Why visit a Naturopath?

Naturopathy is a system of primary health care that is based on a philosophy that distinguishes it from current mainstream or orthodox medical practice. The goal of naturopathic practice is to treat any underlying disorders and to seek the cause of illness as well as to restore normal body function by enhancing the body's own inherent healing abilities. The naturopathic physician views symptoms of disease as warning signals of improper functioning of the body and unfavourable lifestyle habits. Knowing this, you can appreciate why treatments are individualised to each person.
In Australia and New Zealand, there does not appear to be a singular definition of the philosophies that underpin naturopathic practice, but essential to most is the unshakeable belief in the healing power of nature that is, living systems have an inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The role of the Naturopath is thus to recognise and remove barriers or impediments to the healing process. Naturopathy can provide people with the tools to take charge of their health and well-being and offers the best hope of preventing some of most serious and life-threatening diseases.

Because naturopathy deals with the whole person, encompassing both physical and social-emotional issues, it is the most effective prevention for lifestyle-related diseases such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease, which rate as this country’s three biggest killers.Whereas conventional Western medicine tends to deal with physical complaints only, often in isolation, naturopathy takes in complete physical condition plus lifestyle factors such as nutrition and exercise and emotional or stress concerns.

In the last twenty years, public desire for greater control in the health care process and a growing dissatisfaction with high tech solutions to health problems has renewed interest in the natural methods of preventive health care. This trend has increased demand for naturopathic services as people seek ways to improve their health, cope with day-to-day stresses and avoid illness.

Your health, vitality and wellbeing permeate every aspect of your life, not just your physical body, but particularly the quality and quantity of your life. By providing a holistic, less invasive and more natural health system, naturopathic medicine holds the enormous potential to change people’s lives for the better.

1.   The Healing Power of Nature Is Powerful Indeed 
(Vis medicatrix naturae) The body has considerable power to heal itself, and the role of the naturopath is to facilitate this natural process with the aid of natural, non-toxic therapy and natural medicines. We encourage the consumption of healthy fruits and healthy vegetables particularly, as they have proven to keep the body in a healthy strong state.

2.   Treat the Cause Rather than the Effect 
(Tolle causam) Naturopathic physicians seek the underlying cause of a disease rather than simply suppressing the symptoms.They avoid suppression of the natural healing wisdom of the body, such as fever and inflammation. Symptoms are viewed as expressions of the body's natural attempt to heal, while the causes can spring from the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. To illustrate the point of treating the effect rather than the cause, click on this link: a 20-month boy is presented to a doctor of Western medicine with an ear-infection The child's mother came to our clinic, the cause was quickly established: an allergy to cow's milk. Henry was quickly sorted with a diet change, and some natural medicines to repair the damage to the intestinal tract after numerous antibiotics. I think the following video sums it all up, treat the cause & not the symptoms. 

The video is called Town of Allopath (allopath is another word for a doctor of Western "evidence based" medicine) take a look by clicking on either the link or the picture of the bearded man holding the stop sign. You will need broadband if you want to see it, and be sure to turn your speakers up.
This clip is from Dr. Joseph Mercola's website, thanks go to Dr. Mercola for use of this link.

3.   First, Do No Harm 

(Primum non nocere) By employing the safe and effective natural therapies, Naturopaths are committed to the principle of causing no harm to the patient.Naturopathic medicine employs natural methods and substances to support and stimulate the body's inherent self-healing process, rather than rely on chemical (pharmaceutical) drugs to "cure" or "rid" the body of symptoms. Death by Medicine makes interesting reading, and comes from the Life Extension website. Now have a look at this interesting article, about the Pan Pharmaceutical incident which occured in 2003. It certainly makes sense that drugs are more dangerous than natural medicines. It is called Ten Points for Supplements.

4.   Treat the Whole Person 
The individual is viewed as a whole, composed of a complex interaction of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and other factors. This multi-faceted approach results in a therapeutic approach in which no disease is automatically seen as incurable.  Medical doctors the world over are realising the growing dissatisfaction of patients, but just treating "their part" in a less-than-ten minute consultation. Dr. Gaby and Dr. Wright are examples of the medical doctor of the future.

5.   The Physician as Teacher 
(Docere) Naturopathic physicians are first and foremost teachers who educate, empower, and motivate the patient to assume more personal responsibility for his or her health by adopting a healthy attitude, lifestyle and diet. How well do you look after yourself? And, did you know that the word “Doctor” actually translates to teacher in Latin?   

Here is a small patient education booklet we wrote a few years back called "Getting Started" Our patients become responsible for their own, unique healthcare programs, learning to make educated decisions which can prevent future health problems. This booklet was designed to give a brief overview on what constitutes a nutritious diet, about the benefits of exercise, why detoxification is so important, how to manage stress, and why supplementation today is paramount. Yours for free, please do print this off and share with somebody you think could benefit from the "five pillars of health".


