Johann Heinrich Lahmann (30 March 1860 - 1 June 1905) was a German physician who was a pioneer of naturopathic medicine

Naturopathic medicine

Naturopathy, or Naturopathic Medicine, is a form of alternative medicine based on a belief in vitalism, which posits that a special energy called vital energy or vital force guides bodily processes such as metabolism, reproduction, growth, and adaptation...

. He was a native of Bremen

Bremen

The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...

, Germany.

He earned his medical doctorate at the University of Heidelberg, and after graduation became a general practitioner

General practitioner

A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...

 in Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

. On 1 January 1888 he opened a sanatorium

Sanatorium

A sanatorium is a medical facility for long-term illness, most typically associated with treatment of tuberculosis before antibiotics...

 called the "Physiatric Sanatorium" at Weißer Hirsch, outside of Dresden

Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....

. This institution would eventually become well-known internationally.

Lahmann was influenced by the methods used by Vincenz Priessnitz

Vincenz Priessnitz

Vincenz Priessnitz, also written Prießnitz was a peasant farmer in Gräfenberg, Austrian Silesia, who is generally considered the founder of modern hydrotherapy, which is used in alternative and orthodox medicine...

 (1799-1851) and Johann Schroth

Johann Schroth

Johann Schroth was an Austrian naturopath who was a native of Böhmischdorf, Freiwaldau ....

 (1798-1856), both pioneers in the field of alternative medicine

Alternative medicine

Alternative medicine is any healing practice, "that does not fall within the realm of conventional medicine." It is based on historical or cultural traditions, rather than on scientific evidence....

. He eventually turned away from traditional medicine, and was disdainful of drugs and unnatural medications. Lahmann stressed the importance of diet, exercise and fresh air, and was an ardent practitioner of physiotherapy and hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...

.

Lahmann recommended a vegetarian diet of fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grain bread and dairy products, and believed in limiting intake of table salt and liquor. He also developed five separate diets for his patients, which included food for diabetics, food for the overweight, as well as a strictly vegetarian diet. In his 1891 book, Diätetische Blutentmischung als Grundursache der Krankheiten, he argued that diseases were ultimately caused by a poor diet, and therefore a proper diet was needed to prevent illness. He was also one of the first physicians to recognize the importance of minerals in an individuals' diet, and felt that many foods were mineral deficient.

Lahmann was an advocate of animal rights, and refused to use them in laboratory experiments. He also advocated loose-fitting clothing for all his patients, and recommended both sauna

Sauna

A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....

and open-air bathing.

Selected written works

• Das Luftbad als Heil- und Abhärtungsmittel 1898
• Die Diätetische Blutentmischung als Grundursache der Krankheiten 1891
• Die Kohlensäurestauung in unserem Körper - die wichtigste allgemeine Krankheitsursache 1905