Naturopathy is a type of health care that combines modern treatment with traditional methods. It includes alternative, natural therapy to modern medicine.
Naturopathy Focuses On The Following:
- The ability of the body to heal itself
- Prevention of health problems
- Personal responsibility for optimizing health
Taking a natural path to your health can be a good move. But first, do your homework. Here’s what you need to know about naturopathy.
What Is Naturopathy?
A naturopathy is a form of alternative medicine that focuses on natural remedies. It aims to improve and enhance the body’s healing ability. Naturopathy uses several principles and beliefs to formulate individual treatment plans.
Such Principles and Beliefs Are As Follows:
- Self-healing. Identifying and eliminating obstacles to recovery, allowing natural healing.
- Underlying symptoms. A naturopathic doctor can resolve underlying physical or emotional conditions by treating the body, mind, and spirit rather than stopping symptoms.
- Harmless treatment. Treatment programs do not have harmful side effects or control symptoms negatively.
- Holistic treatment. The naturopathic doctor must recognize individuality to manage all aspects of a person’s health successfully.
- Treatment education. Naturopathic doctors teach self-care to help strengthen patients against ill health.
- Prevention. It is good to remove toxic substances from a lifestyle to avoid complications.
Therapies may also include acupuncture, herbal medicine, and homeopathy.
The History Of Naturopathy
Many of the practices associated with naturopathy date back decades. But at the beginning of the 20th century, modern naturopathy was developed and named by German physician Benedict Lust. It was famous in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States. In a few decades, traditional medicine, also known as drug therapy, came to prominence, and naturopathy disappeared. Naturopathy regained popularity in the 1970s when Americans developed a new appreciation of alternative and “holistic approaches to medicine.”
How Does Naturopathy Work?
Traditionally, naturopathy is based on natural treatment. Its goal is to cure the real causes of the illness, rather than simply dealing with the symptoms. Therefore, in addition to the usual pathology tests, a naturopathic doctor can take some time to examine aspects such as:
- Lifestyle patterns
- Stress, causes, and levels
- And overall health history.
You’re going to have a personalized treatment schedule. In this plan, you will receive diet and fitness plans to follow regularly. You will also get advice on how to manage your stress.
Depending on your condition, you are also more likely to be treated with:
- Botanical medication
- Homeopathy
- Acupuncture
You may also have naturopathic manipulative treatment. Although, this treatment mostly includes massage to create or regain body balance.
Conditions That Are Treated Through Naturopathy
Naturopathic therapies are usually not the main source of health care for an individual. People also follow naturopathic therapies when traditional or other complementary treatments are not effective.
An analysis of the studies performed in 2019 found that methods that use naturopathy may be effective in:
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Musculoskeletal pain
- Diabetes of type 2
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Some other chronic conditions;
An older review in 2007 found evidence that devil’s paw, white willow bark, and cayenne herbal remedies can relieve pain more efficiently than placebo. However, the authors agree that the reporting standard of the study was poor.
There is anecdotal evidence suggesting that naturopathic therapies such as acupuncture may heal chronic illnesses. But this is not well supported scientifically.
The 2018 review found that naturopathic therapies helped to control several problems. For example, acupuncture and acupressure can reduce the effects of vomiting and nausea. Aromatherapy and music can also relieve pain, stress, and anxiety.
Benefits
Naturopaths work on a more personal basis, spending more time covering client needs. They build treatment plans that take into consideration all aspects of an individual.
Naturopathy can be useful alongside modern medicine. Many say that these methods allow the body to trigger self-healing mechanisms.
Naturopathic health care can also be a cheaper alternative to traditional health care.
Risks
Many practices, such as healthier eating, are likely to be safe. But experts caution that regulations and licenses do not ensure safe treatment.
Studies in naturopathic therapies also have small sample sizes and lack supporting scientific evidence.
In 2013, the World Health Organisation (WHO) publication categorized naturopathy as Traditional and Complementary Medicine. Overall, the WHO claims that more data is required to ensure that practices are useful and harmless.
People should take care of lifestyle changes to ensure a well-rounded diet. Naturopathic physicians sometimes recommend a gluten-free diet when it is not required.
If a person does not correctly substitute for dietary changes, they can cause nutritional deficiencies.
When to Visit a Naturopathic Physician
You may want to see a naturopathic physician for a variety of reasons. Such as, you may have a chronic illness that doesn’t respond to conventional care. Actually, you don’t have to have a particular illness to see a naturopathic specialist. You may also want to boost your overall health.
Naturopathy Is Particularly Well Suited To:
- Chronic diseases, such as asthma, muscle pain, allergies, arthritis
- Illnesses that may have stress or dietary function, such as stomach problems, insomnia, skin disorders, and fatigue
Naturopathic doctors also treat colds, flu, and bronchitis. Some are trained in natural childhood, and many treat premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and other menstrual and menopausal issues.
If you have a critical illness requiring hospitalization, see conventional medical assistance. You may receive follow-up treatment from your naturopathic practitioner, which may support natural healing processes within your body.
Make Sure Your Naturopathic Physician Is a Licensed ND
To receive an ND license (which allows a doctor to be licensed in countries with ND licenses), a person must undergo a four-year postgraduate medical program after three years of standard pre-medical education and pass national licensing exams. There are currently five schools accredited by the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges in the United States and two in Canada.
The Bottom Line
Naturopathy incorporates traditional medicine and conventional health treatment to work with the body. Your doctor can use naturopathic methods to support modern therapies and surgeries.
Naturopathy is a controversial field, as tests have not proven that it is consistently successful. People should speak to a doctor before switching to or adding naturopathic remedies, as certain therapies may interact with existing therapies.
