Medical doctors pioneered the development of the philosophy of Natural Hygiene in the 19th century. None of these men sought to cure disease; instead, each of them recognized that over-feeding, over-bathing, over-sunning, over-exercising, and aggravating patients in any way overtaxed and retarded them or prevented recovery. These pioneers abandoned all efforts to cure disease and employed complete rest and subsequent lifestyle changes in most conditions.

THE PIONEERS

1817: Rev. William Metcalfe, along with around 39 members of the Bible Christian Church, embarked on a journey to the United States from England. They traveled by ship from Liverpool to the United States, and the journey lasted 11 weeks. Upon arrival, they established the Philadelphia Bible Christian Church. It was the first vegetarian church, becoming a foundational force in the emergence of the American vegetarian movement.

1822: Isaac Jennings, M.D., started the beginning of health care based on physiology, or natural hygiene (as it was later known).

1829: Sylvester Graham invented the Graham cracker. It was a dull, unsifted flour biscuit. Graham influenced other Americans, including John Harvey Kellogg, founder of the Battle Creek Sanitarium.

1830: the crusade for “health and physiological reform” of the people was launched in 1830 by Sylvester Graham through his lectures and writings. He became a champion of Natural Hygiene and living reform. He boldly asserted that right living is a more specific means to health than a resort to physicians and drugs. He attracted large audiences and soon had a significant following.

In the 1830s-1840s, Graham Temperance Houses were established and often operated as small hotels in New York City (3), Boston (2), and Rochester (1). The focus was on a scientific system following Graham’s principles, such as consuming a vegetarian diet, daily cold showers, and sleeping on straw mattresses rather than feather beds. Meals consisted of no more than three items and were to be eaten six hours apart at precisely the same time every day.

1836: Dr. William Alcott published The Young Mother or Management of Children in Regard to Health. This publication provides a comprehensive guide for young mothers on managing their children’s health. The book became a classic in the field of child-rearing. The book covers a wide range of topics related to child health, including nutrition, exercise, hygiene, and disease prevention.

1837: Sylvester Graham and Cambell founded The Graham Journal of Health and Longevity. It was “designed to illustrate by facts and sustain by reason and principles the science of human life as taught by Sylvester Graham.

1837: Dr. William Alcott and Sylvester Graham cofounded the American Physiological Society (APS). The APS shared similar goals with Grahamism but emphasized scientific knowledge and members’ collective work rather than one leader. The APS was established to teach physiology and anatomy, focusing on a vegetarian diet. The formation of the APS was a milestone for the vegetarian movement. Not attached to a religion, as was the Bible-Christians, the APS was likely the first exclusively vegetarian organization and was the first natural hygiene organization in the nation. The Society held its first meeting on March 7 in Boston, naming Alcott as the first president, David Campbell as the secretary, and Nathaniel Perry as treasurer. John Benson served as vice president. The APS hired Mary Gove Nichols to present lectures to women. The society lasted just three years.

1838: Dr. William Alcott published The Home Book of Health and Medicine. This book covers practical use: embracing laws of digestion, breathing, ventilation, uses of the lungs, circulation, and renovation, laws and diseases of the skin, bathing, how to prevent consumption, clothing and temperature, food and cooking, poisons, exercise and rest, the proper use of physicians.

1838: Dr. William Alcott published his best-known book Vegetable Diet: As Sanctioned by Medical Men, and by Experience in All Ages Including a System of Vegetable Cookery.  One of the first books to advocate a vegetarian diet (many vegan recipes included) was sanctioned by the first vegetarian organization, the American Vegetarian Society. 

1839: Dr. William Alcott published Dosing and Drugging, or Destroying by Inches. This book begins by discussing the definition of dosing, which is the administration of medicine in portions or doses, and that drugging is the custom of tincturing with drugs, things which, in themselves, are not necessarily medicinal. He wanted to share in this book several cases that resulted from indiscriminate everyday dosing and drugging. 

1839: Dr. William Alcott published How to Prevent Consumption. Dr. Alcott shares about consumption and breaks it down into chapters discussing fatalities, means of prevention, the health of parents and children, and case studies. He also includes the importance of fresh air, proper food and drink, physical and moral purity, proper dress, cleanliness, exercise, ventilation, avoiding medication, and the health of the mind.

1839: Dr. William Alcott published Tea and Coffee. This book explores the impact of tea and coffee on the human body, mind, and spirit and raises questions about their potentially harmful effects. 

1840: The Moral Reformer and The Graham Journal of Health and Longevity merged in the Library of Health Journal, and Dr. William Alcott became the editor.

1840: Rev. William Metcalfe gave a Bible testimony and published The Abstinence from the Flesh of Animals as Food in an address delivered in the Bible-Christian Church on the eighth of June 1840 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He focused on scriptural support and documentation of the vegetarian diet. This is said to be the first book on vegetarianism published in the United States and the earliest English-language document seen that uses the term “animal flesh” to refer to meat.

1842: Dr. William Alcott published The Mother’s Medical Guide in Children’s Diseases. The book is an organized, alphabetical catalog of 80 childhood disorders. Alcott describes the symptoms and causes of each. However, his primary purpose was to discourage active medical intervention and encourage hygienic measures in managing disease and its prevention.

