Natural Hygiene History

8/7/2019 Natural Hygiene History

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Nat u r a l Hyg ieneThe beginnings of natural hygiene go back thousands of years. Over 2000 years ago, Hippocratestaught basic natural hygiene principles. Hippocrates is often referred to as the father of modern

medicine, although modern medicine today seems far removed from his teachings.

Hippocrates established medical theory on rational scientific principles, and he believed that diseasehad only natural causes and not supernatural ones. Furthermore, he regarded the human body as awhole organism, treating patients in what we today call a holistic manner with proper diet, fresh airand attention to habits and living conditions.

The Hippocratic Oath, named after Hippocrates, was meant to give the medical profession a sense ofduty towards humanity.

The Hippocratic Oath

"I swear by Apollo, the physician, and Asclepius and Health, and All-Heal, and all the gods and goddesses that, according to my ability and judgement, I will keep this oath and stipulation:

To reckon him who taught me this art equally dear to me as my parents, to share my substance with him and relieve his necessities if required; to regard his offspring as on the same footing with my own brother, and to teach them this art if they should wish to learn it, without fee or stipulation, and that by

precept, lecture and every other mode of instruction, I will impart a knowledge of the art to my own sons and those of my teachers, and to disciples bound by stipulation and oath, according to the law of

medicine, but to none others.

I will follow that method of treatment which, according to my ability and judgement, I consider for the benefit of my patients, and abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous.

I will give no deadly medicine to anyone if asked, nor suggest any such counsel; furthermore, I will not give to any woman an instrument to produce abortion.

With purity and with holiness I will pass my life and practice my art. I will not cut a person who is suffering from a stone, but will leave this to be done by practitioners of this work. Into whatever

houses I enter I will go into them for the benefit of the sick and will abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption; and further from the seduction of females or males, bond or free.

Whatever, in connection with my professional practice, or not in connection with it, I may see or hear in the lives of men which ought not to be spoken abroad I will not divulge, as reckoning that all such

should be kept secret.

While I continue to keep this oath unviolated, may it be granted to me to enjoy life and the practice of the art, respected by all men at all times, but should I trespass and violate this oath, may the reverse

be my lot."

Apparently those entering the medical profession no longer say the Hippocratic Oath. One wonderswhy.

Many Natural Hygienists based their initial research on the Scriptures. Genesis 1 verse 29 states:

“Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.”

Returning to More Recent Times



Natural Hygiene, as it is today, can be traced back to Dr Isaac Jennings (of Oberlin, Ohio, USA)who, after practising medicine for 20 years, began to ask questions when, during a fever outbreak inthe summer of 1815, a patient who rested, drank water and did nothing, recovered in absolute recordtime compared to patients who had been medicated. Based on this, Dr Jennings noted similar resultswith many other patients.

He then went on to treat many patients with what must have been one of the first placebo (dummypill) treatments. In 1822 he gave up medical pills, plasters, powders and potions and treated patientswith pills made from bread and vegetable-coloured water for the next 20 years. This he only did tokeep the patients’ confidence in him. He would then advise his patients to correct their lifestyle anddiet to a more natural approach. He then practised for a further 20 years the "do nothing mode oftreating disease." He wrote three books, "Medicine Reform" (1847), "Philosophy of Human Life" (1852) and "Tree of Life" (1867).

Natural hygiene was often referred to at this stage as Orthopathy meaning TRUE or RIGHTAFFECTION or BEHAVIOUR.

Dr Jennings had a great influence upon Dr R T Trall, who went on to do more for the hygiene

movement than any man, next to Dr Herbert Shelton. Dr Russell Thacher Trall was born in 1812 in Connecticut, and after graduating from a regular orAllopathic School of Medicine, he practised as a regular Doctor for 12 years. Dr Trall wasremembered as an independent and thinking mind whilst at medical school (much to the dismay of hisprofessors).

After spending some time in Europe to investigate so-called hydro-therapy at various clinics, hereturned and designed or developed a system, which he called Hygieo-therapy. He set out to promotethe welfare of mankind by teaching the Laws of Life and the conditions of health so as to preventrather than cure sickness and disease.

He was the founder of The New York Hydrophatic and Physiologist School, later changed to The

New York College of Hygieo-Therapy. It had the right to confer the degree "Doctor of Medicine" andadmitted both sexes (very daring for those days). Besides having a fully equipped laboratory andlarge library, the College/School taught Anatomy, Physiology, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry,Pathology, Psychology, Hygiene, Dietetics, Callisthenics, Theory and Practice of the “Healing Art”diagnosis, Therapeutics, Jurisprudence (science or the philosophy of law), nature cure, water cureand other subjects including dissection. The faculty members were all doctors in their various fieldsfrom chemistry to surgery and obstetrics.

At about the same time, Sylvester Graham (born 1794) entered Amherst College to study as aMinister of Religion. Whilst there, he studied anatomy and physiology. He left the ministry later tolecture on the Science of Human Life.

During a cholera epidemic in 1832, he went around teaching and lecturing on the importance of freshfruit and vegetables and whole grains in the diet, as well as abstinence from meat and meat products,alcohol and other stimulants or narcotics, correct sleeping, bathing, clothing and exercise habits toavoid cholera, with astounding results.

At the time, the average person (influenced strongly by Europe) believed that animal flesh and fleshbroths with a little good wine and complete abstinence from most fruit and vegetables were the bestway to escape cholera! This was backed by the then "Board of Health".

Many others followed the Natural Hygiene route, such as Drs Susana and Mary Dodds, Dr A MRoss, Dr Joel Shaw, Dr G H Taylor , Dr J C Jackson - the list is almost endless.

Most of these people wrote books with titles such as "The Natural Cure" , "How Nature Cures" , "The Exact Science of Health" , "The Fasting Cure" , etc.



Today’s natural hygiene was very much developed by Dr Herbert M Shelton, another disillusionedmedical Doctor who wrote the "Bible" of natural hygiene, "Human Life, its Philosophy and Practices of Orthopathy" , and who, for many years, ran his Health School in San Antonio.

One of his students, Virginia V Vetrano, went on to become one of the founders of the Institute ofNatural Hygiene or Life Science, which unfortunately no longer exists.

Today, much can be learned from books written by Bernarr Macfadden, Ross Horne, Dr Robert SMendelsohn, Dr Henry G Bieler, and Dr Weston Price, Dr Dean Ornish and Udo Erasmus. InSouth Africa, people like Professor Bernard Meyer (Physiologist), Professor Meiring (ChemicalPathologist), Dr A R P Walker and Dr André Kruger can be seen to be carrying the torch of themodern medical reformer.

The basis then of natural hygiene is that we are designed to be healthy, i.e.:

Health is Normal and Natural,Disease is Not

and that

Health is as a Result ofHealthy Living and that alone

You cannot buy health! If you could, Howard Hughes and Aris totle Onassis, two of the richestmen in the world, would not have died prematurely.

Natural hygiene teaches that using drugs, medicines, herbs, vitamins, supplements, etc. areunnecessary and in fact, harmful. Natural hygiene teaches that the best way to help a body in a sickor diseased state is to "intelligently do nothing" at the same time, establishing the conditions ofhealth which are fresh air, pure water, rest and sleep, wholesome foods (especially fruit, vegetables,

nuts and seeds), cleanliness, comfortable temperature, sunshine, exercise, constructive work,emotional poise, self mastery, recreation and a pleasant environment.

