What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Doctors received the same basic training as medical doctors.
This means they attended a four-year accredited medical university — a post-baccalaureate program — where they learned all the same skills as a medical doctor.
In addition, Naturopathic Doctors are trained in different modalities of healing, natural therapies, and practices that are centuries old, yet present in modern medical research. Some of these practices, which have incredible benefits for the body, have been left behind by conventional medicine over time. They include nutrition using food, nutrition using supplements, herbal and botanical medicine, homeopathy, hydrotherapy (healing with water), and mind-body medicine.
These modalities are guided by the Six Principles of Naturopathic Medicine.
The 6 Principles of Naturopathic Medicine:
1. First, do no harm.
The first method of treatment would be the least invasive option — not surgery or toxic drugs. For example, a person suffering from constipation would be encouraged to increase their water and vegetable intake before using an over-the-counter laxative.
2. The healing power of nature – The Vis Medicatrix Naturae.
If Naturopathic Doctors give the body the tools it needs, such as proper nutrition, the body will heal itself — naturally. Naturopathic Doctors assist with this process by giving the tools needed for healing and removing the obstacles that prevent a cure.
3. Find the cause.
Do not just treat the symptoms. For example, if a person has failing kidneys, Naturopathic Doctors do not just try to help the kidneys work properly — they investigate why the kidney is not working. Is there high blood pressure or high blood sugar stressing out the kidneys? By addressing the cause — and the person as a whole — Naturopathic Doctors assist clients in achieving true healing, instead of simply putting a band-aid over the symptoms.
4. The doctor is a teacher — Docere.
Naturopathic Doctors do not just write remedies on a prescription pad. They want to empower clients so they can heal themselves with the right tools and education – as well as understand the full disease process that’s happening in their body. Education and training is a must for Naturopathic Doctors!
5. Prevention.
An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure! It’s so much easier to teach someone a healthy lifestyle and have them remain healthy than it is to cure them once they are sick.
6. Treat the whole person.
Naturopathic Doctors examine the entire system to understand what is happening in the body. The organs of bodies are intricately connected and work in synergy. The goal is to know what is happening in the whole body, instead of just looking at, for example, a single kidney or eye.
