Anthroposophic medicine
Anthroposophic medicine is a holistic approach to healthcare that integrates spiritual and philosophical insights into conventional medical practices. Founded by Rudolf Steiner in the early 20th century, it emphasizes a deep understanding of the human being, viewing health and illness as interconnected aspects of life. This system looks at four manifestations of human existence—etheric, astral, spiritual, and physical bodies—focusing on how these elements interact to influence health. Practitioners use a combination of conventional diagnostic methods and personalized assessments to develop treatment plans that support the body's natural healing abilities.
Anthroposophic medicine is particularly noted for addressing various conditions, including cancer, immune disorders, and psychiatric issues, typically employing therapies like diet, artistic modalities, and specially prepared medications derived from natural sources. While many studies indicate positive clinical outcomes and patient satisfaction, particularly with mistletoe therapy for cancer, the field also faces scrutiny due to the lack of rigorous clinical trial designs. In Europe, anthroposophic medicine is widely accepted, with a growing interest in other countries, including the United States. Safety is generally seen as favorable, with adverse reactions being rare, although concerns have been raised regarding unproven treatments during crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anthroposophic medicine
DEFINITION: A holistic, human-centered extension of conventional medical practice that promotes a spiritual understanding of the human being in health and illness. It is sometimes called anthroposophical medicine.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USES: Cancer, immune and inflammatory disorders, pediatric disorders, psychiatric disorders
OTHER PROPOSED USE: Developmental disabilities
Overview
Rudolf Steiner (1861–1925) built on his philosophical system, anthroposophy (from the Greek words anthropos, meaning “human,” and sophia, meaning “wisdom”), to lay the foundations of a new medical system. Designed as an art and a science, this system reaches the spiritual side of existence and stimulates the body’s natural healing forces. Steiner collaborated with medical doctors, primarily Ita Wegman (1876–1943) and teachers, to develop a “curative” educational system based on the idea that education is essential to maintaining health and preventing illness. Steiner published several books on anthroposophy and his work in medicine, including Occult Science: An Outline (1913), The Philosophy of Spiritual Activity (1894), and Story of My Life (1924).
Several important principles guide the anthroposophical approach in medicine. Each person has a divinely guided destiny that includes individual freedom with the potential for error and illness. Illness can provide positive opportunities for development and change. Steiner recognized four manifestations of the human body that need to be considered as a whole if a person is to be treated efficiently. These manifestations are the etheric body (life force), astral body (conscious awareness), spiritual body (self-awareness or ego), and physical body. The three main functional systems of the body are considered to be the sense-nervous system (conscious), reproductive-metabolic (unconscious) system, and rhythmic system (dreamlike). During life, the invisible bodies (three of the four manifestations) intimately connect with the organs and physiological processes of the physical body. The etheric body is especially active in growth and nutrition, the astral body functions in the nervous system, and the ego expresses itself in blood and muscular activity. Anthroposophic practitioners strive to understand a person’s condition in terms of the way the four bodies interact.
Mechanism of Action
The conventional approach to medicine is limited by a materialistic view of the human body and an insufficient understanding of the ultimate causes of illness. In anthroposophic medicine (AM), illness is analyzed in terms of interrelationships between the physical and spiritual elements of the person. The therapeutic process seeks to influence and rebalance one or more of these elements. Every treatment aims to enhance the person’s healing force, improve health, and deepen self-knowledge. From a pathological point of view, two main categories of disorders are distinguished in AM: metabolic pole disorders, in which physical and etheric forces predominate and build bodily substance (by generating inflammatory or feverish conditions, such as childhood infectious illnesses), and head pole disorders, in which ego and astral activity predominate and destroy bodily substance (by generating disorders of late life, such as degenerative illnesses and cancer).
Modern AM, an evolving discipline, retains its holistic character. The diagnostic process, however, now includes conventional methods (such as laboratory investigations and imaging) coupled with assessing a multitude of factors, such as the patient’s constitution, lifestyle, diet, body rhythms (eating, sleeping, menstruation), behavioral patterns, and affinities (such as artistic inclinations). The physician’s own spiritual state is important, too, and they will often employ meditative techniques in the diagnostic process. Overall, the therapeutic process relies on the collaboration of professionally trained doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and therapists.
Uses and Applications
AM is considered particularly suitable for inflammatory and immune conditions, childhood illnesses, developmental abnormalities, cancer, and psychiatric disorders. Therapeutic approaches include diet, special medications, and special artistic and physical therapies. Whenever possible, the treatments should support a person’s own healing forces, with minimal resort to symptomatic medication.
Remedies are derived from minerals, plants, animals, and chemically defined substances. These remedies are prepared in concentrated form or in homeopathic potencies and are administered in various ways (oral, rectal, vaginal, nasal, percutaneous, or by injection). Medication can be standardized or individualized, and it may be administered alone or combined with conventional therapies. One of the most popular AM remedies remains the Iscador anticancer range of products derived from mistletoe (Viscum album). The Weleda Group, headquartered in Arlesheim, Switzerland, is one of the largest producers and exporters of anthroposophic medicines.
Artistic therapies (such as painting, clay modeling, music, and speech exercises), biographic work, curative eurythmy (an artistic, deliberate method of movement), rhythmical massage, hydrotherapy, and anthroposophic nursing also belong to the AM therapeutic armamentarium.
