About Naturopathic Medicine

What Is It?

Naturopathic medicine is a unique and comprehensive approach to improving health and treating illness. Using natural substances and treatments, naturopathic doctors (NDs) support and stimulate the body's ability to heal itself.

The primary goal of naturopathic treatment is to address the cause of illness, rather than simply treat or suppress symptoms. The patient is seen as a whole person and the ND takes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions into account when diagnosing and developing a treatment plan.

The primary therapies used by naturopathic doctors are: clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, homeopathic medicine, acupuncture and oriental medicine, physical therapies and counseling.

Principles of Naturopathic Medicine

The principles of naturopathic medicine unite the profession. Naturopathic doctors are trained to combine the advances in medical science with the healing arts of herbs, homeopathy, nutrition and acupressure. This powerful combination eliminates the need for pharmaceutical medications and many surgeries. The following principles are the foundation that our naturopathic medical practice is built on.

The healing power of nature
Nature acts powerfully through healing mechanisms in the body and mind to maintain and restore health. Naturopathic physicians work to restore and support these inherent systems when they have broken down by using methods, medicines, and techniques that are in harmony with natural processes.

First do no harm
Naturopathic physicians prefer non-invasive treatments which minimize the risks of harmful side effects. They are trained to know which patients they can treat safely and which ones they need to refer to other health care practitioners.

Find the cause
Every illness has an underlying cause, often in aspects of the lifestyle, diet, or habits of the individual. A naturopathic physician is trained to find and remove the underlying cause of the disease.

Treat the whole person
Health or disease comes from a complex interaction of physical, emotional, dietary, genetic, environmental, lifestyle, and other factors. Naturopathic physicians treat the whole person, taking these factors into account.

Preventive Medicine
The naturopathic approach to health care can prevent minor illnesses from developing into more serious or chronic degenerative diseases. Patients are taught the principles with which to live a healthy life and by following these princples, they can prevent major illnesses.

Wellness
Establishing and maintaining optimum health and balance. Wellness is a state of being healthy, characterized by positive emotion, thought and action. Wellness is inherent in everyone, no matter what disease(s) are being experienced. If wellness is really recognized and experienced by an individual, it will more quickly heal a given disease than direct treatment of the disease alone.

Doctor as teacher
The original meaning of the word "doctor" is teacher. A principle objective of naturopathic medicine is to educate the patient and emphasize the self-responsibility for health. Naturopathic physicians also recognize and employ the therapeutic potential of the doctor-patient relationship.