Valuable contributions to the Hygienic Movement have been made by individuals not often recognized as pioneers, yet they deserve acknowledgment.

Dr. Joel Shew (1816 – 1855)

Dr. Joel Shew was a pioneer in promoting hydropathy. After obtaining a medical degree, he traveled to Europe to train in Vincent Priessnitz’s System of Water Cure. Upon his return to America, Dr. Shew established a water-cure facility in Lebanon Springs, New York, and later in New York City, effectively introducing the US to the benefits of the water cure. His wife, Marie Louise Shew, was an equally dedicated hydrotherapist who worked hand in hand with her husband in this groundbreaking endeavor.

Dr. Shew was deeply influenced by Rev. Sylvester Graham’s revolutionary ideas on diet and lifestyle and passionately promoted natural hygiene practices, including regular bathing, exercise, and rejuvenating massages. He ardently advocated for the complete elimination of alcohol and tobacco. Moreover, both he and his wife wholeheartedly embraced vegetarianism, aligning with the principles of the Graham diet before they encountered the transformative concept of the water cure.

Dr. Shew did not believe the water cure was a universal solution, but he strongly believed in the rejuvenating power of hydropathy and hygienic principles. He embraced Graham’s teachings and contributed to the teachings at Dr. Russell Thacker Trall’s college, which later became known as the College of Hygeo-Therapy.

Dr. Shew was a remarkably productive writer and author, notable for founding and publishing The Water Cure Journal and Herald of Reform for four years. After its successful run, the magazine was acquired by Fowler and Wells, with Dr. Russell Thacker Trall appointed as the new editor.

Selected publications:

• Facts in Hydropathy or Water Cure (1844)
• Hydropathy, or, The Water-Cure (1844)
• Water-Cure for Ladies (Marie Louise Shew, revised by Joel Shew, 1844)
• Hydropathy, Or, The Water-Cure (1845)
• The Water-Cure Manual (1847)
• Tobacco: Its History, Nature, and Effects on the Body and Mind (1848)
• The Cholera, It’s Causes, Prevention and Cure (1848)
• Water and Vegetable Diet (William Lambe, notes and additions by Joel Shew, 1850)
• Consumption: Its Prevention and Cure by the Water Treatment (1851)
• Children, their Hydropathic Management in Health and Disease (1852)
• Midwifery and the Diseases of Women (1852)
• The Hydropathic Family Physician (1854)
• The Water-Cure in Pregnancy and Childbirth (1855)
• Letters to Women on Midwifery and the Diseases of Women (1887)

Dr. Edward H. Dewey – (1837 – 1904)

Edward, in his early 20s, worked as a dispenser at a local pharmacy and had already seen the ineffectiveness of the pharmaceutical drugs available at the time. He graduated with a medical degree in 1864 and served at a large army hospital in Chattanooga, Tennessee, before entering into private practice in 1866 in Pennsylvania.  In 1877, he witnessed a complete typhoid recovery in a patient using a water-only fast. After that, he started to apply water fasts in his practice and ceased to prescribe medications other than analgesics.

Dr. Dewey pioneered therapeutic fasting and significantly contributed to our understanding of this practice, despite not being considered a Hygienist. He advocated for people to only have two meals daily but to completely abstain from breakfast entirely. Dewey believed excessive eating was the root cause of all diseases and physiological problems. He also promoted long fasts, suggesting that abstaining from food could cure most disorders.

His books included:

• The True Science of Living – Dewey, Edward Hooker; Pentecost, George Frederick – (1895)
• A New Era for Women: Health Without Drugs – Dewey, Edward Hooker – (1896) 
• Chronic Alcoholism It’s Radical Cure Without Money, Without Price – Dewey, Edward Hooker – (1899)
• The No-Breakfast Plan and The Fasting Cure – Dewey, Edward Hooker – (1900) 

Dr. Henry S. Tanner –  (1831 – 1918)

He was a highly regarded doctor known for his fasting regimen. He graduated from the Eclectic Medical Institute in Cincinnati in 1859, a prestigious homeopathic college. He adhered to a simple diet, eschewing tea, coffee, and alcohol, and refrained from using tobacco in any form. He advocated the same lifestyle for his patients, emphasizing the benefits of such habits for overall health. 

