Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of primary care that addresses the root cause of illness or disease and promotes health and healing using natural therapies. It is a combination of modern medical scientific research and traditional wisdom. It has a wide scope of practice, including modalities such as herbal medicine, clinical nutrition, homeopathy, Chinese Medicine, physical medicine, hydrotherapy and lifestyle counseling.
Naturopathic medicine is distinct in several important aspects. Firstly, naturopathic doctors (NDs) view the human body as an integrated whole, and not just a sum of its anatomical parts. What this means is that our health is the manifestation of a delicate interplay between the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of our being. A disharmony in any one of these areas could create an imbalance manifesting as physical symptoms. Naturopathic doctors recognize and respect this intricate pattern, and realize that in order for true healing to occur one must consider more than just the physical symptoms of disease.
Secondly, because NDs understand the complex inter-relationship among all of the systems in the body, they take the time to understand each patient before putting together any treatment protocol so that the root cause of a given health concern is addressed, instead of focusing only on the presenting symptoms.
Lastly, NDs do not use pharmaceutical drugs to treat illness. Instead, Naturopathic Doctors use herbal medicine, and nutraceuticals (nutritional supplements) which the body is better able to tolerate and process, yielding little to no adverse effects when used correctly. These substances gently assist the body in stimulating its inherent healing processes.
Naturopathic Medicine operates based on six principles:
– First do no harm
– Stimulate the innate healing abilities of the body
– Teach the principles of lasting good health
– Emphasize prevention
– Treat the root cause of disease
– Treat the whole person, recognizing that each person is an individual
Speak to a qualified Naturopathic Doctor to find out how Naturopathic Medicine can help you attain and keep your health goals!