Naturopathic Medicine is over 125 years old. embraced all known means of natural therapeutics, including diet, herbs, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, exercise, and manipulative therapies, as well as psychological and spiritual counseling.
Naturopathic Medicine in North America can be traced back to Dr. Benedict Lust, who used the term “naturopathy” to describe the integrated practice of botanical medicine, homeopathic medicine, nutritional and lifestyle counseling, manipulative therapy, and acupuncture.Naturopathic Medicine enjoyed wide acceptance and growth for its first thirty years. During this period most systems of medicine, whether conventional or alternative, coexisted quite nicely. The period from 1930 to 1970 marked its legal and economic suppression. Part of the difficulties that the naturopathic profession faced was due to their struggles with conventional and chiropractic medicine.
Other factors that contributed included:
Socio-Economic Factors: The Civil War impoverished the nation and resulted in a shift away from hygiene as a major focus of health and ill-health. The Great Depression of the 1930s and World War II which subsequently followed resulted in further economic impact. It was during the second World War that antibiotics were introduced and the War is credited with the advancement of surgery. Despite the devastation of these events, there was a sense of a new future that would support longer, healthier and richer lives. This was something that many believed would come from drugs and surgery and from a government-run health care system, rather than the old tradition of each individual taking responsibility for their own health and living lifestyles that promoted well-being.
Flexner Report
Rise of Pharmaceutical Medicine: The first half of the twentieth century saw many advances in pharmaceuticals to replace the crude, poisonous, and often ineffective medicines that were previously used by conventional physicians. The development of penicillin and other antibiotics, diuretics, insulin, hormones, anti-inflammatory, and psychoactive drugs helped to bring about an expectation of quick and effective relief from a wide variety of ailments. While many of these drugs save lives and improve the quality of life, they were and are not without toxicity themselves. They often foster dependence on passive care and are often used to alleviate symptoms without addressing the underlying causes of disease.
The emphasis of scientific research and of health care became increasingly focused on technology and the use of pharmaceuticals. With the promise of miracle drugs, there became a decreased focus on self-responsibility and on the relationship that human beings had to their lifestyle and environment. There became a greater separation between the physician and the patient, and the patient to the cause of their disease.