NATUROPATHY

History

The term naturopathy was coined before 1900, by John Scheel, and used by Benedict Lust. Lust had been schooled in hydrotherapy and other natural health practices in Germany by Father Sebastian Kneipp, who sent Lust to the United States to bring them Kneipp's methods. In 1905, Lust founded the American School of Naturopathy in New York, the first naturopathic college in the United States. Lust took great strides in promoting the profession, culminating in passage of licensing laws in several states prior to 1935, including Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Oregon, and Washington and the founding of several naturopathic colleges.

Naturopathic medicine went into decline, along with most other natural health professions, after the 1930s, with the discovery of penicillin and advent of synthetic drugs such as antibiotics and corticosteroids. In the post-war era, Lust's death, conflict between various schools of natural medicine (homeopathy, eclectics, physio-medicalism, herbalism, naturopathy, etc.), the rise of medical technology, and consolidation of political power in conventional medicine were all contributing factors. In 1910, when the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching published the Flexner Report which criticized many aspects of medical education in various institutions (natural and conventional), it was mostly seen as an attack on low-quality natural medicine education. It caused many such programs to shut down and contributed to the popularity of conventional medicine.

Naturopathic medicine never completely ceased to exist, however, as there were always a few states in which licensing laws existed—though at one point there were virtually no schools. One of the most visible steps towards the profession's modern renewal was the opening in 1956 of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. This was the first of the modern naturopathic medical schools offering four-year naturopathic medical training with the intention of integrating mainstream science and naturopathic principles and practice.

Naturopathy In India

Naturopathy has another stream that started in India in the 1900s. It was popularized by Mahatma Gandhi. He adopted and popularized this system because it was cheap and adaptable to the Indian soil. The system grew in popularity towards the close of 1900s, and today there are two streams of naturopaths in India. The first are graduates of All India Naturopathy Council and are awarded DNYS (Diploma in Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences) after 3 years of guided study and internship. The other are university graduates who are awarded BNYS (Bachelor of Naturopathy and Yogic Sciences). BNYS is a four and half year course with one year internship.BNYS course is offered by Government Gandhi Nature Cure College ,Hyderabad,India, affiliated to NTR University of Health Sciences.

Naturopathy is very popular in India, and there are numerous naturopathy hospitals in the country. There are also many doctors trained in the Western system of medicine who have acquired naturopathy degrees so as to integrate the insights gained into their system of practice.

The Indian stream of naturopathy differs from the Western stream in many ways, particularly in their emphasis of strict vegetarianism and yoga.