What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic medicine is a primary health care profession that focuses on maintaining optimal health through prevention and early intervention. Therapeutic methods and natural medicines are used to encourage a person’s immune system and inherent self-healing processes. Naturopathic medicine includes modern, scientific, traditional, and empirical methods.
Our Naturopathic Practice
Our Naturopathic practice includes the following and therapeutic modalities: clinical and laboratory testing, nutritional medicine, botanical medicine, naturopathic physical medicine (including naturopathic manipulative therapy), public health measures, hygiene, counseling, and homeopathy.
What are Naturopathic Medicine’s Foundational Principles?
Use The Power of Nature
Everyone has an immune system that coordinates with multiple organs to holistically keep a person healthy. Naturopathic medicine supports the body’s self-healing processes rather than circumvents it with pharmaceuticals. Naturopathic doctors can identify obstacles to healing such as mineral deficiencies so that the immune system can do its job.
Identify and Address the Causes
Rather than masking an illness’ symptoms, Naturopathic doctors identify the root cause of a disease. Eliminating the disease restores the body back to health.
Do No Harm
First, naturopathic medicine utilizes methods and medicinal substances with minimize risk of harmful side effects for the patient. Second, avoid the harmful suppression of symptoms whenever possible. Third, acknowledge and respect each individual’s ability to self-heal.
Doctor as Teacher
Naturopathic physicians strive to educate their patients about their holistic health and encourage them to take responsibility for keeping their bodies healthy.
Restore the Whole Person
Naturopathic medicine is a holistic form of medicine. A person’s physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social factors are all taken into account when discussing disease. Holistic health also includes spiritual health, and naturopathic doctors encourage their patients to pursue and grow their spiritual development regardless of their chosen faith.
Prevention
The prevention of disease can only be done by assessing the person as a whole and addressing risk factors. By identifying and removing obstacles to self-healing, long term disease prevention can be a success.