Why You Might Want to Consider Naturopathy

If your health could be better, and you’re becoming frustrated with your conventional doctor, you might want to consider naturopathy. 

Naturopaths are degreed doctors of naturopathic medicine. While they can’t perform major surgery or prescribe pharmaceuticals, they can do a lot for your health. Naturopaths rely on diet, exercise, and other non-invasive techniques to optimize your health. 

While this might sound like quackery, it’s anything but. Keep an open mind and determine if naturopathy might be a good addition to your quest for good health. You can’t get better results unless you change your approach. 

Consider whether naturopathy is for you: 

1. Naturopathy is non-invasive. Naturopaths aren’t permitted to perform invasive surgery. The interventions are more along the lines of diet, supplements, exercise, acupuncture, stress management, massage, and counseling. These treatments aren’t always sufficient, but they are in many circumstances. 

• This is a much more natural way of healing yourself. When these methods prove to be insufficient, you can visit your regular doctor for additional treatment. 

2. Naturopathy is a form of preventative health care. While modern western medicine focuses on treating illnesses, naturopathy is much more interested in preventing health challenges. 

• It’s more effective and easier to preserve good health than it is to return to good health. Avoiding a problem in the first place is better than having to solve a problem that could have been avoided. 

3. It can be affordable. A visit with a naturopath is about half the cost of a visit with a physician on the average. Conventional health care is expensive for a variety of reasons. Naturopaths aren’t entrenched in that system. 

4. You develop a better understanding of your body. By dealing directly with your health issues, you learn more about yourself and your body. For example, you’ll learn how your body responds to different foods. 

• Your naturopath will teach you a lot about how your body functions, too. Naturopathy emphasizes teaching the patient to look after their own health. 

5. You might be able to avoid pharmaceuticals. Naturopaths aren’t permitted to prescribe medications. However, they have extensive knowledge of diet, herbs, and other supplements that can often mimic the beneficial effects of many medications without the dangerous side effects. 

6. Focus on cause versus just symptoms. Modern medicine has a tendency to focus on symptoms and ignore the cause. There are many examples of this: 

• If you have type 2 diabetes, you’re prescribed a pill and an injection to lower your blood sugar. Little, if anything, is done to address your poor diet, lack of exercise, and obesity. 
• High blood pressure, high cholesterol? The answer is a pill. Come back in 6 weeks and see if you need a higher dose. 
• Steroids are used to reduce inflammation, but the actual cause of the inflammation is rarely addressed. 
• Naturopathy is based on addressing the cause of the health issue, not just the symptoms. 

7. Naturopathy treats the whole person.This includes the body, but it also includes the spiritual and emotional parts of the person, too. The person is approached as being more than just a body with physical symptoms. 

Naturopathic medicine focuses on treating the cause of your medical issues without the use of surgery or medicine. 

While a naturopath isn’t the person to see if you need a liver transplant, many of the more common health issues are right up his or her alley. 

A naturopath will spend much more time with you than a conventional physician and charge you less money. They are also more likely to address the actual source of your medical issue rather than just the symptoms. 

Give naturopathy a chance. You might like it!