1844: The Water Cure Institution in New York began, founded by Dr. Russell Thacker Trall. It was the first to begin in the United States. From this point in time, Dr. Trall did not administer a grain of drug-medicine or alcoholic stimulation of any kind. His institute was a cross between an urban health farm and a boarding house. It offered plain vegetarian meals, hydrotherapy treatments, a gymnasium, public rooms, and, starting in the 1860s, a health food shop selling whole grains, cereals, Graham bread (Trall was a friend of Sylvester Graham), and his books on food reform, hygiene, sex, and physiology. 

1845: Dr. Thomas Nichols began the Water-Cure Journal and Herald of Reforms with his wife Mary Gove Nichols. These journals were devoted to physiology, hydropathy, and the Laws of Life and included articles about individual and social health, education, hydrotherapy, dress reform, and women’s rights. The journal continued after 1855 as the Hygienic Teacher and Water-Cure Journal.

1845: Mary Gove Nichols founded her “water-cure” clinic in New York.

1846: A Women’s Physiological Society was formed, and lectures were given to women, often separate lectures for married and unmarried women. Mary Gove Nichol’s lectures were a great success and continued for several years, even after the Physiological Society ceased to exist. These lectures were later published in book form, Lectures to Ladies on Anatomy and Physiology. 

1847: Dr. Isaac Jennings wrote his book Medical Reform: a Treatise on Man’s Physical Being and Disorders: Embracing an Outline of a Theory of Human Life, and a Theory of Disease, its Nature, Cause, and Remedy. In this book of 392 pages, Dr. Jennings gives his views on medical reform. He starts with a general outline of Human Life followed by a discussion of his Laws of Life (Law of Action, repose, economy, distribution, economy, accommodation, stimulation, limitation, equilibrium). He next defines what disease is, analyzes various diseases, and discusses their cause and treatment. He highlights the use of alcohol, tea, coffee, tobacco, animal, food, butter, and cheese, etc. He sees these points from experience and observations with reflections and remarks.

1847: The Vegetarian Society of Great Britain was founded, of which Mr. James Simpson had been elected the first president.

1849: Mary Gove Nichols published Experience in Water-Cure: A Familiar Exposition of the Principles and Results of Water Treatment in the Cure of Acute and Chronic Diseases. This book illustrated numerous cases in the author’s practice, explaining water-cure processes, diet advice, and a daily regimen. Particular focus was on educating women in the treatment of female diseases, water treatment in childbirth, and the diseases of infancy. 

1849: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall, Joel Shew, and Samuel R. Wells founded the American Hydropathic Society.

1850: The American Hyropathic Society becomes the American Hygienic and Hydropathic Association of Physicians and Surgeons.

1850: Mary Gove Nichols was a leading contributor to the Water-Cure Journal and was a prolific writer. 

1850: Dr. William Alcott, Rev. Dr. William Metcalfe (pastor of the Bible-Christian Church, founded 1817 in Philadelphia), Dr. Russell Thacker Trall, and Rev. Sylvester Graham united to create the American Vegetarian Society (AVS). Following the founding convention in New York City, the society’s first official meeting occurred in Philadelphia’s Bible-Christian Church on September 4, 1850. The first meeting would also elect Dr. William Alcott as the AVS president, a title he held until he died in 1859. Metcalfe and Graham were elected vice presidents, and Trall was the recording secretary. The society promoted vegetarian precepts (intertwined with women’s suffrage and the abolition of slavery) across the nation. By the time of the Civil War, the group’s membership and influence waned, partially because the fight for abolition had turned to military violence. 

1851: A year after the American Vegetarian Society‘s founding, the American Vegetarian and Health Journal (1851-1854) became the organization’s national publication, with Dr. William Alcott as editor. During its production, the journal helped to inform vegetarians across the nation of different developments within the movement, advocated vegetarianism as the most natural diet, and connected this movement with others directed at social reforms. The publication also included columns that provided advice and tips on topics such as preparing animal-free meals.

1851: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Hydropathic Encyclopedia: A System of Hydropathy and Hygiene; In Eight Parts. It was designed as a guide for families and students and a textbook for physicians.

1852: Mary Gove Nichols published Experience in Water-Cure: a Familiar Exposition of the Principles and Results of Water Treatment in Acute and Chronic Diseases. This book illustrated numerous cases from the author’s practice, explaining water-cure processes, giving advice on diet and regimen, treating female diseases, water treatment in childbirth, and treating diseases of infancy. 

1852: Harriet N. Austin graduated from Russell Trall’s New York Hydropathic and Physiological College. She was one of the first female physicians in America to graduate from this school. She worked as a physician with Dr. James Caleb Jackson, who ran Glen Haven, to manage the treatment of female patients. They worked together and wrote a magazine, The Laws of Life and Journal of Health.

1852: Dr. James Caleb Jackson published Hints on the Reproductive Organs: Their Diseases, Causes, and Cure on Hydropathic Principles. In this book, Jackson begins with the doctor’s role. He reviews qualifications, issues of medicine, and medicinal abuses. He discusses men and women and their diseases, treatment, and the five principal causes. Jackson believes in the impact of man’s vices and discusses the effects on the body and relationships within the family.

1853: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall founded the New York Hydropathic and Physiological School, which became the New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College in 1857. Dr. Trall taught that mainstream medicine required a revolution–a vision of health as an active state to be positively achieved by methods learned from nature. It conferred the degree of M.D. 