As with many of the medical doctors who embraced alternative healing, he faced severe health challenges. He once believed that fasting for ten days would only hasten his demise, as he felt that life was not worth living with these chronic issues. However, to his astonishment, his health drastically improved through fasting under the close supervision of his personal physician, Dr. A. Moyer. He extended his fast to a total of 42 days, and by the end, his asthma, stomach inflammation, rheumatism, and heart ailment had vanished. Dr. Moyer was amazed to find that, during the fasting, the doctor’s heart began beating normally for the first time in a long while.

He gained considerable notoriety through newspaper reports by Dr. Moyer. Medical professionals declared that such a fast would be impossible and questioned his truthfulness. Due to widespread doubt, especially among medical circles, Tanner offered to repeat a fast of 40 days in a supervised setting at a prominent medical college. 

In January 1880, Henry S. Tanner shocked many when he claimed to have fasted for 42 days. To silence the skeptics, he announced his intention to repeat the feat and prove that humans can survive without food. He agreed to be placed under the care of any medical society that would provide suitable housing. On June 28, 1880, Tanner embarked on a forty-day fast at Clarendon Hall in Manhattan, aiming to showcase the therapeutic benefits of abstaining from food. His remarkable story is vividly captured in the book “Forty Days Without Food!: A Biography of Henry S. Tanner, M.D., Including a Complete and Accurate History of His Wonderful Fasts,” penned by Dr. Robert A. Gunn in 1880.

After completing a 40-day fast, to everyone’s surprise, he began writing about his experience and embarked on a lecture tour advocating “starvation” as a cure for the disease. In 1908, he published the book The Human Body a Volume of Divine Revelations. 

Dr. George H. Taylor (1821-1896)

Dr. Taylor’s influential writings and lectures were instrumental in helping to establish the natural hygiene movement. As an American physician and inventor, he was closely associated with natural health and physical culture movements. Dr. Taylor’s renowned expertise in homeopathy and his introduction of Swedish massage to the United States have left a lasting impact on healthcare practices.

In 1852, he graduated from the New York Medical College and began practicing hydropathy. His dedication to understanding alternative medical practices led him to work at Dr. Russell Thacker Trall’s New York Hydropathic and Physiological School as a consulting physician until 1863. From 1854 to 1855, Taylor collaborated with hydrotherapist Joel Shew, sparking his conversion to homeopathy. Eager to broaden his expertise, he embarked on a journey to study Swedish massage at the Royal Gymnastic Central Institute under Lars Branting. Notably, Taylor’s brother, physician Charles Fayette Taylor, shared his passion for alternative medicine, and together they established a hydropathic facility.

His commanding style and logical presentation of facts regarding human physiology and anatomy profoundly propelled the care of individuals afflicted by paralysis or motion disorders. His unparalleled grasp of functional anatomy positioned him as the pioneer for those specializing in muscular development and body sculpting.

In 1884, Dr. Taylor attended the 37th session of the American Institute of Homeopathy and presented his paper on the history of therapeutics of pelvic and hernial affections. His presentation showcased his profound understanding of structural disorders and the human body’s physiological needs. Dr. Taylor emphasized that symptoms are not the causes and that a deeper understanding of diseases requires looking beyond subjective phenomena and secondary symptoms. His approach was highly regarded by doctors of other medical schools who often sought his expertise.

Books he wrote:

• An Account of the Bilious Fever –  1842
• Principles and Practice of Hygeio-Medical Science – 1857
• An Exposition of the Swedish Movement-Cure – 1860
• The Movement-Cure in Every Chronic Disease – 1864
• An Illustrated Sketch of the Movement-Cure: its Principles, Methods and Effects – 1868
• Diseases of Women: Their Causes, Prevention, and Radical Cure – 1871
• Paralysis, and Other Affections of the Nerves: Their Cure by Vibratory and Special Movements – 1871
• Health by Exercise – 1880
• Pelvic and Hernial Therapeutics: Principles and Methods – 1885
• Massage: Principles and Practice of Remedial Treatment – 1887
• Strangulated Hernia – 1888
• Mechanical Aids in the Treatment of Chronic Forms of Disease – (1893)

Ellen G. White  – (1827 –  1915)

White was an American author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is considered a leading figure in the history of American vegetarianism.

In the winter of 1862-1863, two of the children of James and Ellen White, then living in Battle Creek, Michigan, were stricken with pneumonia. The medical practice of the time was to shut the patient away from all outside air, especially night air, to forbid the use of water internally or externally, and to dose with heavy mineral drugs. But James White happened to see an article by Dr. James C. Jackson, giving unorthodox but sensible directions for treatment of the disease, then epidemic: no drugs, but hot baths, cooling packs, liquid foods, plenty of water drinking, ventilation, rest, and care. The therapy appealed to the parents, and instead of calling a physician, they followed the directions of Dr. Jackson, and their children recovered.

