Dr Benedict Lust, M.D., D.O., D.C., N.D.

(February 3, 1872 - September 5, 1945)

Qui fut médecin, ostéopathe, naturopathe et chiropraticien

He was married to Louisa Lust who was a student of another naturopathy pioneer, Arnold Rikli.

Benedict, who was born in Germany in 1872, immigrated to the United States in 1892 but returned to his native Germany when he contracted tuberculosis. In Germany he met Father Sebastian Kneipp who treated and cured Lust using hydrotherapy. Lust subsequently returned to the United States as Kneipp's representative to publicize the cure. He founded the Water Cure Institute in New York City and established Kneipp Societies throughout the United States.

Lust acquired degrees in osteopathy and medicine and drew from his combined knowledge to devise the healing art of naturopathy. In 1901 he organized the Naturopathic Society of America, and he founded the American School of Naturopathy. He purchased the rights to the term naturopathy from John H. Scheel in 1902 and publicized himself as a naturopath. Lust's school initially offered a two-year, post-graduate curriculum and later expanded into a four-year residential program. The school received a charter in 1905 and, thereafter, awarded degrees in naturopathy and chiropractic. Lust established a second school devoted to teaching the principles of massage and physiotherapy. Additionally he offered home-study courses in naturopathy and started a magazine about naturopathy.

Lust later reorganized the Naturopathic Society of America at the national level, calling the group the American Institute of Naturopathy. Likewise in 1919, he combined the independent Kneipp Societies into a unified group, called the American Naturopathic Association (ANA). In 1921 the ANA elected Lust to a lifetime term as president of the society. Benedict Lust, a staunch proponent of natural healing and natural food remedies, championed the cause of the naturopath and spent much of his lifetime battling the American Medical Association for legitimacy.

The naturopathic profession has a 100-year history in North America. Naturopathy evolved in the late 19th century from the work of Dr. Benedict Lust, a German physician who came to the United States in 1892 to spread the practice of hydrotherapy. Naturopathy grew to include all natural methods of healing, including the use of botanical medicines, homeopathy, nutritional therapy, and manipulative therapies. The term "naturopathy" was coined for this evolving system of natural therapies in 1895 by Dr. John Scheel of New York City, to describe his method of health care.

He attended and graduated from the New York Homeopathic Medical College in 1901

He obtained his osteopathic degree in 1902 from the Universal College of Osteopathy in New York

Le courant éclectique

Ce courant était constitué de médecins dissidents qui désiraient toutefois maintenir des standards de la pratique. Il s’agissait d’une synthèse de la matière médicale, des traditions herboristes autochtones, homéopathiques et d’autres pratiques populaires. Cette philosophie servit de base à la première école de naturopathie fondée par Bénédict Lust.

C’est à cette époque que Bénédict Lust fonda à New York la première école américaine de naturopathie.

La naturopathie est née en 1902, au moment où Benedict Lust, un immigrant allemand, a fondé à New York l'American School of Naturopathy. Cette école a rapidement pris de l'ampleur, si bien qu'en 1919, Lust a également fondé l'American Naturopathic Association.

Nearby in the Big Apple, Benedict Lust, MD, ND, considered the father of naturopathy in America, was operating his American School of Chiropractic alongside the American School of Naturopathy.

In any event, the early history of chiropractic and naturopathy are inexorably intertwined.

 In 1898 he changed the name of his store from the “Kneipp Store” to the “Health Food Store.” He acquired chiropractic training and established the New York School of Massage and the American School of Chiropractics. Lust directed his energies into the promotion of Naturopathy.