1853: Dr. Thomas Nichols and Mary Gove Nichols began the Water Cure Journal and Harold of Reforms. This publication was devoted to physiology, hydropathy, and the Laws of Life and included articles about individual and social health, education, hydrotherapy, and women’s rights. It also included articles about the water cure, hygiene, dietetics, and dress reform. The journal continued on after 1855 as the Hygienic Teacher and Water-Cure Journal.

1853: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published the book Sexual Diseases: Their Causes, Prevention, and Cure on Physiological Principles. This was written as a practical treatise on the nature and causes of excessive and unnatural sexual indulgences, the diseases and injuries resulting therefrom. He discussed their symptoms and hydropathic management.

1853: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The New Hydropathic Cook-Book, which contained recipes for cooking using hygienic principles. 

1853: Dr. William Alcott published Lectures on Life and Health, or The Laws and Means of Physical Culture. This book is divided into chapters covering various aspects of health, including hygiene, diet, exercise, sleep, and mental health. The author emphasizes the importance of a healthy lifestyle and provides practical advice. He also discusses the effects of various diseases on the body and suggests how to prevent them. 

1853: Dr. William Alcott published The Physical and Moral Effects of Using Tobacco. Dr. Alcott shares the filthiness of tobacco, its poisonous or medical character, and its wastefulness.

1854: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Uterine Diseases and Displacements: a Practical Treatise on the Uterus and its Pppendages’ Various Diseases, Malpositions, and Structural Derangements. Written as a practical treatise on the various diseases, malpositions, and structural derangements of the uterus and its appendages. In this text, Trall covers remedies for female diseases.

1855: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Tobacco: its History, Nature, and Effects, with Facts and Figures for Tobacco Users. In this book, Dr. Troll discusses tobacco’s history and how it was initially opposed, then tolerated, then embraced, and finally eulogized.

1856: Dr. James Caleb Jackson founded the National Dress Reform Association (NDRA) in February. The association attracted members from almost every state, many of whom supported hydropathy and women’s clothing reform for health reasons. However, the organization didn’t meet regularly during the Civil War and never continued after the war ended.

1856: Dr. William Alcott published The Home Book of Life and Health, or the Laws and Means of Physical Culture, Adapted to Practical Use. This book was adopted for practical use, embracing the laws of digestion, breathing, ventilation, uses of the lungs, circulation and renovation, laws and diseases of the skin, bathing, how to prevent consumption, clothing and temperature, food and cooking, poisons, exercise, and rest, and the correct use of physicians.

1857: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Illustrated Family Gymnasium. The book aims to share facts concerning exercise and give the best practical application to developing bodily powers and functions, curing chronic disease, and addressing weaknesses and constitutional defects and deformities. 

1858: Dr. Harriet N Austin and Dr. James C. Jackson opened Our Home on the Hillside, which would become the largest hydrotherapy institution in the country, caring for over 20,000 patients.

1859: Dr. William Alcott published Forty Years in the Wilderness of Pills and Powders; or The Cogitations and Confessions of an Aged Physician. Alcott recounts his early interest in health and healing, his medical training, the practice of medicine in rural Connecticut, and observations on existing therapeutics’ limitations and apparent dangers. It is indeed a confession of the inadequacy of regular medicine. The book’s message can be summarized in one line, “the best preventative of disease is good health.” Incidents derived from his medical practice provide the foundation for revealing the general ignorance of the medical profession, the dangers of medicines arbitrarily administered, his gradual realization of the healing powers of nature, and the hygienic principles by which disease may be averted altogether. 

1859: The Vegetarian Society faced a great loss with the passing of President Dr. William Alcott. However, the society found a worthy successor in Rev. William Metcalfe – a dedicated individual who spent thirty-one years tirelessly promoting and practicing Vegetarianism.

1861: The Civil War erupted.

1861: Dr. Harriet N. Austin wrote the book Baths and How to Take Them. In this publication, Dr. Austin describes how baths are used as treatment, the patient’s needs, and various forms of bathing treatments.

1861: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Nervous Debility: the Nature, Causes, Consequences, and Hygienic Treatment of Invalids Suffering from Prematurely Exhausted Vitality. He discusses the nature, causes, consequences, and hygienic treatment of invalids suffering from prematurely exhausted vitality.

1862: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Pathology of the Reproductive Organs: Embracing All Forms of Sexual Disorders. Dr. Trall explains the hygienic principles of bathing, hydration, food, exercise, light, clothing, sleep, bedding, and cleanliness in this scholarly text.

1862: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Diphtheria. Dr. Trall shares, “The increasing prevalence of the malady known as diphtheria in various parts of the United States, the disastrous results of drug medication, and the superior safety and efficacy of the Hygienic or Hygeio-Therapeutic method of treatment supply the motive for presenting the public with a monograph on the subject.” 

1862: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall delivered a landmark lecture at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. before the most distinguished medical minds of the United States entitled “The True Healing Art, or Hygiene vs. Medication.” The lecture was widely published and circulated among the populace, and the health reform movement in America reached its height. Ironically, in 1861, with the onset of the Civil War, national attention focused on survival, and health reform ended.

1862: Dr. James C. Jackson wrote Consumption: How to Prevent It, and How to Cure It. In this book, he reviews two kinds of consumption: tubercular or pulmonary and bowel consumption. He writes about hereditary issues that grew out of habits of living. These were causes that were not congenital but induced after birth.

