Dr. Christopher

Dr. John R. Christopher, known popularly as "Dr. Christopher" was one of very few nationally prominent doctors of herbal medicine of the middle third of the 20th century, a "dark ages" of herbalism and was responsible for the herbal renaissance of the 1960s.

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He was born November 25, 1909 in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Jean Ramone and Lorena Roth Raymond who put him in an orphanage where

he was adopted by Leander and Melissa Ann Craig Christopher. He was called Raymond, and nearly died of the croup, when a stranger appeared at the door and gave his father instructions on dealing with the phlegm, announcing that Raymond would have an important mission in life. The father believed this to be a vision and the family took heed. Raymond suffered from Rheumatoid arthritis and was not expected by his doctors to last past the age of 30. His adoptive mother suffered from diabetes and dropsy and Raymond decided to become a doctor, preferably one that did not cut people open since he disliked the sight of blood. A chance meeting with a doctor who diagnosed using iridology and treated with herbs inspired him to learn naturopathic medicine. ^[1]

An automobile accident nearly killed him, although chiropractic treatment provided relief. During his painful recovery he picked up the Mormon scripture The Doctrine and Covenants and read Section 89, commonly known as "The Word of Wisdom," a health code for the church. This referred to eating meat sparingly and called grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables wholesome. He changed his diet to fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, and seeds and experienced dramatic improvements in his health. ^[2]

In 1939 he wrote Just What is the Word of Wisdom?, a booklet that described this experience and outlined his ideas about diet and health. During World War II he obtained Concientious Objector status and worked at North Fort at Washington's Fort Lewis, where he was assigned to supervise a medical dispensary. Here Raymond Christopher, a buck private, gave orders to pharmacists and therapists, all of whom outranked him. But he observed orthodox medicine and realized that the natural cures he had been using could help people who were not being helped.

He was widely ridiculed by his commanding officer Major Shumate until he cured a soldier, upon a dare, of serious impetigo by using black walnut hulls tinctured in rubbing alcohol. Upon the visible evidence of his success Major Shumate allowed him to set up a laboratory on the base and he became the became the only practicing herbalist in the United States Army during World War II. His black walnut tincture was also used for fungus infection and jungle rot. When soldiers learned that Private Christopher could cure jungle rot, his patient load multiplied. Eventually this tincture was successful in curing scrofula, eczema, ringworm, shingles, and chronic boils.

References

See also

• Eclectic medicine
• Herbalism
• Pharmacognosy
• Botany
• Nutrition