On June 6, 1863, she experienced a vision about health and disease. The vision showed her that vegetarian food, as was described in Genesis 1:29, was the proper food for humankind. 

She is the founder of many health sanitariums, the most famous of which are the Battle Creek Sanitarium and the Loma Linda Sanitarium Center.  She hired American physician John Harvey Kellogg as the director, having sponsored him to train at Dr. Russell Thacker Trall‘s Hygieo-Therapeutic College. The medical principles and practices of Dr. James C. Jackson and Dr. Russell Thacker Trall had considerable bearing upon the therapeutics of the Battle Creek institution and the Seventh-day Adventist Church. 

White expounded greatly on the subjects of health, healthy eating, and a vegetarian diet. In her book Counsels on Diet & Foods, she gives advice on the right foods and moderation. She also warns against the use of tobacco. Her views are expressed in the writings Healthful Living and The Ministry of Healing.

Dr. John Harvey Kellogg –  (1852 – 1943)

At age 12, John Harvey Kellogg was offered work by Ellen and James White, founders of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. He became one of their protégés, eventually doing proofreading and editorial work for their journal Health, or How to Live and The Health Reformer.

He completed the medical course at Dr. Russell Thacker Trall’s – Hygieo-Therapeutic College. The objective was to develop a group of trained doctors for the Adventist-inspired Battle Creek Sanitarium.

Graduating from New York University Medical College at Bellevue Hospital in 1875, he was best known as the chief medical officer of the Battle Creek Sanitarium, which was owned and operated by the  Seventh-day Adventist Church. It served as a spa, a hydrotherapy institution, and a hospital. The guiding principles were a vegetarian diet, students from alcohol and tobacco, and a regime of physical and breathing exercises along with sunbaths, all of which Kellogg followed.

An early proponent of the germ theory of disease, Kellogg was well ahead of his time in relating intestinal flora and the presence of bacteria in the intestines to health and disease. The sanitarium approached treatment in a holistic manner, actively promoting vegetarianism, nutrition, the use of yogurt enemas to clear “intestinal flora”, exercise, sunbathing, and hydrotherapy, as well as abstention from smoking tobacco and drinking alcoholic beverages. John and his brother Will, started the Sanitas Food company to produce whole-grain cereals. 

He wrote extensively on science and health. His approach to “biological living” combined scientific knowledge with Adventist beliefs and promoted health reform and temperance. Here are a few of his well-known publications:

• Modern Medicine – Kellog, John Harvey – 1852 – 1943
• Diphtheria: its Causes, Prevention, and Proper Treatment – Kellog, John Harvey – 1879
• Dyspepsia: its Causes, Symptoms, and Cure – Kellog, John Harvey – 1879
• The Uses of Water in Health and Disease – Kellog, John Harvey – 1891
• The Household Monitor of Health – Kellog, John Harvey – 1891
• The Influence of Dress in Producing the Physical Decadence of American Women – Kellog, John Harvey – 1891
• Practical Manual of Health and Temperance – Kellog, John Harvey – 1893.
• Ladies Guide in Health and Disease – Kellog, John Harvey – 1893.  
• Methods of Precision in the Investigation of Disorders of Digestion – Kellog, John Harvey – 1893
• Second Book in Physiology and Hygiene – Kellog, John Harvey – 1894
• Outlines of Practical Hydrotherapy – Kellog, John Harvey – 1896. 
• The Cure of Incurables – Kellog, John Harvey – 1896. 
• The Home Handbook of Domestic Hygiene and Rational Medicine – Kellog, John Harvey – 1896
• The Stomach: its Disorders and How to Cure Them – Kellog, John Harvey – 1896.
• What is the Matter with the American Stomach? – Kellog, John Harvey – 1896.
• Rational Hydrotherapy – Kellog, John Harvey – 1903
• The Battle Creek Sanitarium System: History, Organization, Methods – Kellog, John Harvey – 1908
• Good Health – Kellog, John Harvey – 1908
• Light Therapeutics –  Kellog, John Harvey – 1910
• The Simple Life in a Nutshell –  Kellog, John Harvey – 1913
• Neurasthenia or Nervous Exhaustion – Kellog, John Harvey – 1914
• The New Method in Diabetes; The Practical Treatment –  Kellog, John Harvey – 1917
• The Itinerary of a Breakfast –  Kellog, John Harvey – 1918
• Health and Efficiency – Macmillan M. V. O’Shea, Kellog, John Harvey (The Health Series of Physiology and Hygiene) – 1925
• The New Dietetics, What to Eat and How; a Guide to Scientific Feeding in Health and Disease – Kellogg, John Harvey – 1921
• Autointoxication or Intestinal Toxemia – Kellog, John Harvey – 1922
• Tobaccoism or How Tobacco Kills  – Kellog, John Harvey – 1923
• The Natural Diet of Man – Kellog, John Harvey – 1923
• New Dietetics: A Guide to Scientific Feeding in Health and Disease – Kellog, John Harvey – 1927
• Art of Massage: A Practical Manual for the Nurse, the Student and the Practitioner  – Kellog, John Harvey – 1929
• The Crippled Colon – Kellog, John Harvey – 1931

