What is Naturopathy?
Naturopathy is a holistic approach to treating illnesses of all kinds, by stimulating a body’s self-healing mechanism. Naturopathic medicine is a science-based tradition that promotes wellness by identifying the unique aspects of each patient and then employing non-toxic natural therapies to restore his or her physiological, psychological, and structural balance.
It is a combination of multiple therapies including acupuncture, herbs, massage, physical manipulations, homeopathy, hydrotherapy, nutritional counseling & much more. This treatment offers benefits to maintain long-term optimal health.
One of the principle tenets of Naturopathic medicine is credence in treating the whole person or boosting a person’s general well-being in order to treat a root cause of a disease. This treatment is often invigorating & provides the patient with energy & strength that they initially lacked, all through natural techniques.
The practices & principles of Naturopathy are older than those of conventional medicine & are globally known for promoting & maintaining body’s long-term optimal health.
- The healing power of nature: The body has an inherent ability to maintain and restore health. It is amazing! Naturopathic physicians facilitate this healing process by removing obstacles to cure and identifying treatments to enhance healing. Then, they let the body do its work.
- Identify and treat the cause: Naturopathic physicians treat the causes of illness rather than just the symptoms of disease. Symptoms are a manifestation of an internal imbalance due to any combination of causes. Symptom management may be important, but it is more important not to disregard the underlying cause of disease. Nip it in the bud, so to speak.
- First do no harm: A naturopathic treatment plan uses therapies that are gentle, non-invasive, effective, and do not have adverse side effects. A conscious effort is made to use methods that do not suppress symptoms.
- Treat the whole person: Naturopathic physicians identify specific weaknesses or dysfunctions in their patients and tailor treatment based upon the patient’s individual presentation. It is the patient that is in need of 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 define the disease.
1. Disease prevention
Preventing the disease from developing in the first place, is the most effective way of combating it. In Naturopathy, prevention of disease is at the forefront of the field, followed by proper nutrition in order to gain a healthy body & a healthy immune system.
2. Treatment of disorders
Naturopathy has the power to holistically treat many of the common ailments by traditional medicine. Some of the most common types of disorders & disease treated using naturopathy treatment are digestive disorders, allergies, headaches, common colds, skin conditions like eczema & psoriasis. The key part of managing the symptoms is nutrition & other parts of the naturopathic process. For example- cleansing the nostrils to help with allergies.
3. Choices of alternative therapies:
Naturopathy offers multiple treatment choices depending on the individual requirements. It employs the use of natural supplements, herbs, botanical remedies, homeopathy, performing reiki & acupuncture, or facilitates a powerful combination of these treatment options.
4. Increases self-awareness:
Naturopathy treatment helps connect the patients with their inner self. It helps the patients better understand their bodies. As when one gets to know their body, they better understand what it’s trying to communicate in the form of symptoms. It eventually helps one listen to their body as to what it’s telling when they experience aches, pains or other symptoms.
5. Changes the way one think:
Naturopathy is an approach that emphasizes on a combination of emotional, physical & spiritual wellness, so one is exposed to a holistic path to health. It helps one recognize the importance of spiritual, psychological & social elements to one’s well- being.
6. Safe & effective treatment:
Naturopathic practice aims at treating the underlying disease & disorders & restoring the natural body functions by encouraging the body’s own healing capacities. It assist’s the body’s healing powers by using safe & effective non-pharmaceutical approaches.
It is a highly individualized treatment that involves facilitating effective restoring techniques, self-care decisions, and much more which can prevent future health problems.
Naturopathy stimulates positive thinking, lowers stress, anxiety & depression, improves overall health, enhances outlook, boosts optimism, improves one’s ability to cope with health-related issues.
It is an individualized treatment that aims at transforming one’s overall well-being.
Naturopathic practitioners are trained as general practitioners specializing in natural medicine. They work quite well with all other branches of medical science, referring patients to other practitioners for diagnosis or treatment when appropriate. When it comes to health, the combined efforts are always best.
Naturopathic practitioners have a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree from a four-year graduate medical college with admission requirements that compare to conventional medical schools. The ND degree requires graduate-level study in conventional medical sciences, such as cardiology, biochemistry, gynecology, immunology, pathology, pharmacology, pediatrics, and neurology.
In addition to the standard medical curriculum, naturopathic students must do extensive coursework in natural therapeutics. This includes therapies from the sciences of clinical nutrition, botanical medicines, homeopathy, physical medicine, exercise therapy, lifestyle counseling, and hydrotherapy.
Naturopathic physicians are very good at treating chronic conditions that don’t respond to conventional medicine. This includes fatigue, pain, sleep issues, and digestive disorders. They are able to respond to the individual needs of patients and develop a treatment plan that includes nutritional supplements, botanical medicine, and diet therapy.
Naturopathic physicians understand the art of healing, which is more than dispensing an herbal remedy or nutritional supplement. To understand the context of a patient’s illness, the physician must take the time to listen to the patient’s story. Effective naturopathic treatment requires patience and good communication. Most patients know what is wrong and what needs to be done, but they don’t know how to translate this into an action plan. The naturopathic physician can translate the patient’s story and assign priorities among the several options that may emerge. They also take time to answer the patient’s questions.
Evidence-based medicine is considered the paradigm in healthcare and has been suggested as the methodology for natural medicine. The underlying foundation of evidence-based medicine is the randomized controlled trial, which is very valuable in evaluating single treatments for individual diseases. There are randomized controlled trials that suggest that naturopathic treatments such as botanical medicine, nutritional therapies, acupuncture, and physiotherapy are effective at treating some conditions, such as fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, depression, asthma, hypertension, and type II diabetes.
The advantages of consolidating naturopathic treatment into your way of life are numerous and are expansive. When you start to give careful consideration to what you eat, how you live and how your body responds to your general surroundings under the care of a naturopathy treatment doctor, you will learn methods for easing a significant number of the everyday issues we face. Taking care of YOU helps to take care of your body.