1862: Dr. James C. Jackson also wrote The Sexual Organism and its Healthful Management. Jackson starts with the basics of pregnancy, nursing, and weaning. He dives into the care of children through teenagers. He focuses on medications, drugging, sexual diseases, and treatment. Jackson pays special attention to women and writes about puberty, menstruation, the uterus, sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and abortion. 

1863: Dr. James C. Jackson wrote Dancing: Its Evils and Its Benefits, which discusses the issues of women’s clothing of the day. Dancing, which is a vigorous exercise, can not naturally maintain the blood circulation cannot be naturally maintained. Additionally, most dances are held in poorly ventilated places, causing the air in the room to be unhealthy. He counteracts his argument, favoring the idea that everyone is entitled to innocent amusement. 

1863: Dr. James C. Jackson created the first breakfast cereal and named it Granula. He believed that the digestive system was the basis of illness and began experimenting with cold cereal as a treatment. It was made of bran-rich graham flour made into chunks. Chewing was so tough that it had to be soaked overnight before eating.

1864: Susanna Dodds graduated from Dr. Russell Thacker Trall‘s New York Hygeio-Therapeutic College and became the fourth woman in America to become a medical physician. 

1864: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The True Temperance Platform, or An Exposition of the Fallacy of alcoholic medication: being the substance of addresses delivered in the Queen’s Concert Rooms, Hanover Square, and in Exeter Hall, London. The question is asked, “Is alcohol useful as a medicine?” He shares that medical men tell us that alcohol is a “caustic and irritant poison” and also a “supporter of vitality”; that it “inflames the blood and exhausts the nerves” and yet “imparts energy to the living fiber.” They say it “hardens the brain and decomposes the membranes” and is “respiratory food.” These fallacies are discussed through case studies.

1865: The Civil War ended on April 9.

1865: The book The Philosophy of Drunkenness and its Cure was written by Dr. James C. Jackson. He writes that the moderate use of alcohol runs into a moderate use by stages. As the stages become worse, he eventually loses self-control. Jackson believed the best way to cure a drunkard was to see that he never became one. The best way to do this is to keep him from having an appetite or desire or feeling of the need for stimulants.

1865: Dr. James C. Jackson was allowed the use of tobacco as a youth, and it made him very ill. He notes in his book Tobacco and Its Effect upon the Health and Character of Those Who Use It that within the last 25 years, the use of tobacco has increased by 33%. He shares that tobacco should be classed as one of the most potent poisons known to humankind. He shares that he’s had the opportunity to study the effect of tobacco on over 2000 people at the Institute.

1866: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Alcoholic Medication. This paper was prepared to submit to the national temperance conference held at Saratoga Springs on August 1, 1865. It intended to cover the ground of the scientific argument concerning alcoholic medication.

1867: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall edited The Water-Cure journal, which was later renamed The Herald of Health.

1867: Dr. Isaac Jennings wrote the book The Tree of Life: or Human Degeneracy, its Nature and Remedy: Based on the Elevating Principle of Orthopathy. In this 300-page book, Jennings shares his approach to life’s problems. He begins with man’s spiritual degeneracy, nature, and remedy. Next, he shifts his focus to physiology, the organic laws of life, and disease. He shares the symptoms, general causation, and treatment protocols for specific diseases.

1868: As humans are frequently sick, it becomes essential that we know how to be treated when ill. To this end, Dr. James C. Jackson wrote How to Nurse the Sick. He believed that one should make the sick as comfortable as possible. Move them into a spacious, well-lit (sunlight), and ventilated space. It should be a warm place with as little noise as possible, keeping visitors away. Bed clothing and sheets should be kept clean and dry.

1869: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The New Hydropathic Cook-Book, with recipes for cooking on hygienic principles.

1870: In this book, The Gluttony Plague, or How Persons Kill Themselves by Eating, Dr. James C. Jackson jumps right in and discusses bad dietetics. He then defines gluttony as eating unhealthy food, overeating, and/or eating at improper times. He discusses a simple diet, keeping it as close to nature as possible, and shares tips on food preparation. The last part focuses on the bodily effects of gluttony and how it destroys the strength of the body. Jackson believed that gluttony led to and created a desire for alcohol, tobacco, and narcotic drugs, resulting in a variety of adverse health problems and behaviors.

1870: Dr. James C. Jackson defines piles and shares that this disease begins with issues in the stomach or liver. In his book Piles and Their Treatment, he discusses the impact of poisonous medications, sedentary habits, and poor-quality food on the digestive tract in several cases. 

1872: Dr. Thomas Nichols wrote the Human Physiology, the Basis of Sanitary and Social Science. In this book, Dr. Nichols defines the views as to the cause of disease among the Hygienists. He points out that some regarded disease as the result of a diminution of the nervous power or vital force (Dr. Isaac Jennings and Mary Gove-Nichols), while another group held that the blood is life and the impurity in the blood is the cause of all disease action (Dr. Russell Thacker Trall). Nichols himself, anticipating Dr. John H. Tilden by several years, and adds: “But good blood cannot be formed without sufficient vital or nervous power, and good blood is necessary to the healthy action of the brain and nervous system. 

1872: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The True Healing Art: Or, Hygienic vs. Drug Medication.

He delivered a landmark lecture at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. before the most distinguished medical minds in the United States. The lecture was widely published and circulated among the populace, and the health reform movement in America reached its height. Ironically, in 1861, with the onset of the Civil War, national attention focused on survival, and health reform ended. 

