How does a Naturopath work?
A Naturopath will always work with a holistic approach in mind. That means that these healthcare professionals are focusing on treating the cause of an illness while aiming to treat the body as a whole.
They tend to discover the root cause of the illness and then impact your wellbeing by recommending a different lifestyle and healthier dietary choices, by reducing acidity and removing toxins from your body – the list goes on but the methods depend solely on your individual condition.
What does a Naturopathic physician do?
You’ll be diagnosed via standard pathology testing, but many Naturopaths also run nutritional tests, iridology, salivary hormone tests or a hair analysis.
The foundation of Naturopathic theory is that the human body has the ability to heal itself but it needs to be supplied with the right building blocks. Naturopathic doctors will give your body everything it needs to do the work of healing and rebuilding.
Choosing the right method
The method of treatment depends on your diagnosis. While treating you, a Naturopath will consider your environment, genetics, abilities, and attitudes – there will be a lot of chit chatting on your first session but it’s important that your physician knows all about your lifestyle and medical history.
The therapies are gentle, non-invasive and effective. Your Naturopath may suggest acupuncture, botanical medicine, homeopathic medicine, massage or nutritional changes.
These physicians are interested in treating symptoms that define the patient rather than symptoms that define the disease. Your body has the ability to maintain and restore health and the goal is to facilitate this healing process by removing obstacles to your vitality.
After the initial complaint is addressed, a Naturopathic physician will help you to maintain the state of wellbeing by regular assessment and care.
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest patients in the maintenance of the human frame, in diet, and in the prevention of disease."
– Tomas Edison
Naturopathic medicine emphasises prevention and health promotion. You won’t just visit a doctor; you’ll get a teacher who will provide you with necessary tools for maintaining your body’s natural ability to self-heal.
Take those pills to lower your cholesterol!
That’s not the sentence you’ll hear in the Naturopath’s office. The focus will always be on removing the root cause of your issues - when it comes to chronic conditions drugs can help initially, but at some point, they just stop working as well.
If you suffer from high blood pressure you’ll feel benefits from weight loss, healthy diet and
regular exercise and your Naturopathic physician will help you to map out a plan to meet those goals.
It’s not just about preaching
You probably already heard all about the importance of proper nutrition and regular exercise but no matter how determined you are, somehow you are just not able to keep up with a healthy lifestyle.
Sounds familiar? A Naturopath will spend time with you in order to identify obstacles and to help you set up a schedule that will help you practice healthy habits. Their primary role is to educate, empower and motivate patients to assume more personal responsibility for their wellbeing.
At the end of the day, it’s cheaper to prevent a disease than to treat a disease. Naturopathic physicians evaluate both subjective and objective information necessary to uncover potential risks to future disease states in their patients.