Dr. Emmett Densmore, M.D. (1837-1911)

Emmet graduated from the New York University Medical College with an MD in 1885. He passionately opposed the use of drugs and strongly believed in the healing power of diet and natural hygienic measures. He fervently advocated for fasting as a treatment for illness. When tending to the acutely ill, he insisted on a complete abstinence from food, followed by a continued fast until the patient experienced a pronounced natural hunger.

As the President of the Garfield Tea Company in Brooklyn, he oversaw the production of “Garfield Tea,” a herbal blend renowned for its quality. His 110-acre ranch in Los Alamitos primarily cultivated an abundance of fruit trees. In addition to this, he held the esteemed position of President at the Barnard Densmore Company, a leading manufacturer of distilled water and preserved fruits in Los Angeles.

He passionately argued that “bread is the staff of death” and consistently discouraged the consumption of bread, cereal, pulses, and vegetables. He firmly advocated for replacing all starch foods with sweet fruits. Moreover, he firmly believed that man’s natural lifespan could be extended to 120 years.

Densmore was at the helm of the London monthly magazine Natural Food (1890–1895), and along with his wife Helen, he spearheaded the health magazine Earnest Words, spreading the message of natural and healthy living. Some of the books he authored include:

• The Natural Food of Man: A Brief Statement of the Principal Arguments Against the Use of Bread, Cereals, Pulses, and All Other Starch Foods (1890)
• How Nature Cures (1892)
• Fruit as Food (1896) (A chapter in the book The Possibility of Living 200 Years by F.C. Havens)
• Consumption and Chronic Diseases (1899)

Bernarr McFadden – (1868-1955)

As with many of our pioneers, Bernarr overcame childhood weakness and illness through whole food and physical labor. By 16, he adopted a semi-vegetarian raw food lifestyle, launching “Physical Culture” magazine in 1899 and expanding into a publishing empire.  He advocated fasting for physical health and establishing educational “healthatoriums.” He felt strongly that fasting was one of the surest ways to physical health. He believed that through fasting, a person could control virtually all types of disease. By 1911, he had opened 20 vegetarian restaurants and fervently campaigned against the medical establishment and processed food. 

He was quite a prolific writer, publishing over 100 books on a variety of topics.  Here are some of his works focusing on hygienic principles:

• Physical Training – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1900
• Fasting, Hydropathy and Exercise – Macfadden, Bernarr, Oswald, Felix L. 1900
• Strength from Eating – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1901
• Physical Culture Cook Book – Richardson, Mary, Mrs; Propheter, George; Macfadden, Bernarr – 1901
• Building of Vital Power – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1905
• Macfadden’s Encyclopedia of Physical Culture; Volume 1 – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1920
• Macfadden’s Encyclopedia of Physical Culture; Volume 2 – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1920
• Macfadden’s Encyclopedia of Physical Culture; Volume 3 – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1920
• Macfadden’s Encyclopedia of Physical Culture; Volume 4 – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1920
• Macfadden’s Encyclopedia of Physical Culture; Volume 5 – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1920
• The Truth About Tobacco, How to Break the Habit – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1921
• Fasting for Health – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1923
• Constipation, its Cause, Effect and Treatment – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1924
• Walking Cure, Pep and Power from Walking – How to Cure Disease. – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1924
• Diabetes: Its Cause, Nature and Treatment – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1925
• Headaches, How Caused and How Cured – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1925
• Colds, Coughs and Catarrh – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1926
• How to Raise the Baby – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1926
• Rheumatism. Its Cause, Nature and Treatment – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1926
• The Book of Health – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1926
• Skin Troubles; Their Causes, Nature, and Treatment – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1927
• Digestive Troubles. – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1928
• Tuberculosis: its Cause, Nature and Treatment  – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1929
• Home Health Manual – Macfadden, Bernarr, 1930

