Natural Hygiene

The Science and Fine Art of Natural Hygiene, Orthobionomics, and Orthopathy.

The Hygienic School is the first, and thus far the only school in the world that made the laws of life and the conditions of health the leading features of its teachings and practices.

Hygiene is that branch of biology that relates to the preservation and restoration of health.

Natural Hygiene seeks to understand exactly and precisely the nature and influence of air, water, food, light, exercise, rest, sleep, temperature, clothing, housing, noise, the emotions, etc., and to apply the knowledge of these things in the processes of living, acting ever and always in proper relation to the laws of life.

Natural Hygiene is that branch of biology which investigates the conditions upon which health depends, and the means by which it may be sustained in all its virtue and purity while we have it, and restored when it has been impaired.

It is characterized by several theories:

That the human body contains the power to heal itself (without medicine).

That disease exists when the body is prevented from healing itself.

That the primary causes of disease are toxemia, stress, over working, over eating, taking unhealthy substances, etc.

That germs, bacteria, and viruses are not the primary cause of disease.

That medicines are poisons to the human body and are harmful.

That vaccinations are not effective, not safe and damage the immune system.

That correctly supervised fasting causes the body's metabolism to help to eliminate faulty cells and toxins. The effect is to assist recovery.

Natural Hygiene can help people get well by removing the causes of disease, and allowing the body to eliminate toxins. It is exactly these eliminative remedial actions taken automatically by the organism, which Natural Hygienists such as Herbert Shelton have stated are mistaken by medical practitioners for the defining symptoms of disease.

Shelton stated that prescription of symptom-suppressive medicines, or anti-biotics, further toxifies the organism, and only suppresses and delays the "symptoms", which Natural Hygiene states are in fact the remedial efforts of the organism, while adding to the toxic load which needs eliminating, since the medicines themselves must additionally be eliminated by the already-toxically-loaded body.

Determining the true cause of a so-called "disease" is not a vital part of Natural Hygiene, since only the true causes of health are addressed with lifestyle factors.

Proponents (e.g. Shelton, writing in the first half of the 20th century) have stated that medical doctors frequently begin treatment without knowing the cause, or falsely stating that the cause is unknown, or describing as the cause what is merely a description of the "disease", e.g. the cause of arthritis is claimed to be a stiffening of the joints.

A principal factor in so-called "disease" is enervation, or excessive stress, which creates pre-conditions for "disease", subsequently causing the organism to accumulate toxins.