The Nature’s Medicine Through Time website (naturesmedicinethroughtime.org) was greeted with excitement during its public debut at the recent Oregon Association of Naturopathic Physicians Annual Conference. 

This large and growing guide to the history of medicine focuses on the naturopathic profession and highlights our evolving worldview, therapeutic lineages, and institutional formation. Hundreds of pages of people, events, and institutions bring our roots into living relevance in our relationships with our patients, our colleagues, and the broader medical ecosystems.

• Who were the Hippocratic physicians?

• How did the ancient Greek Empirical and Rational traditions establish a schism among physicians and shape the therapeutic relationship in Western medicine?

• Where did the vis medicatrix naturae concept come from and what did it mean in classical medicine? Who are the medicatrix?

• How did American culture of the 1800s demonstrate medical pluralism and set the stage for the emergence of naturopathy?

• Who were the therapeutic innovators and the institutional creators of early naturopathy?

• How did Benedict Lust distinguish naturopathy from nature cure?

• Who were the Mixers, Sanipractors, Health Culturists, Physiatrics, and other Drugless Physicians?

• How do professions mature from their Founder phase to their Institution Building phase?

• How did the clinical and educational legacy of the DC/ND “old docs” make Chicago and Cascadia core communities of naturopathic medicine in the mid-20th century?

• How have naturopathic traditions influenced emerging schools of integrative medicine and functional medicine?

• What does the future hold for naturopathic medicine as regional variants evolve around our planet and demonstrate our rich traditions as aligning with Gaia?

See our roots growing.

Old stories take on new life with previously unavailable depth and a consistent emphasis on pragmatic clinical approaches.

And, you can contribute to further understanding how our history empowers and enriches our future. collaborate@naturesmedicinethroughtime.org