From INHS email discussion group (Jan 04):

1. What is Natural Hygiene? If I might add my five cents worth to this discussion. NH could well be defined as Life Sustainability. NH could also be defined as not treating the effect but the removal of cause. Anything which treats the effect and does not address the root cause is the practice of medicine. NH addresses all aspects of living,the environment and those factors in it which impinge upon our health and well being,similarly with our work and living places, manufacturing, economics, spirtuality, psychologically, politically etc., and not just fasting and feasting. John Fielder 1-9-04 > Good points, perhaps we should start by trying to figure out what NH is? i would say natural hygiene is the art and science of living healthfully to maintain body integrity. It incudes but is not limited to following and is all that we need as self directing humans to have highest quality of life: a biological agreeable dietary in digestive friendly combinations of chemicals, preservatives, additives and artificial ingredients. exercise/activity (should not be limited to just aerobic or just stretching or just weight lifting) pure air pure water (distilled is my favorite altho some people like ionized) internal/external cleanliness good sleep habits sufficient sunlight rest and relaxation stress management, emotional poise self discipline play/recreation non toxic environment creative useful work/hobbies/interests self awareness/mastery/intuition friendships/love/expression of natural instincts. having a dream/motivation/passion/vision meditation/prayer laughter avoidance of toxins and anything that interferes with the bodys reparative, purifying or other functions in addition to periodic efforts detoxify engaging in that which optimizes our physical, spiritual, emotional nerve energies Madelyn I remember one client Isabelle Moser had during for about ten years from mid-80s through mid-90s. This woman was obsessed with correct eating, cleansing and detoxification. She ate a perfect perfect traditional NH vegie diet, fasted, etc. But she was in an abusive relationship, was personally enormously out-ethics in her daily life with other family members, was constantly in a tizzy over the consequences of her latest non-ethical behaviour or the deeds done to her by her abusive spouse; naturally, everything in her life was going wrong, causing massive stress. Nothing much could be done for her because she refused to clean up her life. I think it might be a good idea to write up something like a constitution or mission statement that describes as broadly as possible what constitutes "hygienic" medicine. 1. If I were writing such I'd say that hygiene focuses on the self-healing ability of the body, views disease as a lowering of that ability, views restoration of health as increasing that ability whilst simultaneously reducing the dietary and lifestyle impediments to that ability. 2. Lost healing power is caused by these treatable factors: lowered nutritional content in the food being eaten; lowered ability to assimilate nutrition due to its indigestibility (wrong foodstuffs); toxaemia and resultant organic damage from toxaemia, which can also cause reduced digestive capacity and thus further reduce overall nutritional intake. 3. The main healing modalities of a hygienist are dietary reform often initiated by temporary severe dietary reduction to accomplish organic healing and detoxification, to the extent of extended fasting on water or very restricted low-calorie dietaries (juice, mineral broth, "Bieler" broth) that induce considerable weight loss, often accompanied by physiological bedrest in the case of severe disease conditions. 4. But we should not eliminate or condemn the use of secondary treatments that increase vital force, such as the use of food supplements, protomorphogens, herbal remedies, homeopathic, chiropractic adjustment, exercises, etc., so long as THESE ARE CONSIDERED SECONDARY to dietary reform and detoxification. Steve BACK