I want to clear up the apparent confusion on Naturopathic Medicine. Since the COVID debacle, it seems people trust modern or traditional allopathic medicine less than ever. According to a recent study conducted by JAMA Network Open published on July 31, 2024, the following findings are pertinent:
“In every sociodemographic group in this survey study among 443 455 unique respondents aged 18 years or older residing in the US, trust in physicians and hospitals decreased substantially over the course of the pandemic, from 71.5% in April 2020 to 40.1% in January 2024. Individuals with lower levels of trust were less likely to have been vaccinated or received boosters for COVID-19.”
I want to be very fair here. This article is not to bash the medical community. However, perception is very powerful, and it influences people’s behavior. That’s a 31% drop in 4 short years. Admittedly, we were misled and in some cases, out and out lied to during the pandemic. The fallout from that period is varied, but my focus here is how this perception has moved in favor of Natural medicine and methodologies. More and more people are interested in and giving a second look at health options that go back thousands of years. Enter Naturopathic medicine.
Naturopathic medicine as we now know it is 100 years old, tracing its origins to Dr. Benedict Lust. Dr. Lust came to the United States from Germany to practice and teach the hydrotherapy. A committee of Kneipp practitioners met in 1900 and determined that the practice should be expanded to incorporate all natural methods of healing that had existed for a much longer period of time, including botanical medicines, nutritional therapy, physiotherapy, psychology (mind–body connection), homeopathy and the manipulative therapies. They called their profession “Naturopathy.” The first school of naturopathy was founded by Dr. Lust in New York City and graduated its first class in 1902.
Now, let’s clear up the distinction between a Naturopath and a Naturopathic Doctor or ND. The scope of practice of naturopathic physicians (NDs) varies by jurisdiction. Currently, only twenty two states, Puerto Rico, and five Canadian provinces license naturopathic physicians. THEY ARE NOT LICENSED HERE IN MICHIGAN! Several of these jurisdictions regard NDs as primary care physicians and provide them with the scope of diagnostic and therapeutic privileges necessary to be the doctor first seen by the patient for general health care, for advice on keeping healthy, and for the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic conditions. In those jurisdictions in which NDs are not licensed, the scope of practice excludes the diagnosis and treatment of disease.
The naturopathic physician is defined by the U.S. Department of Labor as one who:
“diagnoses, treats, and cares for patients, using a system of practice
that bases its treatment of all physiological functions and abnormal
conditions on natural laws governing the body, utilizes physiological,
psychological and mechanical methods, such as air, water, heat, earth, phytotherapy (treatment by use of plants), electrotherapy, physiotherapy,
minor surgery, mechanotherapy, naturopathic corrections and manipulation,
and all natural methods or modalities, together with natural medicines,
natural processed foods, herbs, and natural remedies. Excludes major
surgery, therapeutic use of x-ray and radium, and prescribing of drugs,
except those substances containing elements or compounds which are compounds of body tissues and are physiologically compatible to body
processes for maintenance of life.”
Naturopaths, like me, focus on a holistic approach, avoiding the use of surgery and conventional medicines. Naturopaths aim to prevent illness through stress reduction, changes to diet and lifestyle, herbal medicine and aromatherapy, often rejecting the methods of allopathic medicine.
We have six principles of healing that we follow. They are based on the objective observation of the nature of health and disease and are examined in light of scientific analysis. So anyone who tells you that Naturopaths “don’t follow the science” is mistaken.
The six principles are:
1. First, do no harm-primum no nocere
2. Identify and treat the cause – tolle causam
3. The healing power of Nature – vis medicatrix naturae
4. The physician as teacher-docere
5. Treat the whole person - in
perturbato animo sicut in corpore sanitas esse non potest
6. Prevention-principiis obsta: sero medicina curatur
1. The body will always seek homeostasis, or balance. Any therapeutic actions must be complementary and synergistic to this process. The well-being of the person is always upper most in our minds, and anything that is harmful will be avoided.
2. All illness occurs with a cause. We look for the underlying causes of disease and seek ways to eliminate the cause so the body can recover. Symptoms are only outward expressions of an internal failure that must be addressed. We address causes on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual level. We look for underlying causes on all levels and focus on root causes, while relieving the symptoms.
3. Our bodies have an inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. God designed our bodies to heal in response to the life force. It is ordered and intelligent. As Naturopaths, we help facilitate that process, identify and remove obstacles to health and recovery and support a healthy internal and external environment.
4. Naturopaths educate. A healthy, sensitive interpersonal relationship with our clients is integral to our approach to wellness. Our main goal is to educate and encourage our clients to take responsibility for their own health. We make a commitment to the personal and spiritual development of our clients.
5. We don’t address dis-ease by symptom or organ, but rather look at the body as one organism involving interaction of physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental and social factors. We simply MUST address the whole person to remain consistent with the processes of the body’s healing. We do not take a one size fits all approach. Recommendations are personalized to the individual.
6. Our ultimate goal is prevention. We accomplish this through education and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits. We assess risk factors and hereditary susceptibility and make appropriate recommendations and suggestions to avoid any harm or risk to the individual. Our emphasis is on building health and wellness rather than fighting disease. We also work to help our clients create a healthier environment, since it’s so very difficult to remain healthy in an unhealthy environment.
People are learning that there are alternatives when considering health care. There IS a better way than spending your life looking at one disease after another. Start at the ground floor and build a healthy body so you can focus on walking in wellness.
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