We will now take a look at how healthy living can slow down, stop or even reverse degenerativediseases.

NATURAL HYGIENE HISTORY

Natural Hygiene history is part of the history of healing and medicine- so here is first an overview.

OLD PARA DI GM - - - " DI SEASE I S TH E

PROBLEM"

This has been t he com mon w ay t o look a t d isease fo r m i l lenn ia , and is s t i l l v ery p opu lar : Disease is th e prob lem - and th e w ay t o ge t r id o f th e d isease

is to s t op t he d isease sym ptom s. The cause is myst er ious.

Fear o f inex p l icab ly be ing s t r uck b y d isease is typ ica l .

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Example: a cold is "cured" when the cold-symptoms, sneezing and fever, have been stopped by some concoct. Mysterious cause - perhaps a cold originates from getting too cold, perhaps from bacteria, or what? Example 2: cancer is "cured" by attacking the growths with chemo & radiation & operations. The cause is mysterious. A billion dollar industry is built around "cancer research".

Click here to go to " NEW PARAD I GM - -- " DI SEASE I S THE SOLUTI ON"

= the appearance of "Hygiene" and "Nature Cure" in the early 1800's. Here is a look at the historical development of "cures": Mag ic & sp i r i tua l i t y The primitive mind's belief in spirits, which interfere in man's life for good or evil and areable to cause disease, was probably universal, and still is widespread. Evil spirits couldenter the body. The solution - rituals, magic rites, offerings and other efforts to appease

the invisible higher beings that rule over health and disease "Western medicine really began in ancient Greece. The earliest mythicaldoctor was the god Asclepios (Lat. Aesculapius), father of the goddessHygieia. Various diseases were treated by 'incubation" or temple sleeping.The patient made a request of the god, usually for cure, and; while the patientslept within the confines of the temple, probably aided by an opiate, the godvisited in a dream. The snakes would crawl over the patient during the nightand the patient would wake in the morning cured." "The Iroquois of New York and Ontario gathered in a longhouse for ceremonial and religiouspurposes. Wooden masks, skilfully but grotesquely carved played an important part in theirritual, and were alleged to be portraits of the strange quasi human beings whom the foresthunters met at nightfall, darting from tree to tree, and resembling disembodied heads with long

snapping hair. These beings were held to be involved in the cause and cure of disease, andwere invoked and worshipped in complex dance rituals, sometimes under the influence oftobacco and or other drugs." (www.umanitoba.ca)

Cut t i ng and m an ipu la t i ng Surgical methods as a cure were obviously also developed very early - in the beginningprobably by cutting out and removing problematic body parts.Acupuncture was used in China before 2500 BC using sharp stones, which were replacedby metal needles around 400 BC. Acupressure, reflexology and some energy methodsare probably even older.

"Evidence that surgery was occasionally practiced in the 4th century BC Asclepian temples inGreece is shown in the following: 'A man with an ulcer in his stomach. He incubated, and sawa vision: the god seemed to order his followers to seize and hold him that he might incise hisstomach. So he fled, but they caught and tied him to the door-knocker. The Asclepian openedhis stomach, cut out the ulcer, sewed him up again and loosed his bonds. He went awaywhole, but the floor of his chamber was covered with his blood.'"(planetherbs.com) "If a physician performed a major operation on a seignior with a bronze lancet and has causedthe seignior's death, or he opened the eye-socket of a seignior and has destroyed theseignior's eye, they shall cut off his hand. If a physician performed a major operation on acommoner's slave with a bronze lancet and caused (his) death, he shall make good slave forslave." Hamurabai's Code, Mesopotamia 3000 BC (www.umanitoba.ca)

"It seems in most ancient cultures there is a tradition of working on the feet to help the body



balance itself. .... For instance, in Egypt, in the physician's tomb (2300 B.C.) there can befound a pictograph which may be evidence of reflexology being applied."(www.reflexology-usa.org) "CHUN DO SUN BUP is a 6000 year old ancient healing method that uses the power of theoriginal ki energy and is deeply rooted on the Taoist principles of creation of life.... The Mastertransmits vital energy by using a particular sound vibration which clears the blockages andstimulates the circulation of energy."(www.cdsb.org)

Fo lk-m ed ic ine , t rad i t ion a l m ed ic ine Medicinal plants, animal parts and minerals, like mica and gypsum, have been used for along time to get rid of disease symptoms. Knowledge was often collected and handed-down by women.

"The use of plants as medicine is older than recorded history. As mute witness to this fact,marshmallow root, hyacinth, and yarrow have been found carefully tucked around the bones ofa Stone Age man in Iraq. These three medicinal herbs continue to be used today.

Marshmallow root is a demulcent herb, soothing to inflamed or irritated mucous membranes,such as a sore throat or irritated digestive tract. Hyacinth is a diuretic that encourages tissuesto give up excess water. Yarrow is a time-honored cold and fever remedy that may once havebeen used much as aspirin is today." (planetherbs.com) "Treatment involved plant remedies, of varying pharmacologic effectiveness;the Chippewa around 1925 used around 200 plants in different ways, for thetreatment of a wide variety of common ailments, in a manner similar toEuropean herbal folk medicines two centuries before. Medicines were givenorally, by inhalation or by enema. Often the healer would induce alteredconsciousness, perhaps in a sweat lodge, would let blood, and usesupernatural or magic remedies." (www.umanitoba.ca)

"Animal ingredients have long been part and parcel of the Chinese pharmacopoeia. Recordsfrom 2000 years ago tell of some 20 animals including snakes and rhinos being used inmedicines. ---- Lately, however, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) has come under fire forits use of animals, especially of endangered species. Heading the list are poaching of rhinos inAfrica, and tigers in India and Siberia. ... A team from China's endangered speciescommission obtained data from 13 TCM manufacturers, which annually consumed 506 kilos ofscorpions, 2796 kilos of freshwater turtle shells, 797 kilos of saiga horn, 29 kilos of bear gallpowder, 25 kilos of leopard bone, 3039 pairs of geckos, and 9650 centipedes. As there maybe as many as a thousand TCM manufacturers in China, the quantities used nationwide mustbe mind-boggling." (martinwilliams.tripod.com)

Fo lk-m ed ic ine - m a jo r system s With time simple folk remedies often became big extensive systems, that had to rely onhighly educated specialists - e.g. Traditional Chinese Medicine, Indian AyurvedicMedicine, Greek- Arabic Medicine.

"The Greek system, started by Hippocrates - you were governed by a balance of these bodytypes: 1. Sanguine (air) hot/moist 2. Melancholic (earth) cold, dry 3. Phlegmatic (water)cold/moist 4. Choleric (fire) hot/dry - that decided what disease you were prone to get - andthe cure.Galen (130 A.D.) assigned foods and herbs to each of the four humours that form the basis of"galenical" dietetics and medicine that was accepted throughout Europe and the Middle Eastfor 1500 years." (planetherbs.com) "Arabic medicine derived from Constantinople and followed the armies of Mohammed . The



medicine of the Arabic world transmitted classical Roman and Greek traditions to earlymodern times. They developed new medicines camphor, saffron, myrrh, musk, iodine,naphtha and senna. They developed chemical methods in preparing the active principle ofthese drugs, distillation, sedimentation and crystallization. Large medical schools developed inDamascus, Bagdad, Cordoba and Cairo." (www.umanitoba.ca) "Ayurveda was based on balance and harmony with nature and the utilization of therapeuticdiet, herbs, rituals, various physio-therapies. These principles were accordingly modified asthey were assimilated by different cultures, customs and geographical conditions. In Tibetanmedicine, for instance, we see an obvious blend of Ayurvedic and Traditional ChineseMedicine, with the Chinese principles of Five Elements, the Three Humours, acupuncture andmoxibustion." (planetherbs.com)

Poison, b leed ing , b l is te r in g In the 1800's the excesses of doctors and the cottage industry drugs led to generalloathing and ridicule of the medical profession by the public in USA and Europe. This isthe time when a revolt, "Hygiene", emerged.

