Naturopathy & Vitalism

Written & Edited by: Dr. Andersen

The Roots of Naturopathic Medicine

The term “Naturopathy” was first coined in 1855 by Dr. John Scheel, a German Homeopath, who practiced the methods of Father Sebastian Kneipp’s Water Cure and Dr. Louis Kuhne’s dietary principles in New York. In 1901, Dr. Benedict Lust purchased the name and used it at the Kneipp convention in New York City to describe and give birth to the practice of modern Naturopathy. 

Naturopathic Medicine is a separate and distinct healing art that stands on the shoulders of over 2,000 years of experience & practice in the art of traditional medicine. It is founded on the timeless philosophy of Natural Law and principle of Vitalism. Natural Law states that all things in nature are ordered and intelligent, and that their action is towards equilibrium. This immutable, inviolate tenet can be enhanced or suppressed but never circumvented. Vitalism utilizes this fundamental truth by extending this posit to that inherent propensity within every living being to return to a state of balance, or homeostasis (ie. “equal standing”).

Vitalistic Naturopathy

Vitalistic Naturopaths view a patient’s symptoms as signs that the body is attempting to restore health, or return to that state of equilibrium. It was brought to the forefront of modern medicine by individuals like Kneipp, Kuhne, and Lust who were disheartened by the impotence of conventional Allopathic medicine in the face of serious, chronic disease. From its conception, Naturopathic Medicine has embraced all means of natural therapeutics to restore homeostasis in the body, mind, and spirit. These therapies include diet, exercise, and lifestyle guidance, as well as Herbal medicine, Homeopathy, Hydrotherapy, Electrotherapy, Physical therapy & manipulation, and Psychological & Spiritual counseling. Vitalistic naturopaths recognize four distinct bodies of every human being: The Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. To realize complete health and healing requires acknowledgement of these four dimensions of existence with corresponding therapies to address, balance, and allow for integration of every aspect in the individual’s experience.

Allopathic vs Naturopathic Doctors

Allopathy was first coined by Samual Hahnemann to describe the application of opposites as a means to cure, as opposed to Homeopathy which make use of the principle of like cures like. Allopathic Medicine (aka Conventional Medicine) views a patient’s symptoms as signs of a disease process. As such, it applies almost exclusively toxic therapies via drugs and surgery to suppress the dis-ease itself. Allopathy literally translates as “the treatment of disease through its opposite.” It is commonly found that this type of approach does change the symptom picture, but fails to address the underlying cause. In doing so, not only is further assault added to a system that was already struggling to find balance, it also drives the so called, “disease” deeper into the body by suppressing the body’s innate tendency toward resolution of the underlying imbalance. Then, when the disease resurfaces, the symptoms are labelled as “side effects” of their harmful therapies, and more poisonous medications are added to address that “dis-ease.” And so on, and so on, until the patient is inevitably diagnosed with a chronic, debilitating illness for which they claim there is no cure… and this is how healthcare became sick-care! The proof lies in the fact that chronic disease surpassed infectious disease as the number one cause of death worldwide in 2008 according to the United Nations (U.N.), while Allopathic treatments, including prescription drugs and procedures, are the number one leading cause of death in Europe and the United States, ahead of both heart disease and cancer, according to the Institute of Medicine (IM) and backed by the Cochrane Report.

True Natural Medicine

The word “Naturopathy” is sort of a misnomer in that its literal translation would be “the treatment of disease by natural means.” Vitalistic Naturopaths acknowledge disease only in so far as indicating evidence of an effort being made by the body to continue to live, or the inborn “will to survive.” This is the Vis Medicatrix Naturae, or “Healing Power of Nature”, our foremost guiding principle. If we ever use the term “disease”, we are simply referring to the one and only dis-ease, imbalance in the body, mind, and spirit, and the myriad ways it presents depending on one’s unique constitutional makeup and particular weakness in any given organ or tissue system. Naturopathic doctors and physicians do not aim to treat disease per se, instead, they address the underlying cause of dis-ease by setting the stage for the real therapist to act unobstruced. The natural medicine and therapies applied are not what healing in and of themselves, they simply create a space for Nature, the therapist, to do what it does best… Heal. Vitalistic Naturopathy would more appropriately be called “Physiotherapy”, which aims to integrate the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual healing capacities into a cohesive, organized whole to achieve balance (ie. homeostasis), whole-systems health, and overall well-being in body, mind, and spirit.