1872: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall Published An Essay on Tobacco-using; Being a philosophical exposition of the effects of tobacco on the human system. 

1872: Dr. Harriet Austin created and edited The Journal Laws of Life and Woman’s Health Journal. It included articles by Dr. James C. Jackson discussing the water cure, hygiene, dietetics, and general health topics. 

1872: Dr. James C. Jackson’s book, The Training of Children, describes the child’s developmental stages, nutrition, sleep, prevention of ailments, education, puberty, character development, and marriage. It also covers pregnancy, labor, and infant care.

1873: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Health and Diseases of Woman. Dr. Trall discusses women and the medical profession in this book. He talks about the responsibility of motherhood and women’s disadvantages. He goes into the origin of many infirmities, respiration, dress, sexual function, puberty, and the use of allopathic drugs during pregnancy or chronic disease. He discusses that there is a better way to heal

1873: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Hygienic Hand-Book. It was intended as a practical guide for the sick room, arranged alphabetically, with an appendix illustrative of the hygeio-therapeutic movements. He discusses bathing processes, types, duration, crisis, temperature, hydration, food and dietetic rules, exercise, ventilation, light, clothing, sleep, bedding, and cleanliness. 

1873: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Diseases of the Throat and Lungs. Dr. Trall discusses consumption and its forms and general affections of the throat and lungs. He reviews where it can be found in the US, the causes, and who would be most liable. He goes into the stages of consumption, the prognosis, and treatment. He details clothing, diet, drink, bathing, and throat aid. He also discussed his croup, diphtheria, influenza, and pneumonia.

1874: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Hygeian Home Cook-Book, America’s first known vegan cookbook.

1874: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Digestion and Dyspepsia: a Complete Explanation of the Physiology of the Digestive Processes. 

1874: Mary Gove Nichols summarized what she had learned throughout her career in her book A Woman’s Work in Water Cure and Sanitary Education to continue to educate and help other women.

1874: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Mother’s Hygienic Hand-Book for the Normal Development and Training of Women and Children, and the Treatment of their Diseases with Hygienic Agencies. This was written as a text for developing and training women and their families on treating their diseases with hygienic agencies. 

1874: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Hygeian Home Cook-Book; or Healthful and Palatable Food without Condiments. Trall founded the New York Hydropathic and Physiological School in 1854, and his New Hydropathic Cook Book was one of the first to subscribe to the school’s advocacy of the water cure, using baths and drinking pure water to combat disease and maintain health. The diet proposed in the cookbook consists almost entirely of fruits, grains, and vegetables.

1875: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Popular Physiology: a Familiar Exposition of the Structures, Functions, and Relations of the Human System and their Application to the Preservation of Health. This volume’s objective, partly a compilation from the author’s larger works, is to present anatomical descriptions, illustrations, and a more complete explanation and application of Physiology and Hygiene to the purposes of practical life. It is intended to be specially adapted to the wants of families and schools. Over 16 chapters, Dr. Trall covers man’s place in nature, races of men, temperament, bodily positions, the body, framework, the ligaments, the muscles, digestion, absorption, respiration, circulation, secretion, and excretion, senses, the nervous system, anatomy, and hygiene.

1875: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Sexual Physiology: a Scientific and Popular Exposition of the Fundamental Problems in Sociology. This work aims to discuss the anatomical and physiological problems, rigidly scientific, up to the hour of going to press in 1875. Over 16 chapters, Dr. Trall discusses the male and female organs of generation, the origin of life, sexual generation, the physiology of menstruation, impregnation, pregnancy, embryology, parturition, lactation, the law of sex, regulation of the number of offspring, the theory of population, the law of sexual intercourse, hereditary transmission, and the philosophy of marriage.

1875: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Human Voice: Its Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, Therapeutics, and Training. This work presents the facts and principles applicable to the culture and uses of the Human Voice. It furnishes Lyceums and Debate Clubs with a concise Code of Rules and Usages for regulating their proceedings.

1875: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published The Household Manual of Domestic Hygiene, Foods and Drinks, Common Diseases, Accidents. This publication deals with subjects considered to be useful to every household. The aim has been to make the work practical in character and to condense the information. The suggestions and hints given under Domestic Hygiene, if applied, will negate many of the ills and suffering within domestic life. 

1877: An article titled The Climatic Influence of Vegetation — A Plea for Our Forests was written for the Popular Science Monthly by Dr. Felix Oswald. This 5-page article discusses rivers that have shrunk, decreased annual rainfall, and failed crops, all due to the destruction of the forests. He shares that a country destitute of trees is avoided by birds and left to the ravages of locusts and other insects. To restore a forest is slow and laborious. He proposes legislation to protect the woods.

1878: Dr. Susanna Dodds and Dr. Mary Dodds opened a sanitarium, the Dodds’ Hygeian Home. In their practice, they used only hygienic or natural methods of treatment: diet, exercise, massage, and hydrotherapy in all their manifold applications, and had phenomenal success in the curing of both acute and chronic patients. Except in cases for relieving pain, as in the last stages of cancer or other incurable diseases, no drugs were ever used. Though diseases of women and digestive disorders were their specialties, they also treated all other diseases. 

1879: Dr. Charles E. Page wrote The Successful Treatment of Typhoid Fever, discussing the current allopathic treatment for typhus and comparing it to his water-only protocol. He shared that he tested on various fevers (typhoid, Scarlet, and rheumatic fever) and has always seen incredible results. He found that withdrawing food, drugs, and stimulants and substituting fresh, soft water produced results that seemed miraculous.