"In Canada in 1829, treatments in vogue included horseback riding forpulmonary tuberculosis, scotch snuff plaster for croup, leek poultices for goutand a decoction of carrots for jaundice. Dropsy was treated by bleeding,tapping, and plantain and liverwort." (www.umanitoba.ca) "For at least a century strychnine was the best remedy the profession had forpalsy and paralysis. It was used to kill cats and dogs; it was deadly to hogs and cattle and,when given as a poison, slaughtered human beings. But when given as a medicine, it was atonic, a nervine, a remedy for our palsied fellow men. --- During most of the last century, it wasstandard medical practice to withhold water from the acutely ill and thousands of patientsliterally died of dehydration. --- Many of the patent medicines amounted to little more than

cheap whiskey. Alcohol was a foundation of the many bitters that were sold to the people astonics, as it was the chief ingredient in many of the patent nostrums sold to women for femalediseases. They even sold remedies for alcoholism that were chiefly alcohol." "In addition to drugging their patients to death, physicians have frequently bled them to death.... Bleeding was resorted to in cases of apparent death from a fall and in other injuries.Bleeding was employed in wounds and head injuries that resulted in unconsciousness. Notonly were pregnant mothers bled, but physicians also drew blood from blue babies. ...According to the legend, Robin Hood was bled to death by a man to whom he had resorted forrelief from an inflammatory disease. ... Indeed, the blood-loving and bloodspilling allopathsshed the vital current of their patients for over 2,000 years before they were compelled, by theopposition of other schools and rising public protest, to discontinue the bleeding of the sick. ...It is probable that physicians spilled more blood than all the wars during the same period."

"In the days of which we write, patients were bled, blistered, purged, puked, narcotized,mercurialized and alcoholized into chronic invalidism or into the grave. The death rate washigh and the sick man who recovered without sequelae was so rare as to be negligible. It iscertain that if well persons had been put to bed and subjected to the same treatment to whichthe sick were subjected, they would have inevitably been made very sick and some of themwould have been killed.---- By 1850 it was easy for a man of no particular training to attendlectures for one winter and emerge a full-fledged doctor." (soilandhealth.org:Shelton-68)

Revo l t & re fo r m - " Hyg iene" & " Natur e Cure" em erges

In the early 1800's some medical doctors discovered that discontinuing drugs & surgerygave better results with their patients. New methods like fasting and raw diets were



developed, exercise & sunshine & fresh air were recommended, and a comprehensive"medical" theory about natural healing and health was created. In Europe this newscience was called "Nature Cure", in USA "Hygiene" or "Orthopathy". This soon became alarge (anti-drug & cleanliness & exercise etc.) movement, one of the great reform-movements (like

anti-slavery, women's rights, etc.) being formed around 1820-1850. More on the next pages. Petro leum -based indust r ia l d rug s In the 1900's medical doctors regained respect from the public by weeding out most of the worst excesses. This was done partly through adopting hygienic measures (likewashing hands before surgery) - partly through cooperation with big money to createsocalled "scientific medicine" based on new mass-produced chemical drugs.

"Not only has the Rockefeller-I.G.Farben combine been instrumental in fostering chemical-based drug treatment as the basis for health care, they have been the dominant adversaryagainst safer non-drug treatments." "In the years prior to World War I, there came into existence an internationalcartel, centered in Germany, that dominated the entire world's chemical anddrug industries and was a powerful economic and political force in allcountries. It was known as I.G. Farben. When John D. Rockefellerinterlocked his American-based, international empire with that of I.G. Farbenin 1928 there was created the largest and most powerful cartel the world has ever known. Notonly has that cartel survived through the years, it has grown and prospered. ...In order to expand their drug operations the Rockefellers set about "educating" the medicalprofession. Abraham Flexner , author of the famous Flexner Report of 1910, led the crusadefor upgrading the medical schools of America. A.Carnegie and J.D.Rockefeller had set upgigantic tax-exempt foundations for that purpose. The end result was that all medical schoolsbecame heavily oriented toward drugs and drug research, for it was through the increasedsale of drugs that the donors realized a profit on their donations." (www.pnc.com.au)

Late 1900 ' s r evo lu t i on Similarly to what happened in early 1800's there is now an emerging group of doctors inrevolt (more or less) - using nutrition rather than drugs. They base their ideas onanthropological findings about early man, as well as new science about the insulinmechanism. But they are still far from formulating a system of general laws for health,as was done by hygienic doctors in the 1800's.There is also a new phenomenon - all-raw meat eating: "the primal diet".

"An anthropologist examining skeletal remains of early man can tell immediately whether thebones and teeth belonged to a hunter-gatherer (mainly protein eater) or a farmer (mainly

carbohydrate eater) simply by their condition. The hunters grew tall, with strong, well-formedbones and sound teeth, and the remains of the farmers usually show skeletal signs ofmalnutrition, stunted growth, and tooth decay.For 700,000 years humans ate a diet of mainly meat, fat, nuts, and berries. Eight thousandyears ago we learned to farm, and as our consumption of grains increased, our healthdeclined. Genetic evolutionary changes take a minimum of 1,000 generations - or another8,000 to 10 000 years to adapt.Translations of the ancient Egyptian papyrus writings and modern examination of theirmummified remains by pathologists tell us .... of a people afflicted with rotten teeth and severeatheriosclerosis, suffering from elevated blood pressure and dying in their thirties with heartattacks." Drs. Eades: "Protein Power"

"I have seen that eating 1-3 pounds of raw meat daily helps regenerate, heal the body, and

reverse the common toxic deterioration associated with aging and disease. ... I recommendonly ocean wild-caught raw fish, ... including swordfish, which has the highest mercury



content. When digested and made bioactive by plankton and eaten by fish, traces of mercuryare great detoxifiers of toxic mercury in the body. ... When fish are cooked, mercury and othermetallic minerals become free-radicals and toxic." A. Vonderplanitz: "The recipe for living without disease"

NATURAL HYGIENE HISTORY - 2

NEW PARAD I GM - - - " DI SEASE I S THE

SOLUTI ON"

This concept w as revo lu t ionary w hen i t f i r s t appeared, and st i l l i s . A new parad igm - a new w ay o f t h ink ing - th a t s t i l l i s new , a lm ost 200 years la t e r :

Disease is th e so lu t ion , t he w ay to ge t r id o f d isease is s top break ing t he d iv in e law s about how to t ake care o f ones

body. The cause is obv ious - w rong behavio r . I t i s easy to avoi d d isease. One k now s exact ly h ow to rem ove d isease i f i t appears.

Example: a cold is elimination started by an overload of toxins - the cause may e.g. be overeating the day before. No big deal - just rest and sleep

more, and eat less - and let the body do its cleaning job undisturbed - one knows that the cold will soon be gone.Example 2: cancer is the last stage of continually breaking universal divine laws - excessive toxicity is making the cells go crazy. The solution is to stop all toxins, return to a pristine mode of living, give the body maximal rest (including mental rest).

