Naturopathic Medicine

  Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the human body has an
innate healing ability. Naturopathic doctors (NDs) teach their patients to use
diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and cutting edge natural therapies to enhance
their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease. NDs view the patient as a
complex, interrelated system (a whole person), not as a clogged artery or a
tumor. Naturopathic physicians craft comprehensive treatment plans that blend
the best of modern medical science and traditional natural medical approaches to
not only treat disease, but to also restore health.

Naturopathic physicians base their practice on six timeless principles founded on medical
tradition and scientific evidence.

• Let nature heal. Our bodies have such a powerful, innate instinct for
  self-healing. By finding and removing the barriers to this self-healing—such as
  poor diet or unhealthy habits—naturopathic physicians can nurture this process. 


• Identify and treat causes. Naturopathic physicians understand that
  symptoms will only return unless the root illness is addressed. Rather than
  cover up symptoms, they seek to find and treat the cause of these symptoms.


• First, do no harm. Naturopathic physicians follow three precepts to ensure their patients’ safety: 
  
  
  
  • Use low-risk procedures and healing compounds—such as dietary supplements,
    herbal extracts and homeopathy—with few or no side effects.
  
  
  • When possible, do not suppress symptoms, which are the body’s efforts to
    self-heal. For example, the body may cook up a fever in reaction to a bacterial
    infection. Fever creates an inhospitable environment for the harmful bacteria,
    thereby destroying it. Of course, the naturopathic physician would not allow the
    fever to get dangerously high.
  
  
  • Customize each diagnosis and treatment plan to fit each patient. We all heal
    in different ways and the naturopathic physician respects our differences.
    


• Educate patients. Naturopathic medicine believes that doctors must be
  educators, as well as physicians. That’s why naturopathic physicians teach their
  patients how to eat, exercise, relax and nurture themselves physically and
  emotionally. They also encourage self-responsibility and work closely with each
  patient.


• Treat the whole person. We each have a unique physical, mental,
  emotional, genetic, environmental, social, sexual and spiritual makeup. The
  naturopathic physician knows that all these factors affect our health. That’s
  why he or she includes them in a carefully tailored treatment strategy.


• Prevent illness. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure"
  has never been truer. Proactive medicine saves money, pain, misery and lives.
  That’s why naturopathic physicians evaluate risk factors, heredity and
  vulnerability to disease. By getting treatment for greater wellness, we’re less
  likely to need treatment for future illness.

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