Henry Lindlahr (March 1, 1862 – March 26, 1924) was the author of one of the cornerstone texts of American

naturopathic Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a form of alternative medicine. A wide array of practices branded as "natural", "non-invasive", or promoting "self-healing" are employed by its practitioners, who are known as naturopaths. Difficult ...

medicine, ''Nature Cure'', which includes topics about disease suppression versus elimination,

hydrotherapy Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy and also called water cure, is a branch of alternative medicine (particularly naturopathy), occupational therapy, and Physical therapy, physiotherapy, that involves the use of water for pain relief and ...

, and the importance of fresh air and sun bathing.

Career

Lindlahr was born March 1, 1862, in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (, ) was a German state that existed from 1701 to 1918.Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. Rev. ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1946. It played a signif ...

. He devoted himself to healing after being helped by Father

Sebastian Kneipp Sebastian Kneipp (; 17 May 1821 – 17 June 1897) was a German Catholic priest and one of the forefathers of the naturopathic movement. He is most commonly associated with the "Kneipp Cure" form of hydrotherapy (often called "Kneipp therapy" o ...

(1821–1897), in Europe. Lindlahr was also influenced by the ideas of

Bernarr Macfadden Bernarr Macfadden (born Bernard Adolphus McFadden, August 16, 1868 – October 12, 1955) was an American proponent of physical culture, a combination of bodybuilding with nutritional and health theories. He founded the long-running magazine pu ...

.Fishbein, Morris. (1932). ''Fads and Quackery in Healing: An Analysis of the Foibles of the Healing Cults''. New York: Covici Friede Publishers. pp. 118-119 He graduated from the National Medical University in Illinois,US. In 1902, he opened his practice in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In 1914, he founded the Lindlahr Sanitarium, in

Elmhurst, Illinois Elmhurst is a city in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage and Cook County, Illinois, Cook counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. It is a western suburb of Chicago. The population was 45,786 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History M ...

. Lindlahr and his institute were criticized by medical health experts for peddling

quackery Quackery, often synonymous with health fraud, is the promotion of fraudulent or Ignorance, ignorant medicine, medical practices. A quack is a "fraudulent or ignorant pretender to medical skill" or "a person who pretends, professionally or public ...

.Anonymous. (1922)
''The Propaganda for Reform''
'' JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association'' 79 (4): 1628. For example, Lindlahr was an advocate of " Iridiagnosis", a method alleged to diagnosis any disease by examining the eye alone. He also claimed that

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

was worthless against

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

and was the cause of cancer,

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

and insanity. Physician

Morris Fishbein Morris Fishbein (July 22, 1889 – September 27, 1976) was an American physician and editor of the ''Journal of the American Medical Association'' (''JAMA'') from 1924 to 1950. Ira Rutkow's ''Seeking the Cure: A History of Medicine in Americ ...

noted that "the methods of diagnosis used in the Lindlahr institution were preposterous, the methods of treatment varied and ridiculous." These included dubious treatments such as

chiropractic Chiropractic () is a form of alternative medicine concerned with the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of mechanical disorders of the musculoskeletal system, especially of the spine. It is based on several pseudoscientific ideas. Many c ...

homeopathy Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance that ...

osteopathy Osteopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine that emphasizes physical manipulation of the body's muscle tissue and bones. In most countries, practitioners of osteopathy are not medically trained and are referred to as osteo ...

and "strange" diets. He died in Chicago on March 26, 1924.

Publications

* reprint General Books LLC, 2009, *; reprint Kessinger Publishing, 2004, also published as: Nature Cure Cook Book and ABC of Natural Dietetics * Reprint Kessinger Publishing, 2004, * * reprint Kessinger Publishing, 2004,

References

External links

* *
"Nature Cure"
, ''Soil and Health Library'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindlahr, Henry 1862 births 1924 deaths American anti-vaccination activists Naturopaths Writers from Cologne Pseudoscientific diet advocates Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States