• N a tu ra l H yg i e n e h i sto r y

Sum m ary "Hygiene" became very popular in the 1800's, both among healing practitioners and thepublic --- but in the 1900's it lost ground to the medical (allopathic, drugging) system,that had gotten a powerful ally in the Rockefeller drug & oil empire. The medical systemgradually did adopt the sanitation-part of Hygiene, while rejecting its no-drugsphilosophy. When "sanitation" and "hygiene" as a consequence became synonymous,the prefix Natural was added to Hygiene.In the 1800's there was some side-tracking by hydropathy, and in the 1900's dietbecame a major topic, e.g. the dangers/benefits of veganism. Backg round "The "medical art" in America during the colonial period had been simple and

unpretentious. There were no medical schools and few physicians.""By the time the period arrived (1800's) ... the schools of healing had arrived; folk

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medicine was almost obsolete. A considerable medical literature with Latin and Greekterminology had accumulated; medical colleges (schools of physic) had beenestablished; ... Homeopathy and chrono-thermalism had come from Europe to compete

with the dominant school, which became known as the allopathic school; "

".. each school accused the other of killing its patients, anaccusation which could be well substantiated against each school.In addition to this struggle, there was a wide-spread drug nihilismamong medical men, the leading medical authorities of bothEurope and America agreeing with the statement made by Dr.

Oliver Wendell Holmes that i f a l l t he dru gs o f t he ph arm acope ia w ere cast in t o t he sea i t w ou ld be be t te r fo r m ank ind , a l though a b i t h a rd on the f i shes . Is it to bewondered that the people became distrustful of their physicians and began to believethat they were being killed in the process of being cured? "How is a man who is already sick to be made less so by swallowing a substance that

would sicken, even kill him if he were to take it in a state of health? Whoever has hadhis bowels moved into convulsions by cathartics, his teeth rotted by mercurials, his liverenlarged and impaired by tartar emetic knows that the effects of drugging are manyand varied, but always evil.""In addition to drugging their patients to death, physicians have frequently bled them todeath. Butchers bled pigs to kill them; physicians bled patients to cure them." H. Shelton,1968, ch.1. Beg inn ings (Early 1800's:) "The whole medical system of Western society was in a state of chaosand confusion. It is not surprising that the revolution had its first beginning in France,where medicine was most progressed. As early as the beginning of the nineteenthcentury, there were physicians in France who discarded drugs and relied upon "nature"

and "good nursing."Natur e Cur e in Eur ope: "... the revolution in Europe and that in America wereinterrelated and interconnected. Especially did the works of Priessnitz, Schrodt andRausse of Germany, Ling of Sweden and Lamb and Combe of Britain influence theAmerican scene. The French school seems to have exercised very little influence outsideof France." H. Shelton, 1968, ch.2. "Should we marvel that the people lost confidence in their physicians and began to(correctly) suspect that they were being killed by them? A real revolutionary situationexisted. The time was ripe for a change." H. Shelton, 1968, ch.1. "It was into the milieu of doubt and uncertainty, of disease and death that SylvesterGraham threw a stone in 1830. ... Only the existence of a revolutionary situation,

created by the failures and contradictions of medical theories and practices, madepossible the immediate and widespread acceptance of the truths announced by Graham,his contemporaries and successors." H. Shelton, 1968 Dr . Jenn in gs - on ly w a te r and bread p i l l s f rom 182 2 "Isaac Jennings, M.D.: - After 20 years spent in the regular druggingand bleeding practices of the time, during which his confidence in drugsand bleeding had grown steadily weaker so that his lancet had beensheathed and his doses were fewer, further apart and smaller, hediscontinued all drugging in 1822 and relied thereafter on Hygienic care

of the sick, using water (drops of it) and bread pills to meet the demands of his patientsfor "medicines" for another 20 years before he made public the secret of hisphenomenal success.""He noted, also, in consultation with his more experienced professional brethren, that



o ld doctor s , as a genera l ru le , gave m uch less m ed ic ine than you ng ones . Theformer trusted more to nature; the latter trusted all to drugs. This led him to doubt theprevalent ideas of the faculty of medicine; and further observations induced him todiscard them altogether."

" ... he furnished one pocket with an assortment of breadpills; another pocket wasstored with a variety of powders made of wheaten flour, variously scented and colored ;and a third pocket with a quantity of vials filled with pure, soft water, of various hues.... Diseases vanished before him with a promptness unknown before. His fame spreadfar and wide." H. Shelton, 1968, ch.2.

Dr. Isaac Jennings, who served as Oberlin's mayor in 1849, came to Oberlin in 1839 as a physician with an honorary

M. D. from Yale University. Jennings practiced a system of medicine which he termed orthopathy. Jennings lived a

long life as a member of Oberlin: he died in 1875 at the age of 86.

• Hyg iene t heo r y - ea r l y deve lopm en t

Dr . Jenn in gs ' theory o f d isease "Jennings continued his no-drug practice, which he called the " le t a lone" pract ice , foranother 20 years before he retired. He worked out a theory of disease, diverse from anythat had preceded him, which he called Orthopathy ." H. Shelton, 1968, ch.2.

"Disease, in this theory, is a unit and, in its various forms of fever, inflammation, coughs, etc., isentirely true to the laws of life, which cannot be aided by any system of medication or anymedication whatever; but, relying solely upon the healing powers of the body and placing hispatients in the best possible conditions for the operation of the body's own healing processes, bymeans of rest, fasting, diet, pure air and other Hygienic factors, he permitted his patients to getwell."

Sylvest e r Graham "Sylvester Graham, with 'The Science of Human Life ,' made a greatstep in advance; and, though some of his theories are not what laterdevelopments would approve, he nevertheless made a valuable attemptat systematization.""Herald of Health , January 1865, says of Sylvester Graham, who wasnot a physician, that he was "pre-eminently the father of the

philosophy of physiology. In his masterly and celebrated work, the'Science of Life,' he has given the world more philosophy and more truth concerning theprimary and fundamental laws which relate man to external objects and to otherbeings, than any other author ever did -- than all other authors ever have.""Medical deprecations of Graham's work began very early. One Dr. Bell ... reducedGraham and Grahamism to smouldering ruins with such matchless and devastating logicas "eutopian dreamers," "modern empirics and modern innovators," "self-conceited andopinionated dogmatism," "visionary novelties," "new sect of fanatics," "men of erraticand visionary genius," "modern Pythagoreans," "bigoted exclusives," etc., etc." H. Shelton,1968, ch.2,3. "Beginning with Graham's lectures and the publication of the Graham Journal of Health

and Longevity , the Hygienic movement pushed forward with vigor and enthusiasm. As

early as 1850 the Water- Cure Journal had a circulation of 18,000. ... So vigorous wasHygiene promulgated and so great was the enthusiasm with which the people accepted



it, it was estimated in January 1852 that the practitioners of the two schools --hydropathy and hygeiotherapy -- outnumbered the practitioners of any of the medicalschools -- allopathic, homeopathic, eclectic and physio-medical -- in this country." H.Shelton, 1968, ch.3.

