heel Inc. are unscrupulous and ruthless in their exploitation of gullible and desperate members of the public and people seeking real solutions for often terminal conditions. In the late ’80s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) concluded that Heel Inc. (then called BHI) was one of the most flagrant law violators among homeopathic marketers and they banned further imports of their products into the USA. You can read their full history in this very detailed post on their company and business practises.

 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 practitioners, whereas BHI products are primarily marketed to consumers. The company also prints and produces possibly the most misleadingly titled publication in the history of health publishing, ‘ Journal of Biomedical Therapy’.

The company enjoys large sales in India, an area known for its fondness of alternate medicines and ‘cure-alls’. Heel’s most recent marketing success under their Dr Reckeweg brand (the companies founder) has been India’s embrace of one of their products for the treatment of Covid-19. The product is Dr. Reckeweg Arsenic Alb-30. So successful has their campaign been, that some Indian provinces have even approved its use.

The product is diluted arsenic, commonly used in homeopathic circles for the treatment of digestive disorders and other conditions. If you doubt the dangers of this product, read this clinical study on the effects of arsenic from homeopathic treatments. The image below is from a company that markets Heel Inc’s brand in India.

It may seem shocking to some people that Arsenic would be considered a treatment for Covid, but don’t forget that recently, and evidence suggests the practice continues, Americans were ingesting MMS (Bleach) for preventing Covid. Heel’s catalog of products is massive, over 1000 different lines, and their marketing is targetted, deceptive and highly effective. They have seen the space in the market provided by the homeopathic quacks and have moved in with the intent of dominating it.

Heel Inc. and the FDA

In January 2005, the FDA ordered Heel Inc. to stop making illegal claims for five products claimed to be effective in preventing or treating influenza. In 2010, the FDA and FTC jointly ordered Homeopathy for Health, of Moses Lake, Washington, to stop claiming that BHI Bronchitis, BHI Bronchitis for Children, BHI Flu Plus with Influenzinum, and Heel Gallium Heel were an effective anti-viral for respiratory flu, such as the then-current swine flu. The FDA also placed these products on its Fraudulent Products List.

Numerous prior actions, product import seizures and warnings were issued to Heel Inc. prior to this by the FDA, many of which can still be accessed online. In 2014, Heel announced that it would stop marketing within the United States and Canada after August 31, 2014. Its press release attributed the decision to two class-action suits that has caused a “substantial financial burden.” You can read the full details of these actions here.

In truth, Heel was bought out in 2014 by MediNatura Inc. (another US-based company), and the products were simply routed through this business. A visit to Medinatura’s web site shows three featured products on their front page, advertised as fighting, guess what? Cold and Flu symptoms.

Heel in Germany

You know you’ve been around awhile when the street your business is located in is named after the person who founded the company. Biologische Heilmittel Heel GmbH (Heel) is situated in Dr. Reckeweg-Straße in Baden-Baden. Its an institution in Germany and it speaks volumes to the marketing drive and market penetration of the company. The companies growth has also been ably abetted by Europe’s more lenient approach to homeopathy.

How does Heel feel about their products being marketed as Covid cures? They are delighted, I’m sure. Restricted by legislation in Europe and the USA with regards to claims they can make about the quackery they sell, India and Asian markets are ripe for exploitation. These markets are more loosely regulated, the customer is more susceptible to pseudoscience and less likely to sue if he meets an unfortunate end swallowing arsenic. What’s not to love?

If you can knowingly sell fake hope to terminal cancer patients and other seriously ill people, then a little cure for Covid isn’t even going to register on the ethics scale.

For those on the fence, there is absolutely no scientific proof of the value of homeopathic treatments and they most certainly cannot cure Covid or any of the other dizzying array of conditions claimed by their quack resellers. If you are ill, seek qualified medical advice from a certified medical doctor or healthcare provider.