What is Naturopathic Medicine?

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The term naturopathic medicine will elicit almost as many different responses as the number of people you ask. There are a number of reasons for this. First. naturopathic medicine, as a discipline is somewhat ill-defined. Second, many of its benefits are theoretical and not backed by scientific evidence, which is how most medicines are proved.

Naturopathic medicine is difficult to define because many of its practices are not documented in a scientific manner and therefore can be subject to some interpretation. Naturopathic medicine is regulated by many government jurisdictions, including in Canada and the USA, where each jurisdiction defines parameters that are less open to interpretation, although those definitions and parameters can change from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Some areas allow minor surgery and access to prescription medicines as part of naturopathic medicine practice, while others do not.

In other countries, such as the United Kingdom, naturopathic medicine is not regulated by any government body. Naturopathic medicine practitioners are registered by national and local organizations, which require some form of training before registering a naturopath.

Another reason for a lack of definition for naturopathic medicine is that many practitioners, particularly in unregulated jurisdictions, are self-taught, which opens up naturopathic practices to a wider variety of practices that may be ubnique to each practitioner.

A plethora of methods fall under the naturopathic medicine banner. This too has helped to make it a difficult practice to define. Methods that are considered part of naturopathy include acupuncture, colour therapy, homeopathy, reflexology and some traditional Chinese medicines.

Lack of scientific proof of some naturopathic benefits has led to criticisms of those particular methods as being quackery. Methods such as iridology, which involves identifying the patterns, colors and other characteristics of a patient’s iris to analyse the patient’s overall health and susceptibility to future health concerns, are quickly criticized by traditional practitioners and are not taught at medical schools, unlike other elements of naturopathic medicine, such as nutrition.

There are other naturopathic methods that are much more highly regarded and show proven results. Nutritional medicine involves regulating diets, including vegetarianism and whole food diets, to keep the body’s systems healthy and in good working order.

The amount of specific education a naturopath may have varies as much as the definitions and regulations of naturopathy. In jurisdictions where naturopathic medicine is government regulated, there can be specific requirements for the completion of courses of study at accredited institutions before being able to practice as a naturopath. In unregulated jurisdictions, there is potential for anyone, even those with no specific medical training, to call himself a naturopath. For patients who are considering naturopathic treatments, it is important to determine whether they live in a jurisdiction that regulates naturopathic medicine. If they do, there should be government guidelines and accreditations involved to determine the qualifications of a naturopath. In areas where naturopathy is not regulated by government, patients should research naturopathic medicine association and organizations that may have acceptable guidelines for members. In any case, patients are well advised to research the credentials of anyone claiming to be a naturopath.

Regardless of the efficacy and varied definitions of any naturopathic medicine methods, many practitioners attempt to adhere to an ideology that uses naturally-occurring and non-invasive methods that are guided by six core values, which exist in different forms, but include: doing no harm, respecting the self-healing power of the body, identifying and removing the causes of illness, encourage the patient’s responsibility for his health, consider all health factors unique to an individual, and the emphasize the benefit of good health in preventing disease in individuals and entire communities.

With the guiding principle of relatively harmless, non-invasive treatment, many naturopathic medicine practices depend on eliminating and preventing disease with methods that do not treat ailments directly, but though holistic or indirect approaches.

Proponents believe that naturopathic medicine, by treating causes and not symptoms, leads to better overall health by preventing future recurrence of the ailment. Some naturopathic methods have become accepted by many medical doctors and some jurisdictions have practice guidelines for MDs to incorporate naturopathic medicine in their practice.

If an injury is keeping you from an active lifestyle, the registered practitioners at The Urban Athlete are experts in naturopathic medicine.

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