The Historical Milestones: Naturopathy Comes of Age

Introduction

With resurgence of Naturopathy or the Nature Cure movement at the turn of the 21^st century, and after the more recent post-Covid scare—the percentage of people using alternative care has increased from 19.2 percent in 2002 to 36.7 percent in 2022—it is worthwhile to look at its evolution through the historical prism.

---

Naturopathy is quite a familiar word for even those who may not have ever considered it to resolve their health issues. Yet, very few would know about its origins and development over the last few centuries. Here we shall check out the reasons behind the growth and the rapid popularity it gained within a short span, especially during the 19^th century.

The emergence of Naturopathy is often seen as an alternative to the conventional curative practices of 16th & 17^th century Europe. The curative methods of those times were pretty close to being obnoxious, often barbaric, by some standards. The patients were confined to ill-lit, unventilated, unhygienic rooms and very often subjected to animal-based treatments like use of mice, ferrets and woodlice for specific ailments. Blood-letting was a common practice, which was done with the help of leeches or venesection (cutting a vein). Traditional herbal medicines and pastes were used alongside. Poor sanitation was a matter of much concern. The ‘cures’ were considered worse than the diseases! 

Quest for wellbeing

There was a general quest for improvement of the human condition, which led a number of dedicated and sensitive physicians to look for means which were more refined and bore better results for the afflicted. It was the perseverance and dedication of many such Naturopaths of those times that came up with radical solutions and effective cures.

One of the most intriguing facts about the development of Naturopathy is that the original naturopaths – prior to 1900 – from around the world, were trained by European doctors using hydrotherapy, herbal medicine and other traditional forms of healing. The other interesting fact is, that most of them went through serious health issues and could only recover by employing the natural cures. Subsequently, they all committed themselves to Nature's way.

They all got a simple insight about Nature's ability–and the body’s promptness to play along–to establish the order within when things ‘seem to go wrong’. Individuals in world history, moved by the suffering and the human plight of facing terrible diseased conditions, made active efforts to understand this ‘Order’. They discovered that whenever slighted, Nature makes vigorous efforts to re-establish the Law of Life and Health.

Thus the core idea of Naturopathy, or Nature Cure, emphasises the ability of the body to heal itself. This method advocates an individual’s responsibility to maintain a clean and healthy lifestyle to promote greater health and minimise the occurrence of diseases. Over a period, naturopathy embraced all forms of natural healing, which included diet, manipulative therapies, herbs, hydrotherapy, homoeopathy, spiritual and psychological counselling, electrotherapy, and much else. Slowly, the nascent concepts started getting firmly rooted, backed by discontent with the old order, personal experience and empirical evidence.

The playground, by now, seemed to be shifting from Europe to North America.

John Scheel (1867-1932) was a German Homeopath, who practised in the US and called his method ‘hydrotherapy’ and ‘hygienics’. He is credited with coining the term ‘Naturopathy’ in 1895, which he sold to his contemporary, Benedict Lust (1872-1945) in 1901. Both learnt from Kneipp and were heavily influenced by him. Before Lust firmly entrenched the Naturopathic concepts onto the American landscape, there were others before him, who were digging the foundations deep and strong. Let us first glean through some of these dedicated beings.

Sylvester Graham (1794-1851) preached a vegetarian lifestyle, and recommended a diet of raw fruits, vegetables and water, besides cold baths and outdoor exercise. He extolled the virtues of bulk matter in food over 100 years before the importance of dietary fibre became widely recognized, and popularised wholewheat Graham Bread at a time when white flour was a lot more popular. Graham’s promotion of vegetarian diet and wholewheat bread earned him hostility from bakers and butchers alike; they stormed the hall in Boston in 1847, where he was addressing an audience!

Henry Lindlahr (1862-1924), a rich business tycoon in his mid-30s, was diagnosed with incurable diabetes and advised by physicians to prepare for death. However, inspired by Louis Kuhne’s The New Science of Healing, followed by a visit to a Kneipp clinic in his native Germany, Lindlahr applied natural healing methods to fully cure himself. Ten years later, he earned a degree in medicine and opened a sanatorium in Chicago.

Lindlahr believed that chronic disease was caused by accumulation of waste matter and poisons in the body, and that acute disease was nature's way of cleansing the body. He offered his patients a natural diet and lifestyle, proclaiming that his head cook was his chief pharmacist! His sanatorium was said to be outstanding in its emphasis on scientific diagnosis, where he treated 50,000 patients in twenty years.

In 1923, Lindlahr decided to liquidate his practice to devote himself full time to teaching prevention. He published and edited the Nature Cure Magazine. His book, Nature Cure, a clear and concise account of naturopathic philosophy and methods, was in its 20th edition by 1922.

German-born Arnold Ehret (1866-1922) suffered from Bright's disease as a young man, whose principal symptoms are mucus and albumin in urine. In his search for a cure, Ehret travelled widely, studying vegetarianism, naturopathy, medicine, and physiology. After regaining vitality by primarily eating fruits, and fasting, he opened a health centre in Switzerland before moving to Los Angeles.

Later, Ehret moved to California and became an influential lecturer. He wrote the book, Mucusless Diet Healing System: Scientific Method of Eating your Way to Health. He advocated mucus-free foods—fruits, nuts, and green leafy vegetables. His belief in the therapeutic value of occasional fasting led him to maintain that breakfast should be postponed as far into the day as possible. The no-breakfast plan or the intermittent fasting, being talked about today, partially derives from this concept.

William Howard Hay (1866-1940) was an American medical doctor who turned to natural cure when he, like Ehret, became seriously ill with Bright's disease. He cured himself by changing his diet—he ate food only in its natural form and only as much as necessary—and was healthy till he died at age 74 in a road accident. He wrote A New Health Era and How to Be Always Well.

Benedict Lust (1872-1945), acclaimed as the Father of Naturopathy in the US, was a contemporary of Lindlahr, Ehret and Hay. Like so many other nature healers, he took this path after he contracted tuberculosis. There is an interesting story about how an American physician filled out his death certificate in his presence, and Lust returned to his native Germany to die. There, he came across Kneipp, and after submitting to hydrotherapy, he was cured in eight months.

In 1896, Lust carried Kneipp methods to the US, where he later founded a clinic, a school, a Kneipp store, and a naturopathic health retreat in the Ramapo mountains, New Jersey. One of its most prominent visitors included the Chinese Imperial Ambassador to Washington, Wu Ting Fang. Later, Lust opened his sanatorium in Florida. 

Lust’s ways were eclectic and he value-added to the Kneipp method with natural diet, sun and air baths, massage and electrotherapy. He suggested that all disease arises from one cause—violation of nature's laws—and that all of nature's various agents can and should be applied to correct it.

Prosecution and persecution

Lust's major contribution was his public promotion of Nature Cure. He studied medicine to offset some of the hostility he faced from the mainstream doctors. Yet, he was hounded by the New York County Medical Association, was arrested sixteen times by the New York authorities, and three times by federal authorities. Lust invested tens of thousands of dollars in fines and spent many hours in court and in jail, but he was never bitter. He maintained that prosecution and persecution are part of a naturopath’s life, but never did he plead guilty in any case.

Lust argued forcefully against restrictive medical laws, insisting on individual right to choose the treatment method. He criticised medical regulations as monopolistic, that suppressed both patient choice and naturopathic practice. He mobilized naturopaths to form legal and organizational structures, like the American Naturopathic Association, to resist suppression and promote professional standards. Despite constant legal pressure, Lust’s resilience helped secure greater tolerance and licensed status for naturopaths in several states.

Lust claimed America had more than 40,000 naturopathic practitioners during his lifetime. Most people sought naturopathic doctors in the 20th century because they believed that these practitioners had vast knowledge in disease management and healthcare. Thanks to Lust’s efforts, Naturopathy also spread to Australia and the UK during his time.

But this is not the end of the story. Some momentous scientific revelations of the late 19^th century not only gave credence to what the nature cure advocates had always insisted, but also gave rise to Orthopathy, or the Natural Hygiene movement. This came even closer to the Indian traditional concepts of health and found an appropriate response across the country.

More of

---

References:

1. Springer Nature

2. SoulAdvisor

3. 1Library.net

4. Wikipedia

5. Scribd

6. National Library of Medicine (PubMed)

7. The Business & Financial Times

8. Naturopathic Doctor News and Review (NDNR)

9. Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA)

10. www.alive.com/health/pioneers-of-the-north-american-natural-health-movement