What is Naturopathic Medicine
Naturopathic Medicine is a formal medical discipline of primary and specialty healthcare, emphasizing treatment, prevention and optimal health using therapeutic methods and substances that not only treat diseases and symptoms directly, but also encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process.
The practice of Naturopathic Medicine includes modern, conventional, and traditional and natural, scientific, and empirical methods of diagnosis and treatment.
A key distinction of Naturopathic Medicine is in its philosophy – that a person and the planet have an innate wisdom and ability to heal itself given the proper treatment and removing obstacles to healing.
We combine medication and other treatments with the goal to work with the body.
A simple illustration of this:
If someone has a cut, we clean out the cut (to help the body fight/prevent infection), make sure someone is up to date with their tetanus to prevent tetanus, suture the wound if needed (to optimize healing and decrease scar formation and to decrease risk of infection), and ensure that the person is properly nourished with macro and micronutrients so the body can do the important work of healing. If a person gets an infection, we use anti-microbials (antibiotics) to actively kill the bacteria so the body can more effectively fight the infection and heal. We understand that it is not the sutures or the anti-microbials that heal the wound…those are important tools that help the body to do its best to heal. It is the body that does the hard work of healing.
My job, as a Naturopathic Physician is not only to optimize function or actively treat a symptom, infection, or disease, but simultaneously help create, nourish, and optimize the circumstances that will allow the person to heal…mind, body, spirit.
