Naturopathic Medicine - Reinventing primary care physicians:
Naturopathic Medicine manages a broad range of health conditions affecting every type of person of all ages. It exists to treat the whole person without harm through the healing power of nature by finding the root cause of minor illnesses and preventing them from developing into more serious chronic and degenerative diseases.
Naturopathic Medicine offers education and training to patients and counsels them into healthier lifestyles. Future physicians studying Naturopathic Medicine are educated with the same general medical curriculum as an M.D., but also study traditional natural therapeutics emphasizing lifestyle changes, disease prevention, and optimal wellness. With this said, and in line with treating the whole person, doctors of Naturopathic Medicine are being recognized as primary care physicians. They perform physical examinations, laboratory testing, gynecological exams, nutritional and dietary assessments, metabolic analysis, and allergy testing. They may order diagnostic testing, as well as incorporate a wide variety of natural therapeutics.
Natural Healing - Getting Back to the Roots:
"The body is a complex organism that has the ability to heal itself-if only you listen to it and respond with proper nourishment and care." (Prescription for Nutritional Healing) This is not only the opening line of the very popular nutritional reference book, The Prescription for Nutritional Healing, but also the underlying belief of anyone who is interested in Natural Healing. It is the belief that if the body has a perfect balance of the necessary fuel, nutrition, then it can heal itself. The first step of Natural Healing would be to make sure the body has the right amounts of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes, phytochemicals, etc.
To understand Natural Healing we must look back to 460 BC when Hippocrates, "The Father of Medicine, was born. Hippocrates said, "Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food." Natural Healing is an art, and not an easy feat in today's fast food society that has us eating foods that are over-cooked, over-processed, hormone injected, and loaded with antibiotics. In order to give the body what it needs we have to be very cautious of what we eat and follow extremely strict diets, which includes organically grown, raw vegetables. Getting back to our roots of food fresh from the earth is the key principle of Natural Healing. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done and supplementation is a necessity. There are some other art forms of Natural Healing such as, Acupuncture, Chiropractic, Herbal Medicine, and Homeopathy. Again, all forms of Natural Healing are centered on restoring the body to its natural state.
Holistic Medicine - Making your doctor your partner for life:
Is Holistic Medicine a long ago, forgotten practice or the practice of the future? Think back to a simpler time and visualize a small town where the local doctor was the town's best friend. He would know your entire family on a first name basis and remember when you acquired your first cold. Holistic Medicine is based on a partnership between the doctor and the patient. This partnership addresses the care of a patient's body, mind, and spirit. Together, the patient and the doctor will discuss and choose the best possible course of treatment. And like the small town's best friend, a doctor practicing Holistic Medicine gets to know their patients very well, acting at times as a counselor. It is the belief in Holistic Medicine that patients need to achieve balance and well being in all aspects of life: physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, and spiritual. Holistic Medicine practices conventional medicine, as well as complementary therapies with prevention of disease its primary focus. When treating disease, a practitioner of Holistic Medicine investigates the root cause and then addresses those needs. This may mean that the patient may have to make certain lifestyle changes. It is also the view of Holistic Medicine that the patients are ultimately responsible for their own well being. Someone who is consumed with stress may have to make lifestyle changes to get well.
