“Every human being originates from a single cell. Ultimately, each person is a collection of trillions of cells. So, on the fundamental level, there is not much difference between a cell from your heart and that of your liver or eye,” says Dr Jacob Vadakkanchery, who founded the Nature Life naturopathy hospitals in Kerala. “Naturopathy is a holistic approach to health. It focuses on the healing power of the body to cure whatever ails it. Naturopaths believe that the body is fully capable of healing and rejuvenating itself, given the chance.”
Vadakkanchery says that naturopathy does not focus on ‘treating’ the body per se, but on assisting it in its natural healing process. It uses the least invasive methods like fasting, massages and diet control. He gives an example. Raw foods make up a large part of a naturopathic diet. “Fruits and vegetables are the raw materials for our body,” says Vadakkanchery. “If we introduce another flesh into our body, be it fish, white meat or red meat, it is like introducing a finished product. The system gets confused.”
The result of this confusion is disease, which is a consequence of a wrong lifestyle. “Our body is a product of our lifestyle and food habits,” says Dr T P Ramesan of Navajeevanam hospital, Thalayolapparambu. “After all, inferior raw materials produce inferior products.”
There are two key concepts in natural living: ‘vital force’ and ‘toxaemia’. “Vital force is the source of life inside a living being,” says Ramesan. “It is what makes a being alive. In the naturopathic belief system, the level of vital force inside an organism determines its chance of survival.”
When the vital energy is strong, even if the person is suffering from a terminal illness, he can be cured by following natural healing methods like fasting. “On the other hand, if the vital energy is low, nothing can save that person, be it naturopathy, ayurveda or modern medicine,” says Ramesan. “Essentially, our food is our medicine. The foe to the vital force inside our body is toxaemia.” Toxaemia is the condition of toxins getting accumulated in the blood. “It is the cause of most illnesses,” says Ramesan. “The removal of toxins is of prime importance. The best way is to follow the five rules of food: it should be alive, wholesome, fresh, alkaline and easily digestible.”
Meanwhile, naturopaths have been outspoken against many of the practices in modern medicine. They say that many of the cancers are not dangerous. “I wrote a book about how AIDS is a false disease manufactured by international pharmaceutical giants,” says Vadakkanchery.
Ramesan, as well as Vadakkanchery, claim that AIDS can be cured through naturopathy. “We can prove it,” says Vadakkanchery. In the naturopathic view, most of the exercises that we do can be harmful to the body. “Man is designed to walk, and walking is the perfect exercise for him,” says Vadakkanchery. “Gentle forms of exercise like yoga, tai chi and dancing are good. However, these should not be a punishment to the body. Yoga should not be a circus.”
Naturopathy is helpful in curing lifestyle diseases like diabetes. Diabetic victim Thankachan from Karunagapally, Kollam, who is an inmate of Nature Life hospital, Champakkara, says, “I feel completely healthy now. I have already made a list of people to tell about this wonderful system. Let others also have the benefit.”
The frequent charge against naturopathy is that it is a kind of faith healing, and that ‘vital force’ is a non-detectable entity. However, doctors and patients alike state that naturopathy could not be more different from faith healing.
“Just have trust in your own body to heal you,” says Vadakkanchery. The experiences of several patients also confirm this. Ramani Elias was cured of her chronic cough. She quit her job as a nurse and began working at Nature Life hospital. Thanks to its many success stories, naturopathy is most popular in Kerala. “The greatest patron of naturopathy in India was Mahatma Gandhi, who promoted it as a means to ‘Swaraj’,” says Vadakkanchery. Other famous patrons include the late writer and orator Dr Sukumar Azhikode and former Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan.