Natural Hygiene (Hygienic Health System, Life Science)

Variation of Nature Cure represented by proponents as the legacy of Sylvester Graham (1794-1851). Graham, the originator of the graham cracker, began his career as a Presbyterian minister and temperance lecturer. He professed the following. (a) Frequent involuntary discharges of semen presage debility. (b) Ingestion of "improper" foods or overeating cause seminal discharges. (c) Masturbation brings on pimples and potentially fatal sores. (d) Digestion entails an expenditure of vital force. (e) Diet is a means of economizing the vital force. (f) A diet is healthful if it narrowly prompts the digestive organs to function normally. According to "Hygienic" literature, the first "hygienic doctor" was Isaac Jennings, M.D. (1788-1874), who taught that obedience to "physical law" facilitates obedience to "moral law." Natural Hygiene's postulate is that disease is a process of "purification" and repair. The major "Hygienic" practices are fasting, food combining, and a form of veganism that emphasizes uncooked foods. Some "Professional Natural Hygienists" do not subscribe to food combining.