Dr . Tra l l R.T. Trall M.D. - "... it was left to him to solve the great primaryproblems which must underlie all medical systems, and to base a theoryof medical science, and a system of the Healing Art, on the laws of nature themselves. No author except him ever traced medical problemsback to their starting point, and thereby discovered their harmony ordisharmony with universal and unalterable law. In this manner he hasbeen enabled to do what no other author before him ever could do, viz,explain the nature of disease, the effects of remedies, the doctrine of vitality, the vis medicatrix naturae, and the laws or conditions of cure.His philosophy goes back of all medical systems and proves to a positive demonstrationth e fa l lacy and f a ls i ty o f m ed ica t ing d iseases w i th po isonous dru gs ."

"In 1862 Trall delivered in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington his famous lecture,The True Healing Art , or Hygienic Versus Drug Medicati on . It should be recorded thatafter this lecture was delivered, there was a heavy demand that it be deliveredelsewhere. Complying with this demand, Trall delivered this lecture in several othercities. Writing in November 1873, Trall said that "allopathic physicians could be namedboth in this country and in Europe who had immediately abandoned the whole druggingsystem after reading The True Healing Art, and that some of them were then practicingHygienically." H. Shelton, 1968, ch.2,3.

"All history attests the fact, that wherever the Drug Medical System prevails, desolation marks itstrack, human health declines, vital stamina diminishes, diseases become more numerous, more

complicated, and more fatal, and the human race deteriorates. On the contrary, wherever theHygienic Healing System is adopted--and there is no exception--renovation denotes its progress,and humanity improves in all the relations of its existence. " Dr. R.T. Trall: The True Heling Art

"In April 1862 Trall issued a call for the formation of a National Hygienic Association , tobe made up of Hygienic practitioners, male and female. In 1860 Trall issued a bookleton the Principles of Hygeio-Therapy." H. Shelton, 1968

• H yg i en e a n d H yd ro p a th y - co n fu s io n Hydropa thy - us ing w a te r as a d rug "Hydropathy spread quickly in America. According to one account, 213 cure centerswere established between 1843 and 1900. Although most treated both sexes, thecenters were especially popular with women; and women, who had long been deniedaccess to the "regular" medical field, not only gained acceptance but took the lead aswater-cure physicians." http://www.pwgazette.com "The introduction of hydropathy into this country occurred 22 years after Jennings had

discarded the drugging system and adopted the Hygienic practice. ... The Hygienicmovement was already well established and had thousands of adherents at the time of



the introduction of the water-cure into this country. Its books and magazines alreadyhad a wide circulation." "Great numbers of physicians had lost confidence in drugs and took advantage of thewater-cure as a means of escaping from the drugging system. Even though they

adopted more or less of Hygiene in connection with their water-cure practices, theycalled their practice hydropathy and called themselves hydropathists. ... Manyphy s ic ians w ho t u rned t o w a te r -cur e thou ght o f w a te r as an agent t ha t cou ld

be m ade to t ake t he p lace o f d ru gs altogether. In other words, they professed to beable to do with water everything that they had formerly sought to do with drugs."H. Shelton, 1968

"Hydropathy presented a totally fresh approach tochildbirth, denying that it was a disease, as theallopaths seemed to believe, or that it was of necessityexcruciatingly painful because it was God's punishmentfor Eve's sin, as many believed. Water curists taughtthat excessive pain in childbirth was the result of poor

health. They stressed extensive exercise and properdiet during pregnancy and the relaxing effects of free movement and warm-water baths during labor. Women found they could be up and about a few

days after delivery. With the scientific management of allopathy, two months of invalidism afterdelivery was not uncommon. ...By the middle of the nineteenth century women's health in America was in a deplorable state.Catherine Beecher, sister of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin , made aninformal survey of over 1,000 women and found that the sick outnumbered the well by a ratio ofthree to one.... Mrs. Beecher's suggested remedies for women's poor health were three: dressreform, vigorous exercise, and participation in the water cure." http://www.pwgazette.com

Separa t i ng Hyg iene and Hyd ropa t hy "The practices of the early Hygienists were a composite m ix t u re o f hyg ien e and

h yd r o p a th y , while most of the practitioners were designated as hydropathists." "Writing on the health reform movement in December 1853, WilliamAlcott M.D. (1798 - 1859) designates the physiological (hygienic) asdistinct from the hydropathic part of the movement. He mentions alsothat "our periodicals and our books also repudiate as absurd the idea of curing disease," and that "a l l the e lemen ts o f hyg iene , and these only , a re the t rue m ater ia m ed ica ." - It is important that we keepthese distinctions in mind. The physiological reform (Hygiene) had its

origin in this country. Hydropathy had its origin in Europe. The twomovements mingled and ran along together for a time, but they were separate anddistinct and must be understood in this way if we are to grasp in clear outline theevolution of the Hygienic System." "In an editorial in the Journal, May 1858, Trall speaks of those "who do not distinguishbetween water treatment and hygienic treatment," thus setting the two systems apartfrom each other. ... At least as early as 1853, Trall's institution was listed as ahydropathic and Hygienic institute. .... When people discontinued the use of tea, coffee,tobacco, alcohol and animal foods, they were following Graham and Alcott, notPriessnitz." "Instead of being a revolutionary movement, it (hydropathy) turned out to be a merereform movement; instead of calling for radical changes in the ways of life, it sought



merely to substitute water in the form of baths, hot and cold applications, enemas,douches, packs, fomentations, dripping wet sheets, etc., for drugs. Such treatmentshave no legitimate place in a system of Hygiene." H. Shelton, 1968

"The Hygienic System was not merely a historic phenomenon of interest to historians - it was thebursting forth of life itself. It arose to meet a need of the people and it has continued and willcontinue to exist because the need is ever-present." Herbert M. Shelton

NATURAL HYGIENE HISTORY - 3

• N a tu ra l H yg i e n e e ar l y d o ct o r s

Medica l docto rs abandon dru gs "When a m an beg ins to doub t the d rug sys tem, i t i s d i f f i cu l t t o s top . ... An example of the transforming power of a new idea is suppliedus by Dr. James C. Jackson's (M.D.) conversion tohydropathy.He explains in 1861 that he had no more desire todisbelieve his allopathic education than he had tobecome an infidel in religion; but he had come

face to face with a group of facts: He had seen a number of patientsrecover health from apparently hopeless conditions without drugs;within a few months these so-called incurables were walking aboutquite vigorously and ultimately returned home in good health. Hereasoned to himself: "What power is it that has done this work?" He answers: "Onenaturally would, under such a glimmer of light as I had, be disposed to ascribe the resultto some specific agent.- Jackson thus repeated an old and common mistake--that of mistaking coincidence forcause ... and the healing power of the body is always ignored." H. Shelton, 1968

"It is because the world stands so much in need of this knowledge that we are determined to makeit available to those who might come within the sphere of our influence. And though we have hadto suffer as almost all persons who undertake the promulgation of new truths, we have been ableto endure and that is what always wins new victories." James C. Jackson

Heal th Convent ions "The movement initiated by Graham and Alcott and measurably contributed to by MaryGove, and which was early joined by Dr. Jennings, represents the beginning of theHygienic movement. ... This was only the beginning and many subsequent men,especially Trall, Taylor, Nichols and Jackson, added their weight and thought and theirexperience to the evolution of the new but old way of life. ...

