What is Naturopathy?

Although Naturopathy grew out of the alternative healing systems available in the 18th and 19th centuries, its philosophical roots go back to the Hippocratic School of medicine circa 400BC.

Breaking with earlier superstitious beliefs that disease was caused by supernatural forces, Hippocrates became the first natural doctor. He based his ideas on observing that everything in nature had a rational basis and the physician’s role was to follow the laws of the natural universe and look for causes in natural phenomena, air, water, food etc. They understood that “ medicatrix nature” the healing power of nature, was the body’s ability to heal itself.

Naturopathy or ‘nature cure’ is both a way of life and a concept of healing which employs natural means for prevention and treatment of disease in humans.

As well as in Europe, where nature cures were common in the early 20th century, especially in Germany, as early as 1902, Benedict Lust in the US was the first to use the eclectic compilation of doctrines of natural healing and describe them as “Naturopathy” .

Lust envisioned these Natural therapies, which we now refer to as Nutritional therapy, natural diet, herbal medicine, homoeopathy, spinal manipulation, exercise therapy, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, stress reduction and nature cure, to be the future scope of natural medicine.
He described Naturopathy as a natural system for curing disease and a return to nature in regulating the diet, breathing, exercise, bathing, and utilising various methods to eliminate the poisonous wastes in the system and so raise the Vitality of the patient to a proper level of health.

The Program of Naturopathic Cure consisted of:

Elimination of Evil Habits – over eating, alcoholic drinks, drugs, eliminating tea, coffee and cocoa (which contain poisons), meat eating, improper hours of living, waste of vital fluids,lowered vitality, sexual and social aberrations, stress etc.

Corrective Habits – correct breathing, correct exercise, right mental attitude, moderation in pursuit of health and wealth.

New principles of Living – proper fasting, selection of food hydrotherapy, light & air baths, mud baths, osteopathy, chiropractic, mineral Salts in organic form, elestrotherapy, heliotherapy, steam and Turkish baths, etc.

Naturopathic Medicine flourished in America in the early part of 20th century until mid 1930,s when the outcome of several factors allowed the medical profession to establish the foundation for the present domination of health care supported by the chemical and drug industries.

Today many Naturopaths specialise in specific areas of therapy while others choose to be eclectic