1881: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Uterine Diseases and Displacements: a Practical Treatise on the Various Diseases, Malpositions, and Structural Derangements of the Uterus and its Appendages. 

1882: Dr. Felix Oswald published Physical Education or The Health Laws of Nature. This 276-page book covers diet (vegetable diet), indoor and outdoor life, gymnastics, clothing, sleep, recreation, remedial education, hygienic precautions, and popular fallacies.

1882: Having raised quite a few children, Dr. Charles Page went on to write How to Feed the Baby (A Nursery Guide). He shares the statistics that nearly one out of three deaths were infants under the age of one year. His objective was to educate parents through the many aspects of the care and feeding of a baby, the process of weaning, and a discussion of case studies from birth. Also included were descriptions of health hints, preparation of the home environment, and possible problems and treatments (e.g., constipation, continuous crying, etc.).

1883: In his book, The Natural Cure of Consumption, Constipation, Bright’s disease, Neuralgia, Rheumatism, “Colds” (fevers), Dr. Charles Page discusses how to treat consumption, Bright disease, croup, diphtheria, insomnia, rheumatism, and biliousness holistically. He discusses the flesh-food fallacy using fresh air, air baths, and saline solution. Moving on to food, he discusses using the entire grain of flour, fruit, a one-meal system, coffee, and a natural diet.

1883: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Water-Cure for the Millions – The processes of water-cure explained: widespread errors exposed; hygienic and drug medication contrasted; rules for bathing, dieting, exercising, etc.; recipes for cooking; directions for home treatment.

1883: The publication Remedies of Nature for Dyspepsia was written for the Popular Science Monthly by Dr. Felix Oswald. This article discusses how the human body is a self-regulating apparatus. That the automatic agencies of the organism generally suffice to counteract the disturbing cause. Drugs can rarely do more than change the form of the disease or postpone its crisis. Alcohol kills thousands each year. He shares how open windows and being out in nature is an amazing remedy. He includes keeping windows open to allow fresh air to come in. Diet should be nutritious but not stimulating. The first full meal should be taken after morning exercise.

1884: Dr. Susanna Dodds published The Diet Question, which covers the many aspects of a hygienic diet. Part one goes into the reason why: health in the household, food, and physical development. It also deep-dives into the food groups (fruits, vegetables, bread, meats, milk, butter, eggs, salt, sugar, tea, coffee, alcohol, condiments, abstaining from drinking at meals, etc.), dietician rules, and cooking tips. 

1885: Dr. James C. Jackson discussed in his publication, “The Curse,” lifted, or Maternity Made Easy, the woman’s condition before, during, and after the birth of her child. He reviews working during pregnancy, diet, dress, open air, sleep, and water use.

1886: The book Household Remedies for the Prevalent Disorders of the Human Organism was published. As the title suggests, this 229-page book focuses on health issues mankind deals with. Dr. Felix Oswald discusses consumption, dyspepsia, climatic fevers, asthma, alcohol and enteric disorders, nervous maladies, Catarrh, pleurisy, croup, and other miscellaneous remedies.

1887: St. Louis Hygienic College of Physicians and Surgeons was founded. 

Dr. Susanna Dodds was its dean as well as on the faculty. In addition to Hygiene, the college taught obstetrics and surgery. The courses of study include the branches of knowledge usually taught in medical colleges, together with Sanitary Engineering and Physical Culture. It also taught sufficient theory and practice of allopathic medicine to enable its graduates to pass the medical board examinations. 

1887: After his beloved wife Mary Gove Nichol, died, Dr. Thomas Nichols summarized what he learned throughout his life and published Nichol’s Health Manual: Being Also a Memorial of the Life and Work of Mrs. Mary Gove Nichols. He intended it to be a handbook of health and a tribute to the woman he married and her life’s work, especially for women’s health. He discusses social conditions, marriage, human physiology, disease in general (especially female diseases), diet, digestion, and treatment. Hydropathy was explained, and various hydropathic processes were discussed. Included were also chapters on pregnancy, birth, and raising children. 

1887: Dr. Felix Oswald continued his prolific writing and published The Poison Problem or The Cause and Cure of Intemperance. In this 154-page book, he notes that the consumption of intoxicating drinks of all kinds has advanced at a rate exceeding that of our rapid population growth by one-fifth. He covers the secret of the alcohol habit, the causes of intemperance, the physiological effects of the poison habit, the cost of intemperance, alcohol, drugs, prohibition, and subjective remedies.

1891: Dr. Susanna Dodds wrote the book Health in the Household or Hygienic Cookery. In this book, Dr. Dodds covers the many aspects of the hygienic diet in a three-part series. Part 1 covers health in the household, part 2 focuses on bread and part 3 is ideas and recipes.

1891: Dr. Charles Page wrote Pneumonia And Typhoid Fever, which focused on how to treat and cure typhoid fever. However, he points out that the treatment for typhoid fever is the same for measles, scarlet fever, influenza, rheumatic fever, pneumonia, diphtheria, tonsillitis, and periodontitis—basically, any acute disorder that presents a high temperature. Dr. Page discusses some of the impacts of current treatment methods and shares tremendous results from following hydrotherapy for any diseases that present with fever. 

