What is Naturopathic Medicine?
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Medicine can be so many things, but for me, Naturopathic Medicine is…. Medicine for Life. It’s health care over sick care, its proactive medicine over reactive medicine, its deep doctor patient connection, its health with heart.
In a profession that is quite ancient but fairly new in the views of most Canadians, we are still struggling with what to call ourselves. Are we alternative, complimentary, drugless…? For now, Naturopathic Medicine will be referred to as just that… Naturopathic Medicine.
I could write another entire blog post on just nomenclature alone but in the interest of brevity, let’s get to the real reason you’re here.
This post will serve as an introduction to Naturopathic Medicine, what it is, what it isn’t, and what it can do for you!
Naturopathic Medicine is a system of Medicine that honours individuals as whole people, rather than a collection of symptoms. ND’s (Naturopathic Doctors) often carry out a 1-2 hour long initial visit that will yes, cover the chief concern, but will also discuss diet, exercise, sleep, digestion, mental health, stress, energy levels… I could go on. You can count on an ND getting up close and personal to try to identify why you are feeling the way you are. One of our most important guiding principles is treating the cause, all while making sure the plan feels manageable and sustainable in your life. We are, after all, humans with emotions, obligations, and responsibilities. I would argue that we don’t all have the same 24 hours in a day. An ND will meet you where you’re at.
Afterall, as NDs, our principles and guiding oath include the following:
· The Healing Power of Nature
· Identify and Treat the Causes
· First Do No Harm
· Doctor As Teacher
· Treat the Whole Person
· Prevention
Now you may be wondering how exactly NDs can carry out all these wonderful claims.
ND’s will focus on a strong foundation of lifestyle: namely diet and exercise. Getting these in check is a monumental part of a treatment plan.
Nailing these will not only help whatever you’re primarily struggling with but will get you feeling good day to day for years to come. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to just survive to old age on a ton of prescriptions and limited mobility, I want to live into old age. Have I convinced you yet? Good.
After we nail the foundation, now we can build. Often using some combination of supplements, botanical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, vitamin injections, IV therapy, massage, cupping, acupuncture, spinal adjustments, and more.
NDs use some combination of these, weighing some more heavily than others. The variation in what NDs can do beautifully demonstrates the idea of art in the practice of medicine. Stay tuned for a deep dive into each of these modalities in future posts!
Now you may have noticed I’ve been throwing around this ND term a lot. It stands for Naturopathic Doctor and is also our professional designation. In fact, “Naturopathic Doctor” is a protected designation. To receive these little letters after their name, each ND must complete an undergraduate degree and thereafter apply and graduate from one of 5 accredited Naturopathic Colleges in North America. After 4 long years at Naturopathic Medical School, NDs-to-be must write a (long) series of board exams administered by our respective governing body. In Ontario, this is the College of Naturopaths of Ontario.
After all this, we are finally granted our doctor title and our license to practice Naturopathic Medicine.
So Dr. Alessandra, is that is for all the learning?
NO!
Every year, ND’s must log a certain number of hours of continuing education to make sure we are all up to date on new research and guidelines.
It is important to remember that while ND is a protected term, the term “naturopath”, “holistic healer”, and “health coach” are not. That’s not to say that you can’t get helpful and accurate information from these individuals. It is to say that you can always be certain that the information you get from an ND comes from a place of rigorous schooling, testing, and continuous education.
If you’re still unsure, each regulated province in Canada (British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Northwest Territories, and most recently, Nova Scotia) publishes a list of all licensed NDs.
So, there ya go! Hopefully you learned something from this introduction to Naturopathic Medicine. Please do reach out if you have any further questions!
