Naturopathy: Who, What & Why?
Often when people ask me what I do I’m received with looks of puzzlement. While the principles of naturopathy have existed for centuries, it can be considered a fairly modern practice.
Naturopathic medicine incorporates both traditional wisdom and evidence-based findings to restore a state of health within an individual. Treatment plans are highly variable from person to person and are tailored to meet each individual's needs.
Naturopaths practise according to six foundational pillars:
First, do no harm
To restore function and reduce risks associated with treatment, naturopaths initially utilise the least invasive form of treatment depending on each client's needs.
The healing power of nature
The human body has an innate intelligence and with that the ability to heal itself. Naturopaths create a supportive environment for the body to do just that utilising herbal medicine, lifestyle and dietary interventions.
Identify and treat the cause
Unlike most allopathic practitioners, naturopaths are trained to view the body as a whole, drawing multiple causal elements that may be contributing to a disorder. This helps us identify and remove the underlying cause of disease to restore health in the individual.
Doctor as teacher
Supporting and educating each patient is an empowering way to improve compliance and inspire the patient to actively work towards a state of health. When we know why we need to do something and the intended outcome, we’re more likely to abide by treatment.
Treat the whole person
Drawing back to the principles behind ‘identify and treat the cause’, naturopaths recognise the human body as a sum of multiple factors. This can include physical, mental, genetic, environmental and social factors, as well as personal and family history of disease, diet and lifestyle.
Prevention
Prevention is extremely important for the maintenance of health. You don’t need to wait until you get a disease to turn your life around. Epigeneticist's have shown that you can have specific genes for a disease, such as breast cancer, but multiple factors in your control can determine whether or not these genes are switched on.
Naturopaths treat a variety of disorders ranging from anxiety, infertility, high blood pressure, cancer, kidney disease and so on. Different naturopaths tend to specialise in different areas, however, we each possess knowledge of each body system, and therefore the factors driving a particular disease.
As naturopathy is currently an unregulated field in Australia, it’s important to make sure your naturopath has a degree qualification and is part of a professional association. This ensures a high quality of knowledge and best treatment practices.
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