Category: Feature

Naturopathic Q & A

Alternative therapies have become increasingly popular. Recent statistics, in fact, tell us that over half the global population uses some form of alternative medicine annually, with naturopathic medicine leading the pack. In this spirit, let’s take a closer look at what naturopathic medicine is, what it offers, what the associated costs are, and what’s involved.

 

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct form of medicine that combines natural therapeutic traditions with modern science to restore and optimize health and wellness. It is founded on the belief that, given the right support, the body has the innate ability to heal itself. To do this, ND’s examine everything from one’s lifestyle habits, including diet, sleep, stress levels, exercise status, genetics, health history, beliefs, behaviours, family life, work-life, psychological state, and many others. In doing so, naturopathic doctors take a whole-person approach to health and wellness and propose tailored treatment plans adapted to each patient's unique needs. Contrary to conventional medicine, naturopathic medicine does not focus on symptoms but rather sees these as the body’s way of trying to communicate an imbalance. In turn, ND’s aim to stimulate the body’s innate self-healing capacities with the use of a wide range of therapeutic modalities including clinical nutrition, botanical medicine, homeopathy, TCM, acupuncture, supplementation, and more.

 

Are Naturopaths Doctors?

While it cannot be denied that conventional medical doctors (MD’s) and naturopathic doctors (ND’s) approach health care differently, when it comes to their actual training, education, experience, and wish to help others, there are an incredible amount of similarities. Indeed, both MD and ND students can apply to medical school once they have completed a Bachelor of Science degree, including classes in English, humanities, math, physics, psychology, as well as chemistry and biology. Once accepted into the medical school of their choice, Naturopathic Medicine students enter a four-year, full-time, accredited naturopathic medicine program. The training ND students receive includes a standard medical curriculum, in addition to training in a range of other areas including diagnostics, clinical sciences, anatomy, naturopathic principles, as well as training in a variety of Complementary Alternative Medicine modalities (CAM). In their last two years, ND students must also intern in clinical settings under the close supervision of licensed teaching or practicing ND’s. Once their studies are completed, finishing students must pass the NPLEX (Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations) to become licensed and receive the title “N.D.” or Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine.
So, to recap, yes, ND’s, like MD’s, are actual doctors, they simply adhere to a different view of health, and employ different tools.

 

How Much Does an Appointment with a Naturopathic Doctor Cost?

The costs associated with visiting a naturopathic doctor usually vary according to the type of consultation. Typically, the initial consultation is a far lengthier one in which you and your ND complete a thorough intake form. This first in-person consultation can last anywhere from 1 ½ and 2 hours, and the associated cost is, unsurprisingly, a little higher, usually around $240 for adults, and $195 for children. Second consultations typically last between 45 to 60 minutes depending on the complexity of the case and health status. The cost for these second consultations is usually between $140 and $170 for adults depending on the length of the appointment, or $115 to $136 for children. Subsequent follow-ups or check-ins are typically much shorter, 15 to 30 minutes, and the associated cost is usually between $50 to $85 for adults and $40 to $70 for children.

 

Is a Naturopathic Consultation Covered by OHIP (or other provincial plans)?

Unfortunately, naturopathic visits are not currently covered by OHIP; however, most extended care plans do cover the full or at the very least, partial cost of the visit. It should also be noted that Naturopathic Doctors have access to medical labs for blood work and a range of other diagnostic tests, and these services are also not covered by OHIP. This currently applies to all Canadian provinces at this time.

 

What Kinds of Tests do Naturopathic Doctors Use?

Like Medical Doctors, Naturopathic Doctors make use of a wide range of conventional tests and diagnostic tools to assess health concerns and determine the most appropriate treatment plans for their patients. Comprehensive laboratory testing including urinalysis, blood work, and saliva testing is often required to paint a complete picture of a person's health status, and pinpoint any imbalances that may exist. Indeed, standard laboratory testing is an integral part of a complete naturopathic assessment. In addition, your ND may request a copy of all previous medical reports and diagnostic testing on your first appointment to gain a better understanding of the cause(s) of your health concerns, as well as to provide the best possible quality health care.

 

What kinds of treatments do Naturopathic Doctors Use?

In addition to the standard medical curriculum, Naturopathic Physicians are trained in a wide range of treatment modalities and use these to treat their patients. These include:

 

• Nutritional Therapy
• Lifestyle Modification
• Behavioural Change
• Botanical Medicine (Herbalism)
• Homeopathy / Low-Dose Medicine
• Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM (notably, Acupuncture)
• Physical Medicine
• Chelation Therapy
• Colonic Irrigation
• IV Vitamin Therapy

 

What’s the Difference Between the Treatment I’ll Receive from my GP and an ND?

