Isaac Jennings (November 7, 1788 March 13, 1874) was an American

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

and writer who pioneered

orthopathy Orthopathy (from the Greek ὀρθός ''orthos'' 'right' and πάθος ''pathos'' 'suffering') or natural hygiene (NH) is a set of alternative medical beliefs and practices originating from the ''Nature Cure'' movement. Proponents claim that f ...

(natural hygiene).

Biography

Jennings was born on November 7, 1788 in

Fairfield, Connecticut Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. Located within the New York metropolitan area ...

.Orcutt, Samuel; Beardsley, Ambrose. (1880)
''The History of the Old Town of Derby, Connecticut, 1642-1880. With Biographies and Genealogies''
Press of Springfield Printing Company. pp. 601-603 He studied medicine with Eli Ives of New Haven. He was licensed to practice medicine and located himself in

Trumbull, Connecticut Trumbull is a town located in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders on the cities of Bridgeport and Shelton and the towns of Stratford, Fairfield, Easton and Monroe. The population was 36,827 during the 2020 census. Trumbul ...

. He moved his practice to

Derby, Connecticut Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, approximately 8 miles west-northwest of New Haven. It is located in southwest Connecticut at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers. It borders the cities of Ansoni ...

in 1820. Jennings graduated from

Yale School of Medicine The Yale School of Medicine is the graduate medical school at Yale University, a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was founded in 1810 as the Medical Institution of Yale College and formally opened in 1813. The primary te ...

in 1812.Whorton, James C. (2016 edition). ''Crusaders for Fitness: The History of American Health Reformers''. Princeton University Press. pp. 135-136. He obtained his M.D. from Yale in 1828. Jennings practiced conventional medicine for many years but became discouraged with its results. In 1822, Jennings began to give his patients without knowledge,

placebo A placebo ( ) is a substance or treatment which is designed to have no therapeutic value. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like Saline (medicine), saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. In general ...

s of bread pills and coloured water tonics.Lelieveld, H. L. M; Holah, John; Mostert, M. A. (2005). ''Handbook of Hygiene Control in the Food Industry''. Woodhead Publishing Limited. pp. 3-4. His patients health improved but caused controversy when his secret was revealed and his patients requested medicine.Iacobbo, Karen; Iacobbo, Michael. (2004). ''Vegetarian America: A History''. Praeger Publishing. pp. 28-29. He refused to prescribe medicine and his career was damaged. It was noted that "his unorthodox view involved him in many controversies and diminished his practice to some extent." The experiment convinced him that drugs were worthless and by the 1830s, he even discarded placebos. He believed that only nature could "restore her damaged machinery and revitalize it." He described medicine as a "gross delusion". In 1839, he became a member of the Board of Trustees of the

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

.Hoff, Hebbel E. (1961). ''Isaac Jennings and the Magic Bullet''. ''

Bulletin of the History of Medicine The ''Bulletin of the History of Medicine'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal established in 1933. It is an official publication of the American Association for the History of Medicine and of the Johns Hopkins Institute of the Histor ...

'' 35 (1): 71-73. In 1847 at the college, he wrote his book ''Medical Reform''. In his 1867 book ''The Tree of Life'', he defined orthopathy as "from orthos, right, true, erect; and pathos, affection. Nature is always upright—moving in the right direction." His system of orthopathy was known as the "do-nothing cure", "do-nothing mode of treating disease", "let alone plan" and the "no-medicine plan". He prescribed bathing, rest and a

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

diet as part of his system.Fletcher, Robert Samuel. (1943)
''A History of Oberlin College From its Foundation Through the Civil War''
Oberlin College. p. 332 His no-medicine plan was based on the idea of

vitalism Vitalism is a belief that starts from the premise that "living organisms are fundamentally different from non-living entities because they contain some non-physical element or are governed by different principles than are inanimate things." Wher ...

.Fletcher, Robert Samuel. (1943)
''A History of Oberlin College From its Foundation Through the Civil War''
Oberlin College. p. 334 He believed that nature does its best to keep the human system in health and to give the best opportunity for the "vital forces" to work, the patient must rest and not be disturbed by medicine or stimulants. He was a congregationalist and deacon in Derby and Oberlin. Jennings was a temperance activist and opposed the use of

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

and all

drug A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

s. He was a vegetarian and opposed the consumption of coffee, tea,

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. Humans have hunted, farmed, and scavenged animals for meat since prehistoric times. The establishment of settlements in the Neolithic Revolution allowed the domestication of animals such as chic ...

and

spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...

s. He considered the use of coffee and tea to be injurious and a "great sin in the church". In 1867, the ''Buffalo Medical and Surgical Journal'' described Jennings' methods of utilizing bread pills as "down right quackery and imposition" and a "disgrace to the regular profession". A review of his book ''The Tree of Life'' suggested it was "without a particle of merit" and the ideas would not be popular with people of the present day. Jennings died of

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severity ...

on March 13, 1874 in

Oberlin, Ohio Oberlin is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, 31 miles southwest of Cleveland. Oberlin is the home of Oberlin College, a liberal arts college and music conservatory with approximately 3,000 students. The town is the birthplace of the ...

. Jennings influenced many natural hygienists including Felix L. Oswald,

Russell T. Trall Russell Thacher Trall (August 5, 1812 – September 23, 1877) was an American physician and proponent of hydrotherapy, Orthopathy, natural hygiene and vegetarianism. Trall authored the first American Veganism, vegan cookbook in 1874. Biography ...

, Herbert M. Shelton, Hilton Hotema and many others. He has been listed as a father of the hygiene movement.Lloyd, Iva. (2009). ''The History of Naturopathic Medicine: A Canadian Perspective''. McArthur & Company. p. 386.

Publications

''Medical Reform: A Treatise on Man's Physical Being and Disorders''
(1847)
''The Philosophy of Human Life''
(1852)
''The Tree of Life: Or, Human Degeneracy, its Nature and Remedy: Based on the Elevating Principle of Orthopathy''
(1867)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, Isaac 1788 births 1874 deaths 19th-century American physicians American Congregationalists American health and wellness writers American temperance activists American vegetarianism activists Deaths from pneumonia in Ohio Orthopaths People from Fairfield, Connecticut Pseudoscientific diet advocates Tea critics Vitalists Yale School of Medicine alumni

Biography

Publications

See also

References