Naturopathic Medicine

INTRODUCTION
Naturopathic Medicine, or Naturopathy, is a system of medicine that uses natural substances to treat the patient and recognition that the patient's mental, emotional, and physical states must all be treated for a lasting effect.

Though the term Naturopathy was coined in 1895, this type of medicine had been practiced for hundreds, if not thousands of years prior. In the mid and late 1800s in the United States, the standard medical schools taught herbal, homeopathic, and nutritional medicine along with surgery and other more heroic type medicines.

Gradually, the pharmaceutical direction to isolate components of the herbs created more potent, but potentially more toxic drugs. Further, with the advent of antibiotics, the long-term adverse consequences of drugs was not understood and the slower, more gradual effects of Naturopathic medicine almost pushed it into disuse in the early 1900s. The current resurgence is due to a recognition of both the accomplishments and the limitations of the current medical system and the efficacy of Naturopathic medicine.

HEALING POWER OF NATURE
The foundation of Naturopathic medicine is the vitalistic philosophy of the "healing power of nature." This means that within every human organism there is a healing energy, which includes our immune system in the fuller sense of both the physical and the psyche, which is responsible for our wellness and our ability to heal and maintain health.

Following this first premise is the second, that the therapies used to support and stimulate this healing power of nature must be in "the gentlest, least invasive, most efficient manner possible".

The third Naturopathic premise is "to diagnose and treat the cause". Naturopaths do not simply treat the manifestation of the disease but rather search for the cause and treat it.

To accomplish these goals, Naturopathic medicine incorporates many therapeutic modalities: herbal medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, hydrotherapy, food, exercise therapy, physical therapy, manipulation of the bony and soft tissues, lifestyle and counseling. Additionally, some Naturopaths elect to continue their education to receive a license to practice natural childbirth.

Naturopathic medicine treats the patient from the preventive stage through to serious, chronic and debilitating disease. Therefore, people can go to Naturopaths for colds, bronchitis, allergies, as well as for heart disease, diabetes, and malignant diseases.

A recent survey of UK medical prescribing trends showed that far and away the most costly and common conditions treated by drugs are those related to ulcers and high blood pressure (each of these problems cost the NHS many hundreds of millions of pounds annually!).

The causes of peptic ulcers and high blood pressure have much in common, and these can be summarized as a combination of nutritional imbalances, poor stress coping abilities and (often) undesirable habits such as smoking (all interacting with certain predisposing, inborn, characteristics in many cases).

To take medication to control these conditions, except when the condition threatens life itself, does not address the real needs of the sick person, it just controls and masks the problem.

Naturopathic methods to both conditions would include:

•  reform of the person's diet as well, where indicated, as the use of specific supplementation
  

• the possible use of periods of detoxification (including short fasts if necessary, during which time remarkable degrees of self-repair occur)
  

•  the use of structural normalization (using osteopathy and various soft tissue techniques for example) to help the general function of the body as a whole and to reduce mechanical stress factors
  

•  the introduction of appropriate forms of stress reducing methods including breathing and relaxation techniques
  

• help (perhaps using supplements and/or acupuncture) in breaking old habits such as smoking
  

•  the use of homoeopathic and/or herbal substances to assist in the healing process but not to suppress the symptoms.