The biggest difference in the care you will receive from a conventional medical doctor and an ND is in the approach each takes. Meaning that while conventional MD’s focus on symptoms, conditions, and diseases first, ND’s, adopt a whole-patient approach to health and wellness. As such, an ND will consider the person in their entirety, starting, of course with the symptoms (or the initial reason for the consultation), but will build on that in order to paint a more complete picture of the person and hopefully, to uncover the root cause(s) of the health concern. This is done by investigating everything from dietary habits, lifestyle hygiene/habits, home life/work-life environment, exercise frequency, stress levels, sleep habits, beliefs, and others. Another major difference between the treatment you can expect from a Naturopathic Doctor versus an MD is ND’s always select the least invasive treatment possible and make use of a range of therapeutic modalities such as; nutritional therapy, supplementation, botanical medicine, homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine, and bodywork, that all aim to stimulate the body’s innate healing capacities and long-term health restoration. In stark contrast, MD’s typically focus on working with medications to quiet symptoms rather than on getting to the root cause(s) of illness.

 

What Kinds of Conditions do Naturopathic Doctors Treat?

Naturopathic Doctors, like general practitioner MD’s, treat a broad range of conditions and are especially focused on early diagnosis and treatment of chronic conditions. Records tell us that some of the top patient conditions treated by practicing Naturopathic Doctors include: digestive disorders such as gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), celiac disease, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, diverticulitis, and lactose intolerance, women’s health concerns including PMS, perimenopause, and menopause, mental health, stress, and sleep issues, fibromyalgia and other chronic pain conditions, immune concerns, allergies, fertility and reproduction concerns, cardiovascular health, and pediatric consultations.

 

Therefore, both practices cover and treat a wide range of health concerns and with this knowledge, it’s up to you to choose which approach you prefer and whether an MD, ND or an integrative approach is best for you.

HOW DO NATUROPATHIC DOCTORS TREAT THEIR PATIENTS?

Naturopathy is a distinct type of primary care medicine that blends age-old healing traditions with modern-day scientific advances and the latest clinical research. It is guided by a unique set of six principles that recognize the body's innate healing capacity, emphasizing disease prevention, and empowering individuals to take charge of their health and wellness. ND’s strive to thoroughly understand each patient's condition, and view symptoms as the body's attempt at communicating an underlying imbalance – a cry for help if you will.

 

Many things can disturb optimal health, such as poor nutrition, chronic stress, and toxic exposure, among many other things. The goal of the ND then is to restore health by identifying and minimizing these disturbances. In turn, the naturopathic physician’s approach to restoring optimal health entails addressing a patient's underlying condition, rather than the individual symptoms.

 

HOW DOES AN ND ASSESS HEALTH STATUS?

In naturopathic theory, illness is viewed as a process of disturbance to health and subsequent recovery. The initial intake with your naturopathic doctor is lengthy and will typically last between one and a half to two hours. Your ND will take the time to find out about your family history, your lifestyle, the stressors in your life, past medical history, history of accidents or injuries, and the significant events in your life that may have had an impact on your overall health or well being. Oftentimes, naturopathic physicians will use questionnaires to run through a range of “determinants of health” to map out your complete health status. These “determinants of health” include:

 

• Inborn factors
Genetic Makeup (genotype)
Family History
• Hygiene & Lifestyle factors
Diet, Nutrition, and Digestion
Exercise
Environment, Lifestyle, Psycho-emotional, and Spiritual Health
Exposure to Nature
Sleep Quality
Socio-economic Factors
Stress Factors – Emotional, Psychological & Physical
– Trauma
– Illnesses
– History of medical interventions/treatments
– Surgeries
– Suppressions
– Toxic and harmful substances (including, tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drugs)
– Addictions (both physical and psychological)

 

Once these metrics have been thoroughly evaluated, along with any necessary diagnostic and laboratory testing, your ND will discuss treatment options with you in order to devise the treatment plan that best suits your health and wellness goals and lifestyle. In the course of building this tailored treatment plan, your physician will likely have recourse to a range of therapeutic modalities.

 

TOP 10 NATUROPATHIC MODALITIES

Naturopathic Physicians use a variety of different treatment modalities to treat their patients.
Let’s run through the top ten.

 

1. Diet / Nutritional Therapy
“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food,” - Hippocrates.
This is especially crucial when you consider that there is overwhelming evidence that unhealthy eating habits significantly increase the risk of morbidