What is Naturopathy?
Naturopathy is a medicinal system that makes use of natural medicines to facilitate the body in healing itself through many forms of treatment, such as nutritional counseling, exercise, herbs, acupuncture and massage. Naturopathic medicine came to limelight in late 1800s, but this form of medicine and its remedies are hundreds of years old, which is now integrated with modern science to produce much greater results.
How Does It Work?
The philosophy behind naturopathic medicine is not based on symptoms of a certain illness, rather, naturopathy is aimed to heal the person completely in terms of body, mind, and spirit by identifying and eliminating the root causes of their illnesses.
The naturopathic treatment includes a general examination of the person about their overall health history and lifestyle habits, which may last a couple of hours followed by some lab tests as required. If the naturopathic practitioner diagnoses some problems, they might discuss the respective health plan with the patients which may include exercise and diet tips along with stress management guidelines. Sometimes, complementary form of medicine is also required for some patients which includes acupuncture, homeopathy or herbal medicine along with naturopathic remedies. Another treatment called as naturopathic manipulative therapy is sometimes employed which makes use of massage and pressure techniques.
Who Practices It?
Naturopathic medicine has been increasingly used recently at the public and private clinics, hospitals, private offices and community centers. The naturopathic practitioners can be divided in to three main categories:
Naturopathic doctors: Naturopathic Doctors (NDs) are also called as Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (NMD) are the ones who hold the relative four-year graduate level degree from an accredited school. The NDs study various subjects including psychology, nutrition and herbal medicine and homeopathy along with the standard science subjects as conventional medical doctors (MD).
Traditional naturopathic practitioners: The traditional naturopathic practitioners usually possess diverse education from unaccredited naturopathic medical schools.
Healthcare providers: Several other NDs that have studied naturopathy medicine includes doctors of osteopathy, dentists, medical doctors, chiropractors, and nurses.
Will It Work for My Condition?
Naturopathic medicine has been shown to improve and cure illnesses relating to many health issues, some of them include Allergies
- Fertility issues
- Headaches
- Obesity
- Digestive problems
- Chronic pain
- Hormonal imbalances
- Chronic fatigue syndrome
- Side Effects of Naturopathic Treatments
Every kind of treatments are prone to a few side effects, Naturopathic Treatments are also no different, some of the most common side effects of naturopathic treatment includes:
Herbal Supplements: Herbal supplements and vitamins that are prescribed during naturopathic treatments may cause interference with some other medications, especially in large doses, some vitamins and herbs can contribute to increase the risk of other diseases such as cancer.
Chiropractic adjustments: In a few cases, when the pressure is applied to the spinal cord of the patient as naturopathic manipulative treatment, it may lead to damage to other neurological systems including nerves, arteries, bones, and spinal discs.
Detoxification: Typically, detox diets are recommended as remedies to clear the body form toxins, which usually includes to skip certain foods and fasting can be dangerous for certain people with some complex conditions such as diabetes.
