What is a Naturopath?
A naturopath uses natural medicine to help people improve their health and wellness. Individualized diet and lifestyle advice are also given as part of the treatment plan.
A naturopath can assist with a wide range of health issues affecting all bodily systems, including men's, women's, and children's health. A naturopath could be viewed as the "general practitioner" of natural medicine. However, some naturopaths do opt to specialize in or concentrate on specific healthcare fields.
A naturopath approaches patient care holistically, which means they treat each person as a whole, including their physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.
In addition to herbal medications, naturopaths can prescribe natural medicines including vitamins, minerals, and amino acids. In order to ensure the best quality, naturopaths employ "practitioner only" product lines that can only be obtained following a consultation.
Naturopath prescriptions will typically contain dietary suggestions, with specific foods advised for their medicinal properties. Food as medicine is a common name for this practice. Treatments from other forms of healthcare, like chiropractic or massage, can be complemented by naturopathy.
As part of a team approach to their healthcare needs, naturopathy may also be appropriate for patients with complex, multi-system diseases who are also receiving treatment from other healthcare professionals like a physiotherapist, general practitioner, or specialist physician.
When you visit a naturopath, they may occasionally recommend you to another healthcare provider who can support your naturopathic care and help you achieve the best possible results for your health.
Cases
Naturopathy
The Hippocratic School of Medicine utilized the fundamentals of naturopathy for the first time around 400 BC. The Greek philosopher, Hippocrates, believed in viewing the whole person with regard to finding a cause of disease and using the laws of nature to induce cure. Naturopathy derives its fundamental ideas from this pioneering school of thought.
- The healing power of nature - nature has the innate ability to heal.
- Identify and treat the cause - there is always an underlying cause, be it physical or emotional.
- Do no harm - a Naturopath will never use treatments that may cause additional problems.
- Treat the whole person - when preparing a treatment plan, all aspects of a person’s being are taken into consideration.
- The Naturopath as a teacher - a Naturopath empowers the patient to take responsibility for his/her own health by teaching self-care.
- Prevention is better than cure - a Naturopath may remove toxic substances and situations from a patient’s lifestyle to prevent the onset of further disease.
Centers & Institutes
Healthcare Delivery by Naturopaths in the US
Naturopathic medicine is a tradition based on research that promotes wellbeing by identifying the distinctive characteristics of each patient and then using non-toxic natural therapies to recover his or her physiological, psychological, and structural balance.
Natural medicine is what the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians (AANP) defines as:
"A distinct system of primary health care—an art, science, philosophy, and practice of diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of illness. Naturopathic medicine is distinguished by the principles upon which its practice is based. These principles are continually re-examined in the light of scientific advances. The techniques of naturopathic medicine include modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods (AANP, 1998).
Practitioners of naturopathic medicine have received training as general practitioners with a focus on natural remedies. When necessary, they send patients to other practitioners for diagnosis or treatment in collaboration with all other branches of medical research (AANP, 1998).
Practitioners of naturopathy have a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) degree from a graduate medical college that takes four years to complete and has entrance standards that are similar to those of conventional medical schools. Graduate-level study in traditional medical sciences like cardiology, biochemistry, gynecology, immunology, pathology, pharmacology, pediatrics, and neurology is required for the ND degree.
Naturopathic students must complete considerable studies in natural treatments in addition to the required medical courses.
This covers treatments from the fields of clinical nutrition, homeopathy, botanical medicine, physical therapy, exercise therapy, and lifestyle counseling. Hydrotherapy, or the use of water to treat an illness or disease, is also included.
Are you looking for a Naturopath who will care for you? Our medical professionals at KellySearch create personalized strategies for each patient and/or their family. We have over 700k doctor listings on the website because our doctors want to give each client their undivided attention. They are also trustworthy and compassionate. Additionally, they are always available for conversation with anyone!
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The material presented above is only meant to be informative and is not intended to take the place of advice from your doctor or another health care practitioner. We advise you to talk to your provider about any questions or issues you may have.
