3. WHO ARE NATUROPATHS?

Naturopathic doctors are licensed medical doctors who integrate the best of conventional medicine with botanical, nutritional, and homeopathic therapies. They assess not only their patient’s physical health but they’re emotional, mental, and spiritual health as well, informed by the philosophy of treating the whole person and not just the symptoms. Naturopathic doctors use conventional and alternative treatments to complement each other, giving them a toolkit that is considerably more diverse than that of traditional doctors.

4. NATUROPATHIC TREATMENT

1.) Medicatrix Nature: The very nub of Naturopathic Medicine is based on the Latin concept of “Medicatrix Naturae”, or the Healing Power of Nature. The body has an innate ability to maintain and restore health. Naturopathic physicians facilitate this healing process by removing obstacles to cure and identifying treatments to enhance healing.

2.) Identify and Treat the Root Cause: Naturopathic physician’s treatment is based on alleviating the underlying causes of illness rather than just treating the symptoms of the disease. Symptoms are an external manifestation of an internal imbalance due to any combination of physical, mental, or emotional malfunctioning. Symptom management may be important, but it is more important not to ignore the underlying cause of the disease.

3.) First do not harm: A naturopathic treatment plan uses therapies that are gentle, non-invasive, least-toxic, practical, and do not have adverse side effects. A conscious effort is made to use methods that do not suppress symptoms.

4.) Motivate: The primary role of naturopathic physicians is educating, empowering, and motivating patients to be more responsible for their health by adopting a healthy attitude, lifestyle, and diet. Thomas Edison once said, “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest patients in the maintenance of the human frame, in diet, and the prevention of disease.” It is more effective to teach than treat patients.

5.) Treat the whole person: Naturopathic physicians identify specific weaknesses or dysfunctions in their patients and tailor treatment based on the patient’s individual needs. It is the patient that requires treatment, not the disease state or symptom. Naturopathic physicians are interested in finding and treating characteristic symptoms that define the patient rather than common symptoms that characterize the disease.

6.) Prevention: It is far easier and cheaper to prevent a disease than to treat it. Naturopathic physicians evaluate both subjective and objective information necessary to uncover potential susceptibilities to future disease states in their patients.