Understanding Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Medicine or Naturopathy is an integrated system of Health Care provided by Licensed Practitioners. It involves the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of human disorders through natural methods and materials. Some of these methods include herbal medicine, clinical nutrition, homoeopathy, naturopathic medicine, etc.

According to the University of Minnesota, naturopathy is a science-based tradition that promotes wellness by identifying unhealthy symptoms among individuals and aims to treat them through non-toxic, natural ways.

How it Began

Healthy foods, herbs, air and sunlight, have always been some of the natural resources that have promoted healing. Naturopathic medicine, as a separate and distinct profession, was first established in North America by a German immigrant, Benedict Lust, at the beginning of the 20th century. Lust was part of a movement in Europe known as ‘Nature Cure’. This movement propagated the use of clean water, air, food, sunlight and exercise to restore health among individuals. Throughout North America, Lust’s movement started gaining popularity. He opened more than 20 schools that offered various programs in naturopathic medicine.

The Underlying Philosophy

The underlying philosophy behind naturopathy is pretty simple: we humans have this natural capacity to heal. It posits that the self-repair and self-cleansing procedure can be achieved by taking care of human beings’ immune, hormonal, nervous and detoxification systems. It is a holistic method of treatment. Naturopathic doctors consider factors such as a person’s biochemistry, biomechanics and emotional predispositions before they prescribe any healthy system.

Conditions that Naturopathy Can Treat

Naturopathy deals with many medical conditions. Commonly, it aims to treat medical conditions that generally respond well to non-pharmacological procedures. Some of these medical conditions include allergies, hormonal imbalances, menopause, obesity, stress, adrenal fatigue and so on.

Naturopath’s Training

Naturopaths have a doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine (ND). This is a four-year graduate program offered by naturopathic medical schools. This program includes conventional medical courses, such as clinical diagnosis, clinical laboratory, radiology, pharmacology, etc. These therapists also have training in holistic and non-invasive therapies. To get a license, a naturopathic doctor has to give rigorous board exams.

Evidence in Support of Naturopathic Medicine

Randomised control trial is the procedure that is used to evaluate the effectiveness of the medicine.

According to the University of Minnesota, randomised control trials have proven that Naturopathic medicine can prove to be successful in treating medical conditions, such as fibromyalgia, migraine headaches, depression, asthma and Type II Diabetes among many others.

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