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What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Medicine is a unique system of healthcare that promotes natural healing and helps prevent disease. Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine, NDs, are trained as primary care general practitioners who use a variety of scientifically-proven natural therapeutics to holistically treat both acute and chronic health conditions. |
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Natural Therapies and Modalities:
Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine use a variety of natural and non-invasive therapies, including clinical nutrition, lifestyle counseling, physical medicine, hydrotherapy, massage therapy, botanical medicine, homeopathy, stress management, and natural hormone therapy. Naturopathic Medicine is highly beneficial in an integrated medical framework, complementing the treatments of conventionally trained medical doctors, chiropractic doctors, acupuncturists, and other licensed healthcare practitioners. The result is a patient-centered approach that is unique in today's medical setting.
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Philosophy of Naturopathic Medicine:
Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine are guided by six Principles of Naturopathy, which emphasize a holistic and natural approach to patient care, diagnosis, management, and the treatment of medical conditions. The Principles of Naturopathic Medicine include:
• First Do No Harm - Naturopathic Doctors use safe, gentle, and natural therapies to improve the wellbeing of a patient while limiting risk and adverse effects.
• The Healing Power of Nature - Naturopathic Medicine respects the innate intelligence of the human body to heal. The Vital Force stimulates the physiological systems of the body to bring the organism into balance and equilibrium, moving it towards a state of optimal health.
• Find and Treat the Cause of Illness - Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine address lifestyle and nutritional factors that cause disease susceptibility. Through tonification of tissues and organs, as well as supplementation of nutritional deficiencies, Naturopathic Medicine goes to the source of disease and promotes the true treatment of illness.
• Treat the Whole Person - Naturopathic Doctors treat the whole person while taking into consideration the complex factors of human existence, including lifestyle, diet, nutritional status, environmental toxins, genetic predisposition, and emotional, mental, and spiritual health.
• Doctor as Teacher - Docere, the Latin root for doctor, means "to teach." A principal objective of Naturopathic Medicine is to educate the patient using current, scientifically-proven information and clinically valid therapeutics to promote responsibility for one's own health and well-being.
• Prevention - Naturopathic Medicine teaches the benefits of healthy living in order to prevent the development of chronic illness and destructive disease states. |
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