What Is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a true approach to health.  It is guided by a philosophy that honors the inherent wisdom and healing power of nature, and it includes a variety of different modalities ranging from botanical medicine, physical medicine, nutrition, homeopathy, biofeedback in addition to pharmacology, when warranted.  The accredited schools for naturopathic medicine train their students to be primary care physicians; however, not all naturopathic doctors (NDs) choose to practice as primary care physicians, and not all NDs use all of the above-mentioned modalities in their practice.

The Six Principles of Naturopathic Medicine

1. First Do No Harm – primum non nocere
   Naturopathic medicine strives to use the lowest force interventions in order to restore health.  Instead of using drugs and surgery as “go to” treatments for conditions, they are seen as high force interventions that are used in emergencies or when other interventions haven’t worked.
2. The Healing Power of Nature – vis medicatrix naturae
   There is an inherent intelligence in nature, and oftentimes what is needed is simply to remove the obstacles to cure.  These obstacles can take the form of lifestyle choices that are incompatible with health, like eating a diet high in processed/refined foods, maintaining an overly busy and stressful schedule, lacking good sleep hygeine, to name a few.  The obstacles could also be environmental, emotional or even spiritual.  Identifying and removing these obstacles can be powerful in restoring health.
3. Discover and Treat the Cause, Not Just the Effect – tolle causam
   In order to truly restore health, it is important to identify why something is happening so that you can fix the problem instead of just treat the symptoms.  This is why drugs are generally not the first type of treatment than an ND uses, since drugs mainly modify symptoms without addressing the underlying problem.
4. Treat the Whole Person – tolle totum
   The body is a collection of integrated systems.  For example, a person with chronic digestive symptoms might also experience neurological symptoms.  Those are two different systems of the body and may seem unconnected to one another, but in fact they are very connected.  In addition, a person is more than a collection of systems.  When a person is unwell, it is important to get a full history that includes physical, emotional, social, work, and spiritual details.  The treatment plan includes addressing anything that is bringing a lack of ease – or dis-ease – to that person.
5. The Physician is a Teacher – docere
   NDs place a high value on educating their patients so that they are empowered to make healthy choices and lead healthy lives.  In addition to educating their patients, NDs are also generous with their knowledge to other doctors and medical students.
6. Prevention is the best “cure” – praevenire
   Naturopathic medicine is a true healthcare system.  It is often possible to identify when someone is heading toward disease and make positive changes so that the disease is avoided.  Most of the chronic diseases in our society are caused by lifestyle and environmental exposures and are preventable.  It is much easier to prevent disease than to reverse it once it is full-blown.