What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are primary health care practitioners that provide primary care services and disease prevention counseling. Naturopathic medicine is a form of holistic care that considers all aspects of health including the physical, emotional and social components when assessing the overall health of an individual. The primary goal of naturopathic treatment is to address the underlying cause of illness, rather than simply treating or suppressing symptoms. In other words, NDs concern themselves with the “why” as well as with the “what” of an illness. The following principles differentiate naturopathic medicine from other forms of health care and are used by NDs to guide their approach to healing:
- Do no harm – Naturopathic medicine provides effective treatment with the least risk possible to patients.
- Treat the cause – NDs focus on treating the root cause of your illness and avoid the suppression of symptoms.
- Doctor as teacher – NDs spend time with their patients. This time allows them to answer questions, teach patients about their illness and explain treatment plans.
- Individualized treatment – No two people are exactly alike. Since illnesses can be caused by many different factors, NDs create treatment plans specifically tailored to each individual patient.
- Emphasize prevention – Prevention is the best medicine. The goal of naturopathic medicine is for you to be as healthy as possible to prevent disease from occurring. When our bodies are functioning optimally, they are in the best position to ward off illness.
- Healing power of nature – The body has an innate ability to heal. Removing obstacles that interfere with the healing process and supplying the body with required nutrients stimulates its ability to restore optimal function and heal itself.
Naturopathic doctors are trained in a variety of modalities including clinical nutrition, Chinese medicine and acupuncture, botanical medicine, homeopathy, physical medicine, and health psychology lifestyle counseling. These modalities can be integrated to effectively meet each patient’s individual health needs.