Scientific Evidence
Hundreds of clinical trials of variable design, mostly observational and sometimes of low technical quality, have shown good clinical outcomes and safety for AM treatments. Study randomization is difficult, however, and the double-blind paradigm is rarely used. According to anthroposophic practitioners, this is due to the highly individualized nature of the treatment and the difficulty in conducting rigorous investigations on a relatively small scale.
One-half of all AM trials target cancer remedies, especially mistletoe preparations. In preclinical studies, mistletoe extracts have been shown to have immunostimulant and cytostatic effects. Many clinical trials of mistletoe anthroposophic preparations have been conducted using various designs. The best evidence on the efficacy of mistletoe therapy exists for the improvement of quality of life and improved tolerability of conventional therapies (such as chemotherapy, radiotherapy, and surgery). In addition, tumor remission induced by injecting mistletoe extracts is well substantiated. However, the efficacy of the remedy is often called into question because of the absence of double-blinding in these studies.
Apart from studies looking at AM cancer therapy, two evaluations of AM naturalistic systems were conducted in Europe. In German outpatients with mental, musculoskeletal, respiratory, and other chronic conditions, anthroposophic treatment led to sustained improvements in symptoms and quality of life. In primary care patients from four European countries and the United States treated for acute respiratory and ear infections by anthroposophic or conventional physicians, AM was associated with a reduced use of antibiotics and antipyretics, faster recovery, and fewer adverse reactions.
Numerous studies show that persons receiving anthroposophic art therapy enjoy a long-term reduction of chronic disease symptoms and an improvement in life quality. In one Swedish study, the prevalence of atopy (predisposition to allergic reactions) in children from anthroposophic-practicing families was lower than in children from other types of families. The study authors suggested that lifestyle factors associated with anthroposophy (such as probiotic foods, reduced exposure to antibiotics, and a lack of vaccination during infancy) may reduce the risk of atopy in children.
In 2023, the World Health Organization published the Benchmarks for Training in Anthroposophic Medicine, which addresses safety concerns, training standards, precautions, and information about commonly used AM products. This guideline provides a basis for practitioners and consumers to make quality healthcare decisions.
Choosing a Practitioner
All anthroposophic doctors must qualify first in conventional medicine and then undergo further specific training to gain a thorough understanding of the spiritual dimension of health and illness. The same pathway is followed by anthroposophic nurses.
A leading holistic health movement throughout Europe, AM is widely established and accepted in Germany, Switzerland, and the Netherlands, where many hospitals and general practitioners exist. German researchers found that anthroposophic doctors had more time for their patients and relied less on the use of technical tools.
The English-speaking world exhibits a growing interest in this practice. In the United Kingdom, both the national health system and the private sector include AM practitioners. In the United States, practitioners reside in many large cities, but the overall number of anthroposophic physicians is relatively small.
Interested persons and practitioners can contact anthroposophic professional associations or a residential clinic, such as the Rudolf Steiner Health Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. More than one thousand Waldorf schools worldwide teach Steiner's philosophy.
Safety Issues
AM is an adjunct to conventional medicine rather than an alternative and is largely considered safe. German government-funded studies of the safety of complementary medicine have reached positive conclusions regarding AM.
Anthroposophic treatment is generally well tolerated, with rare adverse reactions of mild to moderate severity. The most commonly described phenomena include local reactions from topical application, systemic hypersensitivity (with very rare cases of anaphylactic reactions), and aggravation of preexisting symptoms in sensitive persons.
Mistletoe therapy for cancer has generated some concern in the mainstream medical community, albeit mostly regarding persons who do not receive conventional treatment. Most people with cancer in Germany and Switzerland, for example, are prescribed mistletoe as part of a comprehensive treatment regimen. Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, some AM practitioners were cited for unprofessional behavior. Some prescribed and treated critically ill patients with unproven remedies, such as ginger and the dust of whey they believed to be shooting stars. These methods contributed to misinformation about problematic behaviors among patients and the public.
Bibliography
"Anthroposophical Medicine: Healing Mind, Body and Soul." Karger Gazette, misc.karger.com/gazette/71/wegman/art‗06.html. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Eurythmy Association in North America. www.eana.org. Accessed 15 Aug. 2023.
Evans, Michael, and Iain Rodger. Complete Healing: Regaining Your Health through Anthroposophical Medicine. Anthroposophic Press, 2000.
---. Healing for Body Soul and Spirit: An Introduction to Anthroposophic Medicine. 3rd ed., Floris Books, 2017.
Hamre, Harald J., et al. “Clinical Research in Anthroposophic Medicine.” Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, vol. 15, 2009, pp. 52-55, doi:10.1159/000331812.
Oltermann, Philip. "Ginger Root and Meteorite Dust: The Steiner ‘Covid Cures’ Offered in Germany." Guardian, 10 Jan. 2021, www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jan/10/ginger-root-and-meteorite-dust-the-steiner-covid-cures-offered-in-germany. Accessed 20 Sept. 2024.
Physicians’ Association for Anthroposophic Medicine. anthroposophicmedicine.org. Accessed 15 Sept. 2024.
Ploesser, Markus, and David Martin. “The Effects of Anthroposophic Medicine in Chronic Pain Conditions: A Systematic Review.” Journal of Integrative and Complementary Medicine, vol. 29, no. 11, 2023, pp. 705-17, doi:10.1089/jicm.2022.0723.