What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic medicine is a system of medicine that reinforces health from a ground-up approach. We’re the original functional medicine doctors. Functional medicine is the very basis of how (licensed) naturopathic doctors are trained.
Beyond the universal principle in all medicine: First, do no harm, we can break down naturopathic medicine into 5 additional and distinguishing principles:
- 1. Treat the causeNaturopathic medicine looks for the underlying cause of your illness and the source of your symptoms.
- 2. Treat the whole personIt’s holistic rather than reductionist. We’re looking at the big picture as well as the details. This means supporting multiple systems in the body - knowing they all interrelate and impact one another. Beyond this, naturopathic medicine is personalized rather than protocolized medicine.
- 3. Utilize the healing power of natureNaturopathic medicine focuses on removing obstacles to wellness and building health and vitality. We arm you with tools that don’t suppress symptoms but rather encourage the body to heal. This is typically done with nutrition, lifestyle medicine, herbal medicine, homeopathy, and other therapies derived from nature.
- 4. Prevention is keyNaturopathic medicine recognizes epigenetics and the role our lifestyle has in turning on and off our genes. It also recognizes that it’s easier and more cost effective to address beginning imbalances in the body before they become full blown pathology.
- 5. Doctor as teacherThere’s real time spent with patients, because we aim to educate and empower you to be an active participant in your own health care.
Naturopathic medicine’s approach – rooted in and neatly aligned with functional medicine – is invaluable to both the unraveling of chronic illness and true preventative wellness.
Naturopathic medicine tends to utilize lifestyle and natural therapies primarily, as these are gentler and less invasive than conventional medicine approaches, and, when used correctly, have fewer adverse effects. An increasing number of patients are seeking out alternative care approaches to their health complaints.
Learn more about Naturopathic Medical training and licensure here.