1891: Dr. Russell Thacker Trall published Sexual Physiology and Hygiene: an Exposition Practical Scientific Moral and Popular of Some of the Fundamental Problems of Sociology. This 302-page book is divided into 16 chapters. It discusses the origin of life, sexual generation, physiology, and hygiene of menstruation, impregnation, pregnancy, embryology, labor, lactation, the law of sex, previous pregnancies, offspring, the law of sexual intercourse, hereditary transmission, and sexual hygiene.

1895: Cursed Before Birth: a Few Straight Tips Regarding Our Social Condition was published. Dr. John H. Tilden argues that we are cursed before birth due to the social and environmental factors surrounding us. Through a series of straight tips, he provides readers with practical advice on how to navigate society’s challenges.

1899: Dr. Robert Walter wrote the book Vital Science Based Upon Life’s Great Law: The Analogue of Gravitation. He shares that there are three great forces in nature: vitality, chemical affinity, and gravitation, co-existent and analogous. He applies this to Life’s Great Law, the analog of attraction of gravitation. 

1900: Dr. John H Tilden began publishing a monthly magazine called The Stuffed Club to promote healthcare. It eventually attained wide circulation in this country, abroad, and even as far as Australia.

1900: Bernarr MacFadden and Dr. Felix Oswald published together MacFadden’s Fasting, Hydropathy and Exercise: Nature’s Wonderful Remedies for the Cure of all Chronic and Acute Diseases. This 234-page book is broken into 3 parts: Fasting, Hydropathy, and Exercise.

1903: Dr. Robert Walter authored the natural hygiene book The Exact Science of Health. His book espoused fasting, homeopathic medicine, and vitalism. Walter opposed conventional medicine and believed disease could be cured by avoiding food and flushing the bowel several times daily. He was an early advocate of colon cleansing. 

1905: Dr. Felix Oswald published a chapter entitled Gymnastics and Recreation in the book Vitality: How to Acquire And Conserve It: a Symposium of the World’s Greatest Authorities On Hygiene, Physical Development, Breathing, Diet Hydropathy, And All the Forces That Tend to Promote And Preserve Vitality. Dr. Oswald shares that happiness is the normal condition of every living creature, for in the state of Nature, every normal function is connected with a pleasurable sensation. He focuses on children in this article, citing to make your children happy and let them live in harmony with nature. 

1909: The Etiology of Cholera Infantum, Typhoid Fever, and Appendicitis was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This book is divided into three sections: Cholera Infantum, Typhoid Fever, and Appendicitis.

1909: Iconoclastic and Constructive Criticisms of the Practice of Medicine, Designed for Professional and Lay Readers, was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. In this book, Tilden presents a series of criticisms of the medical establishment and medicine’s practice. He argues that modern medicine focuses on treating symptoms rather than addressing the underlying causes of disease.

1910: Dr. Susanna Dodds wrote the book Race Culture: Mother and Child. The book covers pregnancy, parturition, disorders of pregnancy, abortion, labor, abnormal presentations, care and feeding of infants, care and training of children, infantile and children’s diseases, and how to live one hundred years. The appendix covers water as a therapeutic agent.

1912: Gonorrhea and Syphilis was published Dr. John H. Tilden. A comprehensive guidebook written by Dr. John H. Tilden explores the causes, symptoms, and treatments of two sexually transmitted infections: gonorrhea and syphilis. The book provides an in-depth discussion of these diseases’ history, epidemiology, and pathology and their impact on the human body. It also covers the various diagnostic methods of detecting these infections, including laboratory tests and physical examinations.

1915: Dr. John H. Tilden’s publication, The Stuffed Club, was renamed the Philosophy of Health.

1915: The Philosophy of Health was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. In this book, he shares his philosophy on health and wellness, including the importance of nutrition, exercise, rest, and mental and emotional well-being. He also discusses the dangers of modern medicine and the overuse of drugs and surgery and advocates for a more holistic approach to healthcare.

1915: Dr. Susanna Dodds published the book Drugless Medicine: Hygeiotherapy. She spent the last part of her life writing, and the manuscript of this book was left in form for publication. This was published in 1915, four years after she died (January 20th, 1911).

1916: The Tilden School for Teaching Health was opened from 1916 to 1924 as a private residential teaching institution and sanitarium that offered patients an alternative to the standard medical practices of the day in Denver, Colorado. The Tilden School attracted patients from all over the country and world, including Canada, Great Britain, and Australia. It offered furnished apartments for patients to learn to care for themselves and practice the Tilden techniques for healthy living. As many of his patients stayed for extended periods, the school’s architecture and grounds were designed to invoke more of an ambiance of a residential apartment complex than a traditional medical facility. The school was established to teach and promote the medical theories of its founder, Dr. John Henry Tilden.

1916: Care of Children and Mothers was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This comprehensive guidebook provides essential information on the proper care of children and mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and infancy. It covers various topics, including prenatal care, nutrition, hygiene, breastfeeding, and childhood illnesses.

1916: Food: its Composition, Preparation, Combination, and Effects, with Appendix on Cooking, was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. In this book, Dr. Tilden focuses on food and its influence on health and disease, food in its relationship to the body, digestion and absorption, animal foods, vegetable foods, sugar, spices and condiments, fats and oils, salts, beverages, and stimulants, along with a variety of recipes. 

