Naturopathy - how did it become quackery?

Naturopathy traces its history to ancient Greece. Many believe that Hippocrates, in whose name modern medicine takes the Hippocratic oath, is the father of naturopathy.

Naturopathy aims to identify the root cause of a disease and cure the person holistically.

Why is Naturopathy then considered “alternative medicine” and quackery?

This conflict’s history dates back to the early 1900s. The era witnessed remarkable inventions. The Wilbur brothers flying a plane, motion pictures, even instant coffee.

Pharmacology emerged as a significant field during this period. The science had existed for some time. In the 17th century, Nicholas Culpeper translated pharmacological texts.

One of the key aspects of pharmacology was a focus on the systems of the body. The immune system, the circulation system and so on.

As pharmacology became popular, with wonder drugs such as Aspirin being invented, a tussle began for supremacy.

Like naturopathy, modern medicine relied on the use of natural herbs to create formulations. Except, they were isolating compounds in the herbs and creating a pill.

So was a pill better than the original? Who would get to decide?

Economics started to play a role. If you could isolate a compound and convert it into a pill, you could mass produce and market. Companies that did that scaled their business with profits from their products.

Like any traditional rivalry, these companies would position themselves as the best product on offer. Slowly, they discredited their rivals up to a point where the alternative was quackery.

Which is not to say that some of the alternatives might not have been unscientific. Charlatans exist everywhere.

The truth you believe often boils down to who can tell a better story or has more money to tell the story. It is like me trying to sell a shoe against the might of a giant shoe company.

The truth gets lost easily.

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