Dr. Benedict Lust (1872-1945)

Benedict Lust was born on February 4, 1872, in Germany. He recovered from tuberculosis with the help of a water cure offered by Father Sebastian Kneipp and became a passionate advocate of natural medicine. Upon relocating to New York in 1892, he not only opened a health food store but also published influential German and English magazines advocating hydrotherapy and natural healing. His educational journey led him to graduate from the Universal Osteopathic College in 1897, the Eclectic and Naturopathic College in 1904, and the Eclectic Medical College of New York in 1914.

In 1901, he acquired the rights to the term “naturopathy” and established the American School of Naturopathy in New York City. Alongside this, he founded health resorts known as “Yungborn” in Butler, New Jersey, and Tangerine, Florida. Notably, he also established the New York School of Massage and the American School of Chiropractic. To further advance his mission, Lust founded the American Naturopathic Association in 1919.

From the very beginning, Lust incorporated the innovative Kneipp water cure methods and firmly rejected the use of drugs and surgery. He was the publisher of the influential Herald of Health and Naturopath journal and was closely associated with Bernarr Macfadden’s Physical Culture magazine. As a result of his contributions, Lust became known as the “Father of Naturopathy” in America. His prolific writings and magazines not only introduced Americans to German techniques but also familiarized them with the ancient Indian concepts of Ayurveda and Yoga. Furthermore, Lust played a significant role in popularizing hatha yoga in the United States.

• Return to Nature! The True Natural Method of Healing and Living and the True Salvation of the Soul – Just, Adolf and Lust, Benedict – 1903
• Rational Fasting: Regeneration Diet and Natural Cure for All Diseases – Arnold Ehret, Dr Benedict Lust M.D. – 1909
• Home Study Course in Natural Living and Healing (Naturopapthy) – 1900
• The Helper in Distress – 1915
• The Raw Food Table – 1915
• Universal Naturopathic Encyclopedia – 1918
• The Fountain of Youth – 1923
• The Crime of Vaccination (1926) – unavailable
• Zone Therapy or Relieving Pain and Sickness by Nerve Pressure – 1928
• NATUROPATH AND HERALD of HEALTH: Official Journal of the American Naturopathic Association and the American School of Naturopathy. Bound Magazines: 1934 – 1942
• ABOUT HERBS: Nature’s Medicine – date unknown

Dr. George Stephen Weger (1874 – 1935)

In 1895, he enrolled at Baltimore Medical College and earned his medical degree in 1898. From 1898 to 1912, Weger diligently served as a physician in Delphos, Ohio, initially practicing traditional medicine before gradually embracing a more advanced and effective allopathic medical approach.

After 1912, Weger aligned himself with the natural hygiene movement. He dedicated many years to practicing at Dr. J. H. Tilden’s Sanitarium in Denver. Dr. John H. Tilden successfully brought together a small group of medical professionals and osteopaths who had relinquished their belief in pharmaceuticals and contemporary medical procedures.

Weger was the director and owner of Weger Health School in Redlands, California (1923–1935).

He firmly believed that fasting should not be seen as a cure-all; in reality, it does not cure anything. In times of illness, the body’s most significant requirement is rest. When feeling tired, one simply needs to lie down and wake up refreshed. When sick, taking a complete physiologic rest for as long as necessary is crucial. Both Tilden and Weger stressed the significance of recognizing fasting as a period of physiological rest.

Conserving the patient’s energy and resources was the secret to the remarkable success of Dr. Isaac Jennings, Dr. Robert Walter, Dr. John H. Tilden, Dr. George S. Weger, and others in caring for the sick. Rather than attempting to cure the disease, these individuals understood the detrimental effects of over-feeding, over-bathing, excessive sun exposure, over-exercising, and any other form of overtaxing the patient, which could hinder or delay recovery.

In his influential book “Dietetic Disappointments and Failures,” the author advocates for a regimen of fasting, a wholesome diet based on fruits, vegetables, and nuts, and emphasizes avoiding drugs, flour, meat, salt, spices, alcohol, coffee, tea, and all processed foods.

• Health Lessons (1925)
• The Genesis and Control of Disease (1931)
• Dietetic Disappointments and Failures – reprint