The History of Natural Hygiene

REPRINT of 1954 edition. Natural Hygiene (NH) is an alternative medicine originating from the Nature Cure movement. It is a form of vitalism that considers self-healing the best and only cure for disease, and favors fasting as restorative and favors dietary and other lifestyle measures as preventative. It is generally against medical treatment, with the exception of surgery in certain situations, such as for broken bones and to "remove a deadly secondary cause." The movement originated with Isaac Jennings, who, after practicing traditional medicine for 20 years, began formulating his ideas about Natural Hygiene in 1822. Several other mostly later thinkers, including Sylvester Graham, influenced the movement or are considered important to it. The founder of Natural Hygiene, Herbert Shelton, became a major writer on the topic.