Late nineteenth-century health and nutrition emphasized the value of home remedies and recipes to prevent and treat illnesses. While many of these treatments could not cure the ailment, they attempted to find ways to ease the symptoms. People like Dr. Alvin Chase used eclectic natural and herbal remedies for symptom reduction. Domestic Manuals like Dr. Chase's New Receipt Book encouraged home-based healthcare and lead to a period of more natural medicine. 

     The turn of the twentieth-century was a time of revelations in the world of nutrition. Previously, it was thought that diseases were seasonal and sporadic, but at this time, doctors were realizing that vitamins, minerals, and clean water were essential to disease prevention. Publications were detailing these methods as the key to a healthy lifestyle.