For example, The Naturopaths help educate patients in:

• How they can achieve maximum wellness and fitness
• How they can reduce premature or accelerated ageing
• How they can avoid premature chronic ill health by making the right lifestyle choices. For example, do you smoke and would like to give up? Look at our Hints & Tips on Quitting Smoking. We encourage and help educate you to make healthy choices.
• How they can best deal with life's everyday challenges by reducing stress 

• How and what they eat & drink. Here is a sample diet sheet we would give to a multiple sclerosis patient. The Naturopaths have developed many such handouts over the past 15 years, and are a reflection of many hours spent in research as well as in the clinic with patients. You may be interested in downloading our Cooking with Wholegrains, Cooking with Fats and Oils, Eating Guidelines and the Acid and Alkaline Diet Sheet. We have over 300 such patient handouts developed over the past 15 years.    

6.   Prevention is always the Best Cure 
Naturopaths are the preventive health-care specialists. Prevention of disease is accomplished through education and a “wellness” lifestyle that supports and encourages radiant health.

How can naturopathic medicine help me?

Results achieved through Naturopathic approaches have been quite remarkable. People have achieved significant relief and even been cured from simple to quite complex diseases. Naturopathic medicine works because it is in accordance with the laws of nature by using natural approaches and substances. Our bodies are beings of nature and are designed to respond to nature. Each cell, molecule, micron, electron and fiber of the body has a biological function to serve. When we introduce unnatural substances into our bodies such as drugs or unnecessary surgery, we interrupt the intent of the biological function and cause confusion to the body.This bodily confusion ultimately ends up in a state of disease if it is not corrected. True correction or resolution happens only when the laws of nature are followed.                                             

How is a naturopathic consultation conducted?

The Naturopathic consultation is built around listening to each individual’s health story. During an initial consultation, an in-depth and detailed case history is taken, including detailed medical, diet and exercise history, as well as lifestyle and occupational habits to gain a holistic sense of a person’s health picture. An initial consultation generally is 1 hour in length, depending on the case.  At the conclusion of the initial consultation, a treatment plan is recommended.  Naturopathic Medicine recognises and respects that each person is unique and therefore the healing plan (program) that is developed must be reflective of each person’s individuality – one size does not fit all !  The program is based on each individual’s goals, abilities, as well as limitations. The program is also designed so each person feels comfortable with it and is ready to integrate it into his or her daily life.  A person’s program will change and develop as they continue to improve their health and well-being.  Follow-up consultations to gauge the changes that have occurred in a person’s health concerns generally last 20 - 30 minutes. The frequency and number of follow-up consultations is dependent on each individual case. Generally, we like to see a patient monthly, but this may change to fortnightly or even weekly in certain circumstances. How much does it cost to see The Naturopaths? This information you can find on our Clinic Brochure.

Is naturopathy legitimate science, or fraudulent quackery?

The public are either gullible fools (as the defenders of "scientific" based medicine imply) or naturopathic treatment is bringing about results that are satisfying the health care needs of individuals to such an extent that they are prepared to recommend it to many others as well.   It is worth noting, that only a few hundred years ago Copernicus & Galileo were both  on house arrest after they proved that the sun did not revolve around the earth. How their ideas upset the most "learned" scientists of the day. With health care, how people actually feel physically, emotionally and mentally and the tangible results they obtain from treatment mean much more today than just “double-blind, placebo controlled trials”  rigorously demanded by adherents to “evidence" based pharmaceutical drug-based system.

It is advisable to use caution (with a good degree of common sense thrown in!) when surfing the internet for health related information. Some websites are aimed purely at promoting a product, and make outrageous claims of "cures", and some medical websites I have seen are down right silly, and have attempted and failed to do what so many have tried, to destroy the credibility of natural medicine. Professional natural therapists with many years of training and clinical practice are literally touted as "charlatans who deliberately exploit their victims". 
Professional naturopaths should not be dismissed anymore in the 21st century as "quacks" or “snake oil peddlers”. They should be working in harmony, side by side with their medical colleagues to relieve the suffering of humanity. Naturopaths today undergo many years of training, many hold Bachelor of Health Science degrees and what they do is based firmly on science and well-validated by research.  Naturopathy can and does operate comfortably alongside conventional Western medicine and places the patient at the heart of the matter, not their illness; it does not take away from, but in fact enhances and adds value to existing medical services. ­­There is plenty of legitimate science underpinning the methodology and modalities used by a modern naturopath, but when it comes down to it people simply want results. If naturopathy did not work it would cease to exist and in fact, quite the opposite is happening. Naturopathy is gaining widespread acceptance by the public and many in mainstream medical as well.

 How much does naturopathic medicine cost me?

This all depends on the type of consultation, and on how many consultations are required, and any program, specialised tests and/or nutritional supplementation necessary, and will be outlined to you during your consultation. For further enquiries; please contact our receptionist at The Naturopaths

       



What is your health worth ......to you? Could you work and earn without your health? Could you play and enjoy life without your health? Could you go any place in the world and buy health?  What price would you place on your health if you could sell it. The next time you think you are too busy to work on prioritising your health, ask yourself this question: What is my health really worth to me?