1917: Impaired Health; Its Cause and Cure; a Repudiation of the Conventional Treatment of Disease was published by Dr. John H. Tilden.  This publication challenges the conventional treatment of disease. The author argues that modern medicine focuses too much on treating symptoms rather than addressing the root causes of illness. He believes that many health problems are caused by a toxic buildup in the body, which can be eliminated through natural methods such as fasting and detoxification.

1918: The book Epilepsy was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. The book is out of print, and no detailed description is available.

1918: The Pocket Dietitian, or How to Combine Food for Correct Eating, Special Menus for Summer and Winter, was published by Dr. John H. Tilden.  The Pocket Dietitian, or How to Combine Food for Correct Eating, provides a comprehensive guide to combining different types of food for optimal nutrition and health. It contains information on the importance of proper food combinations, the effects of improper food combinations on digestion and overall health, and practical tips on combining foods for maximum benefit.

1920: Venereal Diseases, a Drugless Treatment of Venereal Diseases, was published by Dr. John H. Tilden.  No detailed description is available.

1921: Appendicitis: the Etiology, Hygienic, and Dietetic Treatment was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This book focuses on Appendicitis, its causes, and treatment.  Dr. Tileden includes the anatomy of the human body, the history of appendicitis, the cause of appendicitis, the pathology of the appendix, symptoms, various treatments, case studies, and an overall summary.

1921: Food: its Influence as a Factor in Disease and Health was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This book explores the impact of food on our overall health and well-being. The author delves into the role of nutrition in preventing and treating various diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.

1921: Foods And Their Place In Diet was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This publication is a comprehensive guide to understanding the role of food in our diets. The book explores the importance of nutrition and how it affects our overall health and well-being. Dr. Tilden discusses the different food groups, their nutritional value, and the benefits and drawbacks of various diets.

1921: Impaired Health: Its Cause and Cure, Volume I was published by Dr. John H. Tilden.  This publication challenges the conventional treatment of disease. The author argues that modern medicine focuses too much on treating symptoms rather than addressing the root causes of illness.

1921: Impaired Health: Its Cause and Cure, Volume II was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This book was written from Dr. Tilden’s standpoint that there is but one disease, toxin poisoning, or autotoxemia. The names given to pathological processes are nothing more than classifying affections.

1924: The Tilden School for Teaching Health was sold to Dr. Arthur Voss of Cincinnati, Ohio, intending to devote himself to writing and lecturing. Dr. Vos operated the Tilden Health School until 1931 when the effects of the Great Depression forced its closure.

1926:  Discontented without his school, Dr. John H. Tilden bought two residences and opened a new sanitarium and school in east Denver, CO, called the Tilden Health Institute. He operated this until he died in 1940. 

1926: The Practical Cookbook, Including Suggestions Regarding Proper Food Combinations, was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. It is a comprehensive guide to cooking and food preparation, including recipes for soups, stews, casseroles, salads, and desserts, tips on selecting and storing ingredients, using kitchen tools and equipment, and cooking for special diets.

1926: Toxemia Explained: The True Interpretation of the Cause of Disease was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This publication provides a comprehensive explanation of the concept of toxemia, which is the accumulation of toxic substances in the body that can lead to various diseases. Dr. Tilden argues that toxemia is the root cause of all diseases and that the medical profession has been misguided in its approach to treating illnesses.

1926: The Causes Of Enervation was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This book explores the various factors that lead to enervation in humans. Enervation is defined as a state of physical or mental exhaustion, weakness, or debility, and the author argues that a combination of factors, including poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, and environmental toxins, are the cause.

1926: Dr. Tilden’s Health Review and Critique Volume 1 was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. It is now out of print.

1926: The Practical Cook Book was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This comprehensive guide to cooking and food preparation was an excellent resource for novice and experienced cooks, providing detailed instructions for various dishes and cooking techniques.

1927: Dr. Tilden’s Health Review And Critique V2 was published by Dr. John H. Tilden.  This book is a collection of articles and essays on various health topics, including nutrition, exercise, and disease prevention. Dr. Tilden’s work emphasized the importance of a holistic approach to health.

1927: Diseases of the Kidneys was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This comprehensive medical book analyzes various kidney diseases and their causes, symptoms, and treatments. 

1928: Children: Their Health and Happiness: a Ready Reference Book for Mothers Who Desire to Know How to Bring Up Their Children in Health was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This comprehensive guide to raising healthy and happy children covers various topics related to child health, including nutrition, exercise, sleep, hygiene, and emotional well-being. 

1934: The Proper Diet for Every Case of Impaired Health, With General Suggestions Regarding Health and Combination of Foods, Together with Valuable Food Formulas, was published by Helen Randle and Dr. John H. Tilden. It focuses on foods and the human body and the diagnosis and treatment of so-called diseases with their proper dietetic treatment.

1934: Dr. Tilden’s Health Review And Critique V6 was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. The book is a comprehensive review of health and wellness practices, covering various topics related to maintaining good health. It includes discussions on multiple diseases and their causes, as well as natural remedies and treatments that can be used to prevent and cure them. 

1939: Constipation, a New Reading on the Subject was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. This book comprehensively explains constipation, its causes, symptoms, and treatment. Dr. Tilden explains how constipation affects the body and can lead to other health problems. The book also includes various natural remedies and techniques to prevent and treat constipation. 

1939: Dr. Tilden’s Health Review And Critique V14 was published by Dr. John H. Tilden. The book is a compilation of articles and critiques on various health topics published in Dr. Tilden’s Health.

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