What is Naturopathic Medicine Anyway?

So you’ve probably been following my blog like the faithful friends I know you are and you’ve also probably found yourself thinking, “Man, all of this naturopathic medicine stuff sure does sound awesome!” Now that thought is probably immediately followed by, “Actually, I really don’t have any idea what naturopathic medicine is.” That’s okay. You’re not alone. In fact, until 6 months ago, I had never heard of it either and only 10% of people in the United States are familiar with naturopathic medicine. I would guess that it is for this very reason we are required to do a certain number of hours educating the community on natural medicine before graduation. (You better believe I am going to count the time I spend blogging for community education hours.)

Educating the community on naturopathy is actually a double-edged sword; I love that I get to introduce this medicinal philosophy to those near and dear to me, while at the same time, it is a tremendous task to try to express the profound and powerful nature of naturopathy adequately. I never feel like I’ve quite done it justice. (Which is part of the reason it's taken me so long to write this post.)With this in mind, I’ve put together an elevator speech on naturopathic medicine and philosophy that will only begin to hint at the vitality of the field.

So here it is:

Naturopathic medicine is a holistic approach to medicine and treats the entire person rather than symptoms or disease singularly. It focuses on the body’s inherent ability to heal itself and facilitating that process.

 Naturopathic medicine is not simply defined by methods or modalities, rather six clinical principals:

1) The Healing Power of Nature

I believe that people are inherently good; I also believe that people are inherently meant to be well. Our bodies are amazing masterpieces of perfectly orchestrated biochemical pathways and organs and genetics and hormones and many other factors all working in concert, in perfect harmony to create the thing we call human. It is nothing short of miraculous that with everything that needs to go right, and so many opportunities for anything to go wrong, that we all turn out as well functioning as we do. Our bodies are made to quickly adapt and compensate for many different scenarios, including disease. In fact, many “disease” states, fever for example, are actually the body’s attempts to heal itself. As naturopathic physicians it is our responsibility not to overcome these self-healing mechanisms, rather to stimulate them and remove any obstacles that may be impeding the body’s natural ability. The idea is “power with the body” versus “power over the body.”

The other important aspect of the healing power of nature is, of course, nature. (duh.) Nature is a powerful force and should be treated with respect. How often do we attribute our mood to the weather or talk about the invigorating quality of fresh air? From the Industrial Revolution to the cyber revolution and everything in between, our society has moved farther and farther away from nature and has forgotten how therapeutic and healing a power it is. 

2) First Do No Harm

I think we have all probably heard this phrase before; it is one that is also espoused by our allopathic counterparts. However, I think we may have a slightly different perspective on what the essence of this phrase is. Call it “spirit of the law” as opposed to “letter of the law.” In order to avoid harming our patients, naturopathic physician utilize methods and medical substances which minimize the risk of harmful side effects, using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat while avoiding the harmful suppression of symptoms. In other words, what is the least amount of force that will do the greatest amount of good? We call this the Hierarchy of Therapeutics. This is a very rational decision making process for the physician based on knowledge, experience, and good intuitive sense into a patient’s vital force and the seriousness of the illness. It is important in patient care because using the least forceful intervention to bring about success allows for minimal side effects and patient trauma. The Hierarchy can best be depicted on a spectrum.

Low Force Interventions                                                                              High Force Interventions

Energetic Medicine	Lifestyle and Dietary Intervention	Nutritional Supplements	Pharmaceutical Drugs	Surgery
Homeopathy Acupuncture Hydrotherapy Reiki Prayer	Exercise Smoking Cessation Healthy Diet Weight Loss Allergy Elimination	Botanicals Vitamins Minerals Herbs	Antibiotics Anti-hypertensives Anti-psychotics Cholesterol lowering medications	Cardiac Bypass Angioplasty Resection Etc.

3) Doctor As Teacher

As a physician you have the most privileged vantage point to listen to others a human can find. A doctor gets to hear the innermost issues of patients, and has the opportunity to synthesize those hints and facts into a diagnosis and treatment with the hopes of improving the lives of those who seek your help. Naturopathic physicians educate their patients and encourage self-responsibility for health. Our philosophy is to empower our patients by teaching them tools to change their lives and improve their health. Because we heal by working synergistically with the body’s inherent ability to heal itself, the patient ultimately maintains power over their health rather than relying on and submitting to the mercy of medical interventions and pharmaceuticals. The principal also includes understanding where a patient is coming from and meeting them on their level; just as a teacher wouldn’t try to teach variable calculus to someone struggling to learn their multiplication facts.

4) Treat The Whole Person

Physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, genetic, environmental, social, and other factors all contribute to pathology as well as well being. The most effective treatments (and physicians) are those that account for the multi-faceted way in which we live.

5) Identify and Treat the Cause

The naturopathic physician seeks to identify and remove the underlying causes of illness, rather than to merely eliminate or suppress symptoms and it is important to understand the difference.

6) Prevention

Naturopathic physicians emphasize the prevention of disease. This includes assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease and making appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness. Our goal is to help our patient live their best lives. This idea is immediately hindered when our patients come to us with diabetes and high blood pressure and emphysema from 20 years of smoking six packs a day. Don’t misunderstand, we can, and will treat these things but how much better would your life be if we avoided these problems all together? This way our focus and energy is not spent trying to reverse issues that could have been prevented in the first place. Naturopathic medicine is committed to the creation of a healthy world in which humanity may thrive.

And there you have it; the six principals of naturopathic medicine. And yes, I realize that this elevator speech would only be appropriate if we were in an elevator to the moon but like I said, I can’t even begin to do the topic justice. And truth be told… I love talking naturopathy, and if you are reading this, chances are that I love talking to you too, so if you have any questions feel free to ask away! Leave a comment, send me a text, write me a letter, give me a call… or better yet, visit a naturopath and see for yourself.