Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Doctors have been through the rigors of a 4 year medical school program after completing their undergraduate education at a 4 year college. After completing the 4 year program, they must pass 14 medical board exams to be a Licensed Naturopathic Physician. ND’s are taught physiology, anatomy, natural medicine, manipulation, botanical medicine, homeopathy and hydrotherapy. In addition, they must pass the same medical science board exams that conventional doctors go through. 

Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the human body has the ability to heal itself. Naturopathic doctors affect change in the body by using diet, exercise, lifestyle changes in addition to Gemmotherapy and Biotherapeutic Drainage. Naturopathic physicians 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 a powerful, innate instinct for self-healing. By finding and removing the barriers to this self-healing—such as toxicity, structural imbalances, trauma, dysbiosis, poor diet or unhealthy habits—naturopathic physicians can effectively support the body’s ability to heal.

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

• First, do no harm. Naturopathic physicians follow six precepts to ensure their patients’ safety:

  • Use healing compounds—such as dietary supplements, herbal extracts and homeopathy—with few or no side effects.

  • When possible, do not suppress symptoms. They 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 the pathogenic organisms. A Naturopathic physician would not allow the fever to get dangerously high, but we must support our body’s ability to eliminate toxic material.

  • We treat the individual, not the disease. For example, all patients with diabetes are not given the same remedies. We treat the patient rather than the disease. We all heal in different ways and the naturopathic physician respects these differences.

  • Educate patients. Naturopathic medicine believes that doctors must be teachers, 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 addresses them with their treatment protocol.

  • Prevent illness. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. Proactive medicine saves money, pain, misery and lives. That is why naturopathic physicians evaluate risk heredity and vulnerability to disease. By improving wellness, we are less likely to need treatment for future illness.