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Nature Cure and Non-Communicable Diseases: Ecological Therapy as Health Care in India

Alter, Joseph and Nair, R. and Nair, Rukmani (2017) Nature Cure and Non-Communicable Diseases: Ecological Therapy as Health Care in India. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14 (12). ISSN 1660-4601

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Abstract

With rapidly increasing rates of non-communicable diseases, India is experiencing a dramatic public health crisis that is closely linked to changing lifestyles and the growth of the middle-class. In this essay we discuss how the practice of Nature Cure provides a way of understanding the scale and scope of the crisis, as it is embodied, and a way to understand key elements of a solution to problems that the crisis presents for institutionalized health care. As institutionalized in contemporary India, Nature Cure involves treatment and managed care using earth, air, sunlight, and water as well as a strict dietary regimen. In this regard, the essay shows how Nature Cure’s bio-ecological orientation toward public health, which is grounded in the history of its modern incorporation into India, provides an expansionist, ecological model for holistic care that counters the reductionist logic of bio-medical pharmaceuticalization.


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Details

Item Type: Article
Status: Published
Creators/Authors:
CreatorsEmailPitt UsernameORCID
Alter, Josephjsalter@pitt.edujsalter
Nair, R.
Nair, Rukmani
Date: 7 December 2017
Date Type: Publication
Journal or Publication Title: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume: 14
Number: 12
Publisher: MDPI AG
DOI or Unique Handle: 10.3390/ijerph14121525
Schools and Programs: Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences > Anthropology
Refereed: Yes
Uncontrolled Keywords: India, Nature Cure, noncommunicable diseases, holistic health, alternative medicine, bioecology
ISSN: 1660-4601
Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14121525
Article Type: Research Article
Date Deposited: 08 Jan 2021 19:00
Last Modified: 08 Jan 2021 19:00
URI: http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/40143

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