(1866-1922)

Arnold Ehret was a renowned German naturopath and alternative health educator, celebrated for pioneering the mucusless diet healing system.

Born in Germany, Ehret graduated as a design professor from a college in Baden. He taught for 15 years at a technical school but had to discontinue after receiving a diagnosis of Bright’s disease (acute or chronic nephritis).  This was considered incurable by leading doctors. Seeking alternative methods, he visited Rev. Fr. Sebastian Kneipp’s water cure sanatorium in Wörishofen, where he learned holistic philosophies and embraced fasting and a primarily fruit-based diet. To his surprise, this lifestyle change resulted in increased strength and vitality.

Ehret successfully healed himself by identifying pus and mucus-forming foods as the root cause of human diseases. He passionately promoted the benefits of a fruit-based diet. He firmly believed in the natural cleansing power of fasting to rid the body of the harmful effects of poor dietary choices and overeating.

In 1907, Ehret founded a sanatorium in Ascona, Switzerland, and another in nearby Lugano (Massagno), where he successfully treated thousands of patients with his innovative protocols. Ehret specifically focused on fruits and vegetables and removed meat, eggs, milk, fats, cereals, legumes, potatoes, and rice from his diet.

In 1914, Ehret set off for the United States. However, he was unable to return to Germany due to the outbreak of World War I. During his time, he collaborated and worked with Dr. Benedict Lust, the founder of the Yungborn Sanatoriums. Lust successfully overcame tuberculosis also using the Kneipp Cure, developed by Rev. Fr. Sebastian Kneipp.

Later, Ehret moved to California and opened his sanatorium in Alhambra.  Ehret died in 1922 after sustaining a fatal injury to his head in an accident.

Published Works:

• A Scientific Method of Eating Your Way to Health (mucusless-diet healing system) – unknown year
• Thus Speaketh the Stomach / the Tragedy of Nutrition. (1923)
• Prof. Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless-Diet Healing System (A scientific method of eating your way to health) (1924)
• Physical Culture: Fasting and Dietetics (1938)
• Prof. Arnold Ehret’s Mucusless-Diet Healing System (a complete course for those who desire to learn how to control their health)  (1953)
• Roads to Health and Happiness (1966)
• The Definite Cure of Chronic Constipation. (1975)
• The Cause and Cure of Human Illness (2001)
• Rational Fasting: Official Ehret Society Edition(2011)
• Prof. Arnold Ehret’s Physical Fitness Through a Superior Diet Fasting, and Dietetics also a Religious Concept of Physical Spiritual, and Mental Dietetics (2017)

The NHA wishes to remind the readers that nothing in this or other publications is intended to constitute medical treatment or advice. Readers should be aware that some previous publications do not reflect the NHA’s current health teachings or approach to health in several areas.

Our Mission

The mission of the National Health Association is to educate and empower individuals to understand that health results from healthy living. We recognize the integration of all aspects of health: personal, environmental, and social.

We communicate the benefits of a plant-based diet, exercise and rest, a healthy environment, psychological well-being, and when indicated, the use of fasting.