Two health conventions were held by the American Physiological Society (founded in

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1837 by Sylvester Graham) under the general term of the American Health Convention .The first of these opened in Boston 1838. The second was held in New York 1839.Physiological societies were formed in several cities, ... and a provision store, which mayproperly be called the world's first health food store." H. Shelton, 1968

Col leges & Civi l W ar In 1853 Dr. Trall founded the New York College of Hygeio-Therapy , and half of thefirst class graduates were women. In 1858 Drs. Austin and Jackson founded a 250-bed institution in New York: Our Hom e on t he Hillside . Ellen White, a hygienist andSeventh Day adventist, called for "Health Reform in the name of The Lord" in manybooks between 1864 and 1915. Clara Barton, a hygienist, founded the Red Cross in1881. In 1887 Dr. Susanna Dodds founded The Hygienic College of Physicians and Surgeons .The Civil War 1861-65 had a devastating impact - general impoverishment caused

the closing of hygienic colleges, magazines and institutions. Hygiene never regainedits dominant position. (partly from Bidwell, 1989) Hyg iene in f lu ences m ed ic ine "Neglect of the Hygienic needs (especially of the need for rest, fresh air and water)is not as persistent nor as criminal today, thanks to the work of Hygienists,hydropathists and nature curists, as it was a hundred years ago; (but the totalHygienic program is far from having been accepted). By line upon line, precept uponprecept and volume upon volume, the workers for a revolution in the way of lifehave done a good job.Jackson declared that the changes in medical practices that occurred during hislifetime had been due "clearly and wholly to the promulgation of the principles" of

Hygiene. " H. Shelton, 1968

• ( 1 ) Th e o ry d e ve lo p s : Wh a t i s t h e r e al cau se o f

d isease?

Enerva t ion & tox em ia John Tilden M.D.(1851-1940) first practiced medicine and surgery for twenty-fiveyears. Personal experience, however, led him gradually to lose all faith in drugs, and

like Jennings, he began to use sugar tablets blank cartridges, he called them which he continued to give (to use his own words), "until I was mentally evolved to



the truth that even sugar pills were injurious, in that the make believe medicationeducated my patients into believing that their improvement was due to thesupposed drug they were taking. This is the harm in doing for sick people anythinglabeled curative."Dr. Tilden finally gave up the placebo practice and learned to rely upon Hygiene. Heestablished an institution in Denver, Colorado, to care for the sick along naturalhygiene lines, where he remained until his death in 1940. An interesting tidbit: Dr.Tilden recommended a silver-dollar's size of raw chopped meat per day. (partly from

ANHS: The Greatest Health Discovery)

"Twenty-five years I practiced the science of medicine. During most ofthat time I did not know why people were sick, got well, nor why theydied. ... When visiting the sick, I had no idea of how I should find themat the next call. I did not know if the disease would end soon or late. Idid not know if it would take on a severe form, or quickly run its course.I did not know whether or not there would be complications. In fact, I didnot know anything that would make me comfortable regarding theoutcome of the disease. ... I had the usual stock-in-trade subterfuges

that are worked off on a confiding public, for example: 'If no complications arise, the patientwill recover.'""I defy the so-called best practitioners ... to undertake to prove that what I am saying is nottrue. Not one can tell from one day to another how his patients will be. ... Not one can saywith any certainty that the drug he prescribes will have the action he hopes to experience.Not one can tell, after the first twenty-four hours of medication, whether the symptomspresenting themselves are those of disease proper or due to drugs.""To sum up: No doctor knows anything definite about his patients after the first day'sdrugging; Every honest doctor will admit that there is an unknown quantity about everycase he treats which forces him to guess if asked to give his opinion." "The toxin theory o f the healing art is grounded on the TRUTH that TOXEMIA is thebasic source of all diseases. So sure and certain is this truth that I do not hesitate to say

that it is by far the most satisfactory theory that has been advanced in all the history ofmedicine. It is a scientific system that covers the whole field of cause and effecta systemthat synthesizes with all knowledge, hence a true philosophy.""When this truth first began to force itself upon me, years ago, I was not sure but that therewas something wrong with my reasoning. I saw that it would bring me very largely inopposition to every established medical treatment. I held back, and argued with myself. ... Ifought to suppress giving open utterance to a belief that would, in all probability, cause meto be hissed at subject me to the jeers and gibes of the better class of people, both layand professional."Little by little I have proved the truth of my theory. I have tried it out daily for the pasttwenty years. I myself have personally stood the brunt of my experimenting, and havewillingly suffered because of it. Every day this trying-out of the theory has convinced memore and more that TOXEMIA IS THE UNIVERSAL CAUSE OF DISEASE."

"As has been stated continuously in my writings for the past dozen years, the habits ofovereating, overclothing, and excesses of all kinds use up nerve energy. When the nervesupply is not equal to the demands of the body, organic functioning is impaired, resulting inthe retention of waste products. This produces Toxemia.""Man can be enervated, yet not sick; but he cannot be poisoned sick without beingenervated.' John H. Tilden: Toxemia explained

"Dr. Tilden tells us that it was at the cook-stove that he learned that how a sickkitten clings to heat; that in caring for animals, he first learned that the sickcreature will not eat. These two lessons were later to bear fruit in his practice."(ANHS: The Greatest Health Discovery)



Enerva t ion & tox em ia & de f ic iency In the 20th century, Dr. Gian Cursio started emphasizing deficiency more, probablydue to his experiences with deaths & diseases from vegan deficiencies. Here Dr.Bass, a student of Cursio, explains:

"Generally speaking, diseases are caused by any orall of 3 factors - namely: enervation, toxemia ordeficiency.

• TOXEMIA There are 2 sources of toxemia:-- Toxemia which is caused by the ingestion andaccumulation of substances which are foreign to thebody and toxic in nature, such as chemicals, drugs,etc. These produce irritation, inflammation andpathology in bodily organs and systems.-- Toxemia which is due to the accumulation of toxic wastes resulting from the food and

beverages we eat and drink; unnatural food or natural food in excess beyond what thebody can use at the moment. Retention of this excess leads to decomposition of the foodand the production of irritating and toxic chemical wastes, which provide a fertile field forthe growth of microbes and various species of bacteria, which further increase the toxicstate.

• DEFICIENCY Deficiencies: The insufficiency of necessary food substances, such as carbohydrates,proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, enzymes etc., lead to breakdown of cells, tissues andorgans which is given names of diseases, according to its location.

• ENERVATION John Henry Tilden, M.D., formulated a theory of the cause of disease as due to a recurring

cycle of enervation and toxemia.Enervation is the reduction or loss of energy occasioned by-- the lack of rest or sleep, or-- the excessive use of emotion, negative thoughts, worry, stress, or-- the overdoing of physical actions, overeating etc. "Dr. Stanley S. Bass: How Important is Diagnosis?

Read more in INHS magazine: What is Disease?

• ( 2 ) Theo r y deve lops : Law s o f L i fe

Law s of Heal t h What is the Laws of Life? Essentially the manual - the key to understanding how wefunction and why we are sick or healthy. If you understand and follow these lawsyou'll be healthy. If you break them you will get sick."The laws of life are not something imposed upon the organization of man. They areimbedded in the very structure of our being, in our tissues, our nerve and musclecells, our bloodstream, into the total organism. ... Since these laws are fundamentalparts of us, we cannot revolt against them without revolting against ourselves. ...We cannot run away from the laws of being without running away from ourselves.There simply is no escape, except in death." Herbert M. Shelton Here are a couple of the laws:



A) Ener gy i s th e basis Robert Walter M.D. (1841-1924) is credited with beginning toformulate the "Laws of Life" or "Laws of Vitality" as he calledthem - including the basis: "Life's Great Law". It states thatthe overriding goal is self-preservation/survival. And that the

success of life depends upon the amount of energy available.Lots of energy equals health, while low energy equals disease:

Life ’s Great Law : Every living cell of the organizedbody is endowed with an instinct of self-preservation, sustained by an inherentforce in the organism called “vital force” or “life force” or “Nerve Energy.” Thesuccess of each living organism whether it be simple or complex is directlyproportioned to the amount of its life force and inversely proportional to thedegree of its activity.

