Oligotherapy gives the body, in very small quantities, the trace elements it needs to work properly. The approach sets out to correct certain metabolic disorders by restoring the body’s physiological balance.
Magnesium, zinc, chromium. Present in the tiniest amounts in our bodies, these minerals have grown steadily in favour since their discovery at the end of the nineteenth century.
How did oligotherapy begin?
What use could those microscopic traces of copper, zinc, chromium or manganese found in our bodies possibly be? That was the question the chemist and biologist Gabriel Bertrand (1867-1962) asked himself at the end of the nineteenth century. He proposed that these pure minerals, even in the smallest amounts — they make up 0.01% of our body weight — are essential to life, because they act as catalysts in the working of most enzymes. He showed that a deficiency in trace elements could lie behind certain illnesses, such as tuberculosis or rheumatism, and that supplementation can help treat them.
Functional oligotherapy, a method built on “terrain”
In the very first years of the 1930s, Dr Jacques Ménétrier (1908-1986) took up these therapeutic possibilities and gathered a great many clinical observations on the treatment of functional illnesses, disorders caused by a passing imbalance. Out of that came a new approach, functional oligotherapy, built on the notion of “terrain”, or diathesis: the same treatment does not act the same way on everyone. Ménétrier set out four types of terrain, each with its own base treatment.
| Diathesis | Profile |
|---|---|
| Allergic (or arthritic) | Energetic, optimistic people, tired in the morning, often allergic |
| Hyposthenic | Calm, thoughtful people, but prone to infection |
| Dystonic | Anxious people, circulation problems |
| Anergic | Depressive episodes, weak immunity, difficulty adapting |
The method is fairly intricate, because the terrains all overlap to some degree. And since no one can know their own deficiencies without reliable testing, seeing a doctor trained in oligotherapy is essential.
Can you supplement on your own?
Of the thirty or so minerals our bodies hold, about fifteen are sold over the counter — in pharmacies, parapharmacies and organic shops, as ampoules, tablets or granules. Some come pure, such as chromium, which the metabolism of carbohydrates needs; others come combined, like the famous copper-gold-silver trio used to shift the terrain during infection. A few can be dangerous in excess, so ask your pharmacist or your doctor before starting any course.
