Orthopathy (from the Greek ortho- right- + pathos suffering,) or Natural Hygiene (NH) is an alternative medical philosophy and practice originating from the Nature Cure movement. NH includes the idea of vitalism^{[citation needed]} and considers self-healing the only cure for disease: it favours fasting and other lifestyle measures as restorative, and dietary and other lifestyle measures as preventative.^[1][2] There is no evidence from systematic reviews of double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trials that supports self-healing as a method for treating severe conditions such as cancer, infectious diseases, and cardiovascular disease. Since the 1900s, hundreds of thousands of medical fasts have been supervised and recorded.^{[citation needed]} The suggestion that medical fasting can improve health and eliminate a variety of diseases is controversial.^{[citation needed]}

Orthopathy is against most mainstream and alternative medical treatment, with the exception of surgery in certain situations, such as for broken bones and to 'remove a deadly secondary cause.'^[2]

NH is not naturopathy: they differ by philosophical definition and practice.

Etymology [link]

Orthopathy is explained by Dr Herbert M Shelton as:

Disease action no less than health action, is right action; yet it occasions suffering because of adverse conditions that have been imposed upon the body. So, by the term Orthopathy we mean right suffering.^[3]

History [link]

The orthopathy movement originated with Dr Isaac Jennings, who, after practicing traditional medicine for 20 years in Derby, Connecticut, began formulating his ideas about it in 1822.^[4] Several other mostly later thinkers, including Sylvester Graham, likewise from Connecticut, influenced the movement or are considered important to it. Also, during the 1880s, Thomas Allinson developed his theory of medicine, which he called 'Hygienic Medicine.'

The founder of NH, Shelton, became a major writer on the topic, beginning with The Hygienic System: Orthopathy^[2] in 1939, bestowing a new name on the discipline.

Shelton distinguished the method of Nature Cure from other medical schools of thought of its time, including naturopathy, heliopathy (sun cure,) homeopathy, 'bio-chemic', and what Shelton called allopathy (mainstream medicine.) Shelton originally recommended an almost vegetarian diet, then later a vegetarian one, then later a vegan one, but there are people who follow Natural Hygiene ideas and disagree with him. The Nature Cure movement and Shelton cite evidence ignored or underutilized by mainstream physicians, the observation that sick animals will rest and fast except for water.^{[citation needed]}

Interest in NH was renewed in the 1980s following publication of Fit for Life and Living Health by Harvey and Marilyn Diamond.^[1]

Several NH associations currently exist, including the National Health Association, which was founded by Shelton as the American Natural Hygiene Society, which condones The International Association of Hygienic Physicians was founded in 1978. The International Natural Hygiene Society was founded in 2003.^[1] but does not adhere to Shelton's later ideas.

Practice [link]

NH emphasizes prevention over cure. NH practitioners recommend clean air, water, enough sleep, wholesome food, sunlight, exercise, and a healthy psychological life.^{[citation needed]} The recommendations for a diet low in fat and high in fiber are in line with modern nutritional practice.^[1] Natural Hygienists do not support the use of foreign influences in treatment, namely drugs, herbs, excessive sunlight as in heliopathy.^{[citation needed]} For most ailments, Natural Hygienists also recommend rest and fasting with water, which rely on the body's recuperative powers. This is known as vis medicatrix naturae, the healing power of nature. Any other treatment type is said to interfere, and symptoms such as inflammation and vomiting are considered a natural part of healing.^[2]

Consumption of 'incompatible' foods in one meal is said to lead to ill health, and consumption of 'compatible' foods is said to to maintain it: Shelton defined food combining and seven groups of food, sorted by function as: supplying energy (carbohydrates, fats, and proteins ;) needed to build the body (proteins, salts, and water ;) and regulating bodily processes (minerals, vitamins, and water.)^[1][5]

Shelton rejected the germ theory of disease and considered vaccines, and drugs, including tobacco, alcohol, coffee, tea, and chocolate, toxic.^[2] Sugar (and honey, syrup) and refined, i.e. white, flour are similarly considered toxic. So are most herbs and spices, whether used for flavouring or herbalism.

Critics of NH have stated it is dangerous for recommending prolonged fasting instead of medical drugs and internal organ surgery; Stephen Barrett of Quackwatch stated that 'its recommended avoidance of dairy products is an invitation to osteoporosis.'^[1] A 2009 study of bone density found the bone density of vegans was 94 percent that of omnivores, but deemed the difference clinically insignificant.^[6] Some vegan lifestyles may lead to osteoporosis; one not properly planned is merely vegan, not NH: The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada said in 2003 that properly planned vegan diets were nutritionally adequate for all stages of life, including pregnancy and lactation, and provided health benefits in the treatment and prevention of certain diseases.^[7] Calcium and vitamin D, which is what mainstream nutritionists suggest dairy products for, are currently recommended for the primary prevention of osteoporosis. The role of calcium in preventing and treating osteoporosis is unclear—some populations with extremely low calcium intake also have extremely low rates of bone fracture, and others with high rates of calcium intake through milk and milk products have higher rates of bone fracture. Other factors, such as protein, salt and vitamin D intake, exercise and exposure to sunlight, can all influence bone mineralization, making calcium intake one factor among many in the development of osteoporosis.^[8] Vegans are advised to use vitamin D supplements, though light-skinned people can obtain adequate amounts by spending 15–30 minutes in sunlight every few days. Dark-skinned people need significantly more sunlight to obtain the same amount of vitamin D, and sunlight exposure may be difficult in some parts of the world during winter, in which case supplements are recommended. Vegetarianism/veganism and the standard American diet are not defined in terms of sunlight or exercise, or to necessarily have healthy amounts of protein, salt, or vitamin D. A NH-based lifestyle, whether from Shelton's early, non-vegetarian, or later, vegetarian/vegan, ideas, is defined in such terms, or the lifestyle is merely unhealthy, not NH. Biochemist T. Colin Campbell suggested in The China Study (2005) that osteoporosis is linked to the consumption of animal protein because, unlike plant protein, animal protein increases the acidity of blood and tissues, which is then neutralized by calcium pulled from the bones. Cornell wrote that his China-Cornell-Oxford study of nutrition in the 1970s and 1980s found that, in rural China, "where the animal to plant ratio [for protein] was about 10 percent, the fracture rate is only one-fifth that of the U.S."^[9]

Hygienic physicians [link]

• Joel Fuhrman, MD
• Keki Sidhwa, ND, DO

Deceased people active in the National Health Association [link]

• H. Jay Dinshah
• Hilton Hotema
• Symon Gould

See also [link]

• Medicine
• Fasting

References [link]