This basic energy law has four secondary Laws of Vital Relation: --- (1) The Law of

Action, (2) The Law of Power, (3) The Law of Dual Effects, and (4) The Law of VitalAccomodation (S. Bass: The Laws of Life)

1) Dead th in gs can NOT act A very common error today - you hear it all the time: this drug or herb will dosomething, will give more energy, will remove pain and so on. Wrong! Deadthings (in the form of drugs) cannot act, only the body has power of action.

The Law of Ac t i on:"Whenever action occurs in the living organism, asthe result of extraneous influences, the action must be ascribed to the livingthing which has the power of action and not to the dead whose leading

characteristic is inertia." 2) Vi ta l pow er com es f rom w i th in Even if it looks like taking a drug creates an immediate relief, there is no powerin the drug itself. The relief is due to an action by a body that has enough vitalpower.

The Law of Pow er :"The power employed, and consequentlyexpended, in any vital or medicinal action is vital power, that is, power fromwithin and not from without."

3 ) Body react i on t o a d rug changes w i th t ime t o the oppos i te . Whenever a drug is taken - what looks like relief it this: vitality being redirected(from the original problem) to deal with the new poisonous threat -- the drug.The body deals with the drug immediately, first-priority. This is the first effect,stimulation. The second effect is a state of weakness. E.g. alcohol appears tostrengthen for a while, but is soon followed by diminished function andweakness.

The Law of Dual Eff ects:"All agents which are taken into the body orwhich come in contact with it from without occasion a two-fold and contraryaction in time, the secondary or reactive action being the opposite of the activeor primary one."



4 ) To su rv i ve - des t roy o r adap t t o po ison You cannot steer the body's reactions - they are always automatic andinstinctive, with this single goal: self-preservation and survival. If a drug enters,the body can react in two ways - either throw out the toxin, or adapt itself byworking at a lower vitality level.

The Law of Vi ta l Accom m odat ion:The response of the vital organismto external stimuli is an instinctive one, based upon a self-preservative instinctwhich adapts or accommodates itself to whatever influence it cannot destroy orcontrol.

• ( 3 ) Theo r y deve lops : D i seases in s t ages

1930 's : From f lu to cancer Dr. Tilden's revolutionary writings in the 1930's explained the seven stages of disease and what happens when our energy level gets lower and lower. Note that asick person can move down the steps (get worse), or up (get better) - it is simplecause and effect, and we have power to reverse the trend. The following is by Victoria

Bidwell from The Health Seekers Yearbook ( 1989) :

THE SEVEN STA GES OF D I SEASE

STAGE ON E I S ENERVATI ON: Nerve Energy is so reduced or

exhausted that all normal bodily functions are greatly impaired,especially the elimination of endogenous and exogenous poisons.Stage One thus begins the progressive and chronic process of “Toxemia Toleration” that continues through all of the followingstages. The Toxic Sufferer does not feel his “normal self.” He feelseither stimulated or depressed by the poisonous overload.

STAGE TW O I S TOXEMI A: Nerve Energy is too low to eliminate metabolic wastesand ingested poisons. These toxic substances begin to saturate first the bloodstreamand lymphatic fluids and then the cells themselves. The Toxic Sufferer feelsinordinately tired, run-down, and “out of it.”

STAGE THREE I S I RRI TATI ON: Toxic build-up within the blood and lymph andtissues continues. The cells/tissues where build-up occurs are irritated by the toxicnature of the waste, resulting in a low-grade inflammation. The Toxic Sufferer canfeel exhausted, queasy, irritable, itchy, even irrational and hostile. During these first3 stages, if The Toxic Sufferer does consult a medical doctor about the reason forhis low energy and irritability, the doctor tells him: “There is nothing wrong withyou. These symptoms are ‘all in your head.’ You are perfectly healthy!” STAGE FOUR I S I NFLA MM ATI ON: The low-grade, chronic inflammation fromStage Three is leading to the death of cells. An area or organ where toxicants haveamassed next becomes fully inflamed. The Toxic Sufferer experiences actual pain,along with pathological symptoms at this point. With the appearance of these

symptoms, the medical doctor can finally give The Sufferer’s complaint a name.Traditionally, medical scientists have named many of the 20,000 distinctly different



diseases after the site where the toxins have accumulated and precipitated theirsymptoms. Once the set of symptoms is conveniently named, the doctor canmechanically prescribe the “antidote” from his Physician’s Desk Reference or fromhis memorized medical/ pharmaceutical repertoire. Standard medical doctors thuscommence drugging and treating at this stage. STAGE FI VE I S ULCERATI ON: Tissues are destroyed. The body ulcerates, formingan outlet for the poisonous build-up. The Toxic Sufferer experiences a multiplicationand worsening of symptoms while the pain intensifies. Standard medical doctorstypically continue drugging and often commence with surgery and other forms of more radical and questionable treatment at this stage. STAGE SI X I S I ND URATI ON: Induration is the result of long-standing, chronicinflammation with bouts of acute inflammation interspersed. The chronicinflammation causes an impairment or sluggishness of circulation: and becausesome cells succumb, they are replaced with scar tissue. This is the way we losegood, normal-functioning cells by chronic inflammation and death of cells. Toxinsmay or may not be encapsulated in a tumor, sac, wen, or polyp. The Toxic Sufferer

endures even more physical pain, which is intensified by the emotional distress of realizing that he is only getting worse, regardless of his earnest, obedient, evenheroic attempts to get well. Standard medical doctors continue with both druggingand surgery and all other kinds of modalities deemed appropriate, both conventionaland experimental. (“Induration” means “hardening” or “scarring” of tissues.) STAGE SEVEN I S I RREVERSI BLE D EGENERATI ON A ND / OR FUNGATI ON( CAN CER) : Cellular integrity is destroyed through their disorganization and/orcancerous proliferation. Tissues, organs, and whole systems lose their ability tofunction normally. Biochemical and morphological changes from the depositing of Endogenous and Exogenous Toxins bring about degenerations and death at thecellular level. The Toxic Sufferer is “a pathological mess”: he is on his deathbed.

Standard medical doctors declare at this stage: “There is no hope left. You have justso much longer to live. You need to make preparations accordingly.” Failure of vitalorgans eventually results in death.

• ( 4 ) Theo r y deve lops : Sys tem -bu i l d ing

Dr . Herber t She l ton - c lean ing and org an iz ing Dr. Herbert M. Shelton (1895-1984) was a brilliant man with unique abilities and

happened to be the right man for the right job - reviving Hygiene and creating acomplete hygienic system.

