Even before my graduation as a medical doctor in 1972 I was determined to join the "Ganzheitsmedizin" (German traditional medicine) for several reasons. My first aim was to really help people in becoming more healthy rather than just treating symptoms, secondly I wanted to find more systematics in the apparent incoherence of etiology and pathology and thirdly I wanted to keep things as simple as possible. Over the years I discovered that most of the so-called civilization-related diseases were related - in some way of another - to basic metabolic functions. If I "only" optimized functions like e.g. nutrition, digestion, metabolism and detoxification the condition of many patients often showed drastic improvement.

In 1986 it has led to the theoretical and practical concept of the "flow system". Both health and disease found their common denominator in "the dynamic equilibrium between input (of nutrients, water, toxins and oxygen), processing (metabolism) and output (detoxification, elimination) of waste products and toxins. To my own surprise I had found a piece of "medical system theory", a model, unlike biology, natural science, technology and even psychology - apart from homotoxicology, see the following chapters - currently unknown in medicine. "Flow system therapy" is an extensive revision of two recent manuscripts: „Flow system and Optimal Vitality" and „The OVC* Workbook". The first included the flow system theory - which is fundamental to medicine - while the second was used as a „mailorder self-help course".

Although it seemed only logic, that sooner or later these two books were to become one, it was only in the beginning of this year, that I seriously started doing this. The reason was our moving to Curitiba, Brazil - thanks to the generous financial support of the Rabobank Foundation, The Netherlands - where we worked on a couple of self-initiated health projects. With the help of the staff of the Hospital „Erasmo de Roterdam", a so-called SUS - Sistema Unico de Saùde - hospital for the poor, we decided to start with a community hypertension project, because it was on top of Brazil’s health problems. Everything started accelerating now, with a basic course in OVC flow system therapy for the IPPUC Healthy Citizens group, an initiative under the auspices of the WHO consisting of professionals of the various City „secretarias", like health, family affairs, education, science, sports etc. For this purpose, I was asked to translate my „flow system book" into English. It enabled some new initiatives for us and our Brazilian partners.

This book being both the incentive as well as the result of this promising development, a book „for reading", a personal workbook and a coursebook, more than I was hoping for. Back home the flow system approach proved to be equally relevant. In a conference about the "new risks" to be held in 1998 in The Hague (but eventually canceled), the government, insurance companies, trade and industry and patient organizations acknowledged the fact, that "both individuals and society are confronted with technology-related health risks that were not anticipated" (from the brochure). These "new risks" - allergy, stress, burnout, ME, RSI, EMF, immune-deficiencies, OPS to mention only a few - are strongly on the rise. "They appear most unexpectedly and on a large scale, lacking a well-founded scientific background, hitting everybody and posing a threat even to the functioning of society as a whole".

Needless to say, that I was delighted to be able to present a powerful answer to the problem: the flow system. In a short time I completed the concept of MESS (Multi Etiological Sumtotal Syndrome), which also can be found in this site. It broadened the foundation of my work: to introduce medical system theory and practice into the mainstream of medicine. Indications cover the whole area of internal medicine with emphasis on "civilization- induced" illnesses, like diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, migraine, constipation, high cholesterol, sleeplessness, menstruational disorders, reumatism, skin problems, glaucoma, pain-syndromes, osteoporosis and countless more. In the mean time I decided to publish my entire work in the internet, to the benefit of all. Hence, I express my gratitude to all people who - directly or indirectly - contributed to the realization of this website. Last but not least, this website wouldn’t have been finished in time, without the dedicated participation of my wife MeiMei.

Han Marie Stiekema, M.D.