Arnold Ehret

Arnold Ehret (1866–1922) was a German naturopath and author who promoted fasting and a fruit-centered regimen called the Mucusless Diet Healing System.

Connect

Fasting: Voluntary abstention from some or all food, usually for a defined period. Ehret made fasting a central part of his proposed healing regimen.
Ehretism: A dietary and fasting movement based on Arnold Ehret’s teachings. This name is used for the practice and advocacy of Ehret’s ideas.
Evidence-based medicine: Clinical decision-making that integrates research evidence, professional expertise, and patient circumstances. Ehret’s therapeutic claims were not established through the clinical evidence standards used in this approach.
Germany: A country in Central Europe and the birthplace of Arnold Ehret. Ehret was born in Germany before later promoting his ideas in the United States.
Fasting in popular culture: Public beliefs and practices surrounding fasting as a route to health, discipline, or transformation. Ehret helped popularize fasting as a broad healing practice outside medical supervision.
Raw foodism: A dietary practice centered on uncooked or minimally heated foods. Ehret advocated fruit and other foods often eaten raw, though his system was not identical to raw foodism.
Fruitarianism: A diet consisting primarily or exclusively of fruit, with definitions varying among practitioners. Ehret’s regimen gave fruit a prominent place in its proposed transition toward a mucusless diet.
Human nutrition: The study of how food and nutrients support human growth, health, and bodily function. Modern nutrition evaluates diets through nutrient needs rather than Ehret’s mucus-forming classification.
1900s health reform movement: A diverse movement advocating changes to diet, hygiene, exercise, and medical practice in the early twentieth century. Ehret’s fasting and dietary advocacy emerged amid wider health-reform currents.
Diet culture: Social beliefs and practices that attach moral or health significance to controlling food and body size. Ehret’s strict food categories exemplify the moralized rules found in some dietary movements.