"It was my effort to revive a movement that had been allowed to all but die. .... The messageof Natural Hygiene is now heard around the world." Herbert Shelton

• CLEANUP: Dr. Shelton took the old hygienic writings and separated the real stuff from the therapies. He removed the junk, and made Hygiene intelligent. He cleanedup Hygiene, e.g. by removing hydropathic ideas.• ORGANIZATION: He organized the collected knowledge, while giving credit to the

hygienic masters.• SYSTEMATIZATION: He systematized Hygiene to create a system of pure basicprinciples, and lifted Natural Hygiene up to a higher stage.



Dr. Shelton was always on top of the latest research andcommented on it. He would just listen, listen - and when he spokehe was usually analytically correct.His decision to choose a vegan diet-concept and abandon Dr.Tilden's chopped raw meat may have been his largest mistakefrom today's perspective, but it was based on contemporaryscience.

He gave his whole life to the cause of cleaning up and re-creating Hygiene. He oftenworked almost all night on writing his books using his extensive library, writing themonthly magazine Hygienic Review , and during the day taking care of patients athis Health School together with Dr. Vetrano - in his lifetime doing the labor of manymen. He did a lot of writing, 40+ books, and gave many lectures - sometimes in anot too easy-to-digest style.Herbert Shelton had a great sense of humor and told lots of stories. He was sure of himself, had humility, and honored the old hygienic masters and those with moreknowledge.He was principled, with a very high accuracy rate and he was a fearless warrior forthe truth, jailed up to 30 times. He was not always diplomatic but could be a skilled

politician. (from Dr. Stanley Bass interview 2003)

Herbert M. Shelton"Herbert Shelton first became acquainted with the system at the tender age of 17 (1912).He started to probe into its past and single handedly exhumed the vast storehouse ofknowledge that lay neglected and unread. Beginning in 1919, he began sifting,selecting and testing what those who had gone before had left as a heritage.Shelton became increasingly determined that there must be a renaissance in naturalhygiene. His formal education in the health field was obtained at the International College of Drugless Physicians in Chicago which was founded by Bernarr Macfadden

in 1920. (The College despite its name, was more like that of Trall's, in its curriculumand principles, than any subsequent college.)In 1922, he graduated from the American School of Naturopathy and did post graduatework at the Peerless College of Chiropractic in Chicago. In order to obtain clinicalexperience, Shelton interned in various institutions before setting up practice forhimself. From 1925 to 1928 he was on the staff of Macfadden's Physical Culture magazine and was the health columnist for the New York Evening Graphic. His articleswere hard hitting and impressive in their message on health and disease; especially sowas the one on Rudolph Valentino and his untimely death brought on by medication. Year 1928The year 1928 was a landmark in the 20th century Natural Hygiene Movement, forthree reasons.• Dr. Shelton came co-founder and co-owner of How to Live Magazine , which laid thegroundwork for his Hygienic Review, a publication which came out eleven years laterand earned for itself recognition as the most informative journal on health and diseasefor the lay person.

• Secondly, he established an institution to care for the sick through physiologicalresting, or fasting, which provided a living laboratory of the physiology of healthrecovery.

• Lastly, Dr. Shelton published his first great work Human Life: Its Philosophy and Laws , which incorporated much of the teachings of the pioneers, and was theforerunner of a host of other volumes on correct living for the prevention of disease andthe recovering of health.

Dr. Shelton's Hygienic Review



It was fortunate that before Dr. Tilden's depth in 1940, which brought to an end hisHealth Review and Critique , that Dr. Shelton's Hygienic Review made its debut (Sept.1939), and thus left unbroken the continuity of magazines devoted to the Hygienic idealwhich have been published came into being in 1832.

Dr. Shelton's Hygienic Review was never able to pay for itself, yet it continued eachmonth without missing an issue, even during the difficult days of World War II whenhelp was scarce and paper rationed. Never did it double up on two months as didmany other publications.Dr. Shelton humorously relates how be managed to almost single handedly put out themagazine, while at the same time operate his institution in San Antonio, Texas. "Iwould make beds, sweep floors, serve meals, wash dishes. Often after getting throughwith the noon day dishes, I would hop into my car and give my printer a hand in gettingout the magazine." The Greatest Health Discovery, ANHS

"If our theory is true, that disease is vital action abnormally expressed, then to our minds itfollows, irresistibly, that such means as the organism needs and must have to keep itselfin health are the means, and the only means, which it needs and must have to restore lostground. What are these means? To settle this question, we have merely to provide asatisfactory answer to the question: what are Hygienic materials? By Hygienic agents,said Trall, the Hygienist means "things normal." Briefly, they are food, water, air, light,heat, activity, rest and sleep, cleanliness and wholesome emotional influences.Hygienic materials have nothing in common, in the body, with the "remedies" of thephysician. Throughout the whole realm of nature we find nothing provided for the repair ofinjury, except that which is consistent with the health of the body when uninjured.Look with us at the relations of life to which the sick are subjected. One may beconstitutionally feeble and it may be that he has been sick all his life. Yet physicians do tohim, steadily and persistently, what no argument could induce them to do for the plants in

their garden. Instead of caring for the sick as they would a valuable rose bush, nursinghim or her, watching over the patient, waiting upon him and giving the forces of life achance; instead of keeping things away that exhaust and providing things that nourish, allthe "dregs and scum of earth and sea" are employed in a vain effort to restore healthwithout any consideration being given to the causes of the disease. As the livingorganism, well or sick, is the same organism and as there is no radical change in itsstructures or its functions and no radical change in its elemental needs in the two states ofexistence, we need a system of care that is equally applicable to both the well and thesick." Herbert Shelton 1968

"Most people's prejudices against the Hygienic System arise out of the very simplicity ofits means and methods. So long have we been educated to belittle and deprecate the

simple health requirements of nature and to rely upon the mysterious andincomprehensible and to misunderstand the nature of disease and to grossly overrate thedanger of certain conditions, that we find ourselves entirely unable to appreciate theadequacy of the means employed in Hygienic practice to the accomplishment of the endssought.We are frequently asked: where are our experiments? Do we need experiments to provethat man cannot live without air? Are we called upon to prove that fresh air is better thanfoul? Must we show experimentally that rest and sleep are nature's processes ofrecuperation? Must we demonstrate the value of cleanliness? Are experiments neededtoday to convince us that violent emotions are ruinous? Have we so far forgotten thebenefits of exercise that we need them demonstrated to us in the laboratory? After all theexperiments that have been performed, that confirmed the experiences that processedand refined foods are inadequate to meet man's nutritive needs, do we need more

experiments to demonstrate this fact all over again? Can we not accept the very meansby which we live without having to have their value demonstrated in the laboratory?



The medical profession, through every means at its command, has long taught people topoison themselves with deadly drugs whenever they were ill. They have long, too long,taught the doctrine of casting out devils through Beelzebub. In the days of our ignorancethis may have been permissible. But now light has come into the world. A newdispensation has dawned.Evil must be overcome with good. Disease must be limited by supplying the conditions of

health, not by producing new diseases. The medical profession no longer serves anypossible end. The eyes of the people are being opened to the hard consequences ofmedicine's false philosophy and fatal practices. The profession, its philosophy and itspractices should pass and be forgotten." Herbert Shelton 1968

"Most people's prejudices against the Hygienic System arise out of the very simplicity of itsmeans and methods. ----- So long have we been educated to belittle and deprecate thesimple health requirements of nature and to rely upon the mysterious and incomprehensible,that we find ourselves entirely unable to appreciate the adequacy of Hygienic practice." H.

Shelton, 1968

Documents

Natural Hygiene History