History of Naturopathy and Iridology

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The ‘Nature Cure’ idea goes back as far as 400BC with Hippocrates School of Medicine. At the time, physicians believed in the importance of finding the root cause of illness and understanding the laws of nature. They called this "Vis Medicatrix Naturae", which is Latin for "the Healing Power of Nature" (Atune Health Centres 2011). Hippocrates sought to move medicine away from religion and philosophy. He looked at the human body as a whole and gave rise to the idea of holistic medicine. He taught that illness was caused by an imbalance in the body, which was caused by some excess (Strathern 2005, p.5). Disease was literally dis-ease within the body and that good diet, exercise and rest helped patients heal themselves from within (Pressman & Buff 1999, p.31). Modern-day Nature Cure can be traced to the concepts of Vincent Priessnitz (1799-1851). His methods became known as the Water Cure, as he primarily used water treatments, but also diet, exercise and fasting. Many others, such as Sebastian Kneipp, Benedict Lust, Henry Lindlahr and in Australia Kenneth Jaffrey, would continue to build from this foundation (Karlsson 2006). Dr. John Scheel, a German homeopath in New York, first coined the term "Naturopathy" in 1895. In 1902, Lust purchased the rights to the term “Naturopathy” and opened the American Institute of Naturopathy, the first in America (Jarvis 1997). The years 1900 to 1917 were instrumental for naturopathic medicine in America, including The Kneipp convention held 1901. The various forms of natural medicines were combined into one eclectic system that included diet, herbs, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, exercise, manipulative therapies, electrotherapy, psychological and spiritual counseling (ND Health Facts 2012). After Lust, Lindlahr structured naturopathy further and opened the Lindlahr College of Natural Therapeutics (ND Health Facts 2012). He

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