Natural therapies have been used to
treat disease since our earliest beginnings.
Among the first known written
records are texts mentioning herbs and their
use in healing. Every known culture has attempted to
harness the healing
powers in plants. Both the Old
and New Testaments speak of herbs and their uses.
Hydrotherapy—the use of water in
healing disease—is also very ancient. Written records
describe various uses for water therapy
well before either the
Roman or Christian eras. These natural
therapies were sometimes written down, but, for
the most part, they were passed down as oral traditions, as was the case
with the American Indians.
No one can say when naturopathy originated as a science distinct from these loosely gathered bits of natural
therapy. Hippocrates is considered the father of naturopathic medicine. The Hippocratic
School treated disease with diet, fasting, herbs, hydrotherapy, exercise, and spinal
manipulation, prescribed from a basis of principles of healing that
are now used as the
foundation of naturopathy. Their most
basic tenet, vis medicatrix
naturae (the healing power of nature), emphasizes the body’s
ability to heal itself if given a chance, is still
the central
theme of naturopathic philosophy.
From these origins,
naturopathic medicine has grown and developed. Physicians throughout the world have worked
within the context of natural therapies,
often specializing in one particular aspect, such as fasting,
hydrotherapy, herbalism, or
spinal manipulation, and so
developing and perfecting each natural therapeutic
tool.
During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, as the orthodox
medical profession was drifting further
and
further toward the widespread use
of drugs and surgery, there
also was a great surge of development in natural therapies. The water cure was popularized
by the work of Vincent Priessnitz,
Sebastian Kneipp, and J. H.
Kellogg, which led to naturopathy being recognized as a distinct discipline. Many schools of hydrotherapy,
herbalism, and naturopathy sprang up at this time and
flourished in Europe and
America. Great pioneers of naturopathy emerged to help convince the skeptical public that nature,
not drugs, was the path
toward health. Many attempted
to prove their convictions
by daredevil stunts, flaunting their health
for all to witness. I remember reading with awe of early
naturopaths swallowing vials of cholera-infected material or fasting for forty or
even sixty days and then performing
incredibly strenuous physical demonstrations to prove
the unusual vigor they had
obtained by natural means.
Many of these pioneers left written legacies of great
value. Each book tells the story of men and
women of strength, conviction,
and courage. Taking whatever
assistance they could find from the past, they entered the
labyrinth of disease only to
discover not confusion but
simplicity. In an
age when their colleagues of the orthodox school were finding more and more complexity in disease
with the advent of the germ
theory, these naturopathic physicians were discovering the very
principles of health and disease.
Slowly but steadily, however, orthodox medicine gained political power and united against the
freely practicing naturopathic profession.
Within a short time, most alternative medical schools were forced to close. Naturopaths were declared illegal and prosecuted
in most
states, as were midwives and many
other health professionals who were seen as either a financial or
philosophical threat.
The second half of the twentieth century saw the reemergence
of naturopathy. With the 1960s
came a rebirth of awareness and interest in all things natural.
A new generation arose that no
longer accepted the status quo blindly. All aspects of modern
society were scrutinized, and among these was the practice
of modern medicine. Thalidomide in Europe, diethylstilbestrol
(DES)-induced cancer, and other drug-related tragedies
increasingly led the general
public to ask, not
“how effective is a drug,” but “how safe.” This trend has continued into the
twenty-first century. With each new drug-related horror story,
more people are seeking a safe alternative.
Now, as in the
past, naturopathic physicians are offering that alternative. The naturopathic
physicians’ training today encompasses both traditional and modern techniques
of diagnosis and
therapy. They are trained in
four-year stateaccredited
private naturopathic medical schools. The program includes all the basic scientific, diagnostic, and medical
courses standard to any other medical training institution. In addition, the
naturopath is trained in a wide variety of natural therapies that help the body in its self-repairing efforts. The
aim of naturopathy is to treat people, not disease; to remove the
cause of disease, not merely
its symptoms; and to cure disease, not just postpone it.
