Naturopathy

Naturopathic Medicine is a distinctively natural approach to health and healing that recognizes the integrity of the whole person. Naturopathic Medicine is heir to the vitalistic tradition of medicine in the Western world, emphasizing the treatment of disease through the stimulation, enhancement, and support of the inherent healing capacity of the person. Methods of treatments are chosen to work with the patient's vital force, respecting the intelligence of the natural healing process. The practice of Naturopathic Medicine emerges from six underlying principles of healing. These principles are based on the objective observation of the nature of health and disease, and are continually reexamined in light of scientific analysis. The following tenants, reaching far back to the time of Hippocrates, distinguish the profession from other medical approaches.

Naturopathic Medicine evolved during the later half of 1800s with the merger of Nature Cure and Homeopathy. The methods of Nature Cure - fresh air, clean water, nutritious food, sunlight, hydrotherapy, exercise - were combined with the subtle, highly specific energy medicines of Homeopathy. This movement started in the European Alps, primarily in Germany, but quickly spread to America. Hygienic and Hydrotherapy techniques were some of the first nature cure methods implemented. As early as the 1850s specialized medical schools were teaching a combination of hydrotherapy, homeopathy and nutrition.

By the 1890s, it became clear that this unique combination of healing modalities required its own name to distinguish it from the other medical systems of the day. The word Nature from Nature Cure was combined with -opathy from Homeopathy, and the term Naturopathy was founded. In the late 19th and early 20th century, naturopathy evolved and grew enormously, rivaling conventional medicine in popularity.

Benedict Lust, a German doctor who emigrated to the U.S. in 1892, founded the "health food store" and crystallized the focus of naturopathy on diet and nutrition as the key to health. During this period, health-food practitioners like Dr. Kellogg (of the cereal-company) insisted that meat and other "unnatural" foodstuffs were detrimental to human health. In 1910, the Flexner Report criticized many aspects of medical education in various institutions (natural and conventional) but was mostly seen as an attack on low-quality natural medicine education. It caused many such programs to shut down and contributed to the popularity of conventional medicine.

Natural medicine continued to thrive, however, in the U.S. until the mid 1930s. In the post-war era conflict between various schools of natural medicine, the rise of medical technology, consolidation of political power in conventional medicine, the discovery of penicillin, the advent of synthetic drugs such as antibiotics and corticosteroids, as well as the rise of chemical and drug industries, all contributed to the decline of Naturopathic medicine, along with most other natural health professions. Naturopathic medicine never completely ceased to exist, however, as there were always a few states in which licensing laws existed—though at one point there were virtually no schools.

One of the most visible steps towards the profession's modern renewal was the opening in 1956 of the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. This was the first of the modern naturopathic medical schools offering naturopathic medical training that integrated mainstream science and naturopathic principles and practice. Chemical treatments and pharmaceuticals approaches reigned until the 1960s when the unsuspected side effects of DDT and thalidomide reminded the public that "better living through chemistry" sometimes had dangerous effects. Currently concerns over the safety and regulation of pharmaceuticals; dangers of such as drugs as COX-2 inhibitors and statins; the unwanted effects of anti-depressants, chemotherapy and radiation as well as growing resistance to antibiotics has again encouraged a return to a more natural, holistic, preventative and pro-active approach to health.

Currently, Naturopathic doctors (NDs) attend four-year, graduate level, accredited naturopathic medical schools where they are trained as primary care practitioners of natural medicine. Naturopathic doctors receive classroom instruction in biomedical and clinical sciences, in addition to training in a wide spectrum of natural medicines and therapies. Naturopathic doctors diagnose through patient histories, physical exams, and laboratory results. They utilize the latest advances in medical science and integrate them with time-tested naturopathic principles and practices. A great strength of Naturopathic medicine lies in the fact that the therapeutic modalities utilized by Naturopathic Doctors are steeped in hundreds, sometimes thousands of years of empirical and clinical evidence. Naturopathic doctors are currently licensed in 15 states, 2 US territories and 4 Canadian provinces. In order to be eligible to practice in licensed states, one must graduate from an accredited school and pass a national licensing exam (NPLEX). Currently, the state of Alabama does not regulate the practice of Naturopathic medicine.

The six powerful tenants stated above guide the naturopathic doctor and distinguish the naturopathic practice; treatments are consistent with these principles, and are based on the individual patient's needs. Patient education and lifestyle modification form the foundation of naturopathic medical practice. Quality time is spent evaluating the physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of an individual and devising a personalized treatment plan. Some of the therapies used by naturopathic doctors are nutrient and diet therapy, botanical medicines, homeopathy, therapeutic touch, manual therapies, hydrotherapy, and health and lifestyle counseling.