timeline
Lobelia Inflata, a plant commonly used by some early American naturopaths.Lobelia Inflata, a plant commonly used by some early American naturopaths.
Time 1830s
Title Naturopathy emerges
Event Naturopathy combines prevalent European treatments and a holistic, natural form of medicine formulated by Samuel Thomson, M.D. This practice is more formally established in 1892, when the term naturopathy is coined in Europe. Naturopathy is a system of therapy and treatment that uses natural remedies to stimulate the body’s natural healing abilities. These remedies focus on purity, sunlight and fresh air, and feature hydrotherapy, special diets and therapies such as massage. Rather than trying to attack specific diseases, natural healers focus on cleansing and strengthening the body.

At the time of this site's publication, virtually no studies on naturopathy's effectiveness as a complete system of medicine have been published.


Because of naturopathy’s holistic premise, the mind is considered key to good health and healing. Naturopaths believe that the mind can be used to promote and enhance the body’s natural ability to heal.

Naturopathy is based on the belief that the body is self-healing: the body will repair itself and recover from illness if it is in a healthy environment. Naturopaths have many remedies and recommendations for creating a healthy environment so the body can spontaneously heal itself.

Naturopaths believe the body is joined to a supernatural soul and a non-physical mind, and all three must be treated as a unit. This belief is rooted in mysticism and vitalism, a doctrine that claims all living things have an inner force or energy that gives them life.

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