Naturopathic Medicine’s Approach to Healthcare
My goal for the reader of this blog is that it stimulates you to think beyond traditional medicine and know there are other options available to resolving your health issues. We’ve all been trained to know that if you have an ailment, you visit your doctor, receive a diagnosis and then leave with a pharmaceutical product to relieve the ailment you are experiencing. Depending on the symptom, the treatment could be as easy as taking a pharmaceutical, or it could be more complex like surgery, or what we are starting to see more and more of which is chemotherapy and radiation for cancer. Traditional medicine looks at the “symptom” that is occurring in the body. Naturopathic Medicine looks at the entire system of the body in which we live which includes the internal environment along with the external environment.
As you read this you might already be saying, so what can I do, or how do I stimulate my thinking? Start by asking why whatever is happening in your body, is happening, especially if you are dealing with chronic health issues and traditional medicine is not helping resolve the issue. There is a reason for it. Something is out of balance. Your body has the innate ability to heal itself due to its resiliency. It’s just waiting for you to help it get back to balance so it can heal. Naturopathic doctors and medical doctors all study the human body, and all things that make up the body down to the cellular level. Point, Naturopathic doctors are educated like our medical doctors, they just approach it differently. With that, let’s look at a brief historical overview and then dive into the guiding principles of Naturopathic Medicine and their approach to care.
History
Naturopathy was founded in 1901 by Benedict Lust. Shortly after being founded, it declined due to many forms of pressure (internal debate, external political pressure, etc.) but rose again in the 1970’s and grew from Naturopathy to Naturopathic Medicine. Upon its re-emergence in the 1970’s it became more grounded in the medical sciences. The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) was formed in 1985 and began the task of developing a unified professional organization under the leadership of James Sensenig, ND and Cathy Rogers, ND. These two, along with numerous other individuals (note to the reader, I left out a chunk of details, but you can refer to my reference material) formed a selective committee that agreed the first step was to define the profession of Naturopathic Medicine by its principles and not by its modalities.
Principles of Naturopathic Medicine
Vis Medicatrix Naturae = The Healing Power of Nature
Naturopathic physicians look to support, facilitate, and augment the healing process by removing obstacles to an individual’s recovery process by supporting the creation of a healthy internal and external environment. The definition of this principle is:
“The healing power of nature is the inherent self-organizing and healing process of living systems which establishes, maintains and restores health. Naturopathic medicine recognizes this health process to be ordered and intelligent”.
Tolle Causum = Identify and Treat the Causes
Naturopathic physicians treat the cause of the disease versus the symptoms. The definition of this principle is:
“Illness does not occur without cause. Causes may originate in many areas. Underlying causes of illness and disease must be identified and removed before complete recovery can occur. Symptoms can be expressions of the body’s attempt to defend itself, to adapt and recover, to heal itself, or may be results of the causes of disease”.
Primum Non Nocere = First Do no Harm
There are three precepts that naturopathic physicians follow to avoid harming the patient. The definition of these three precepts are:
“Naturopathic physicians utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful effects and apply the least possible force or intervention necessary to diagnose illness and restore health”.
“Whenever possible the suppression of symptoms is avoided as suppression generally interferes with the healing process”.
“Naturopathic physicians respect and work with the vis medicatrix naturae in diagnosis, treatment and counseling, for if this self-healing process is not respected the patient may be harmed”.Docere = Doctor as Teacher
Naturopathic physicians employ a therapeutic relationship between the doctor and patient through teaching. The definition of this principle is:
“The original meaning of the word “doctor” is teacher. A principal objective of naturopathic medicine is to educate the patient and emphasize self-responsibility for health”.Tolle Totum = Treat the Whole Person
Naturopathic physicians treat the WHOLE person. The definition of this principle is:
“Health and disease result from a complex of physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and other factors. Since total health also includes spiritual health, naturopathic physicians encourage individuals to pursue their personal spiritual development. Naturopathic medicine recognizes the harmonious functioning of all aspects of the individual as being essential to health. The multifactorial nature of health and disease requires a personalized and comprehensive approach to diagnosis and treatment”.
Preventare = Prevention
Naturopathic medicine maintains that if one’s environment is unhealthy, then one cannot be healthy. It is committed to helping create an environment in which humanity thrives in the world. The definition of this principle is:
“Naturopathic medical colleges emphasize the study of health as well as disease. The prevention of disease and the attainment of optimal health in patients are primary objectives of naturopathic medicine. In practice, these objectives are accomplished through education and the promotion of healthy ways of living. Naturopathic physicians assess risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, and make appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness”.
The Therapeutic Order of Naturopathic Medicine
Summary
After reading this post you may be thinking, do I leave my traditional medicine doctor? By no means am I trying to deter you away from traditional medicine or stating to leave your medical doctor. I wanted to provide a different lens in how to approach chronic disease. The definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. If what you are doing is currently not resolving your issues, then it’s time to look at other approaches. As I continue to work in my practice as a Certified Functional Nutrition Counselor, I may refer you to a Naturopathic Physician and it may be the first time you hear of it. Now you are armed with more information about what they do in their approach to health care. The body has to be looked at holistically as you’ve learned through the principles in this blog. It is a well-oiled machine, but it needs the right oil and care. If any of you played in concert band as I did, or any band for that matter, you know that when one instrument is out of tune it really tweaks the ears. This is true for the body, if one system is out of balance the rest of the systems are as well.
In dealing with my own chronic health conditions, once I learned about naturopathic medicine and how they looked at the whole-body system, this was a game changer for me. These principles made so much sense. I have worked in the technology industry for 24+ years now and enterprise software is, to me, like the human body. It’s configurable, but we have to make the right choices. I know what I want and what my body needs, but I wanted to (without thinking about it) live the way I’ve always lived. I really just wanted the modalities they provided (“quick fix”) but my doctors challenged me directly and indirectly.
The chronic disease that you are experiencing may be caused by inflammation, genetics or digestive problems. Please reach out if you are experiencing frustration with your health and let’s do a deep dive to see how we can change your health journey.
A side note to a select group of my readers. Thank you to those doctors and many, many other individuals that coordinated with them to helping me get back onto my healing journey. This has been a painful experience (and for you all too I’m sure) but was needed for me to take the next step forward so I can help others. Extremely grateful and thank you for doing what you do!
Reference:
Snider, Pamela, ND; Zeff, Jared, ND; (2019 August). Unifying Principles of Naturopathic Medicine Origins and Definitions. Integrative Medicine, Vol. 18, No. 4