← All pioneers

Bernard Jensen

1908–2001 · D.C., West Coast Chiropractic College, 1929

The father of American iridology, and the operator of Hidden Valley Health Ranch in Escondido — a residential school that made him one of the most-taught teachers on the circuit.

On the record. Iridology — diagnosing systemic disease from markings in the iris — has been tested repeatedly and does not work. A 2000 review concluded it is not useful and potentially harmful, since a false negative can delay real diagnosis. No personal enforcement action against Jensen was found.

Jensen transplanted European iridology into the American health-food lecture economy and taught it for half a century. He ran three sanitariums, the last being Hidden Valley Health Ranch in Escondido, which functioned as both clinic and school and put him in front of students continuously through the entire period this archive covers.

His nutritional teaching — whole foods, juices, bowel health — was conventional for the movement. The iridology is the part that does not survive contact with evidence, and it is also the part he is remembered for.

A clear rights contact exists, which makes his material among the more tractable clearances here.

Selected books

  • The Science and Practice of Iridology (1952)
  • Iridology Simplified (1980)
  • Dr. Jensen's Guide to Body Chemistry and Nutrition

Rights

Estate or foundation: Bernard Jensen Foundation / Bernard Jensen International. Clearance requests for this speaker's recordings go here.

In the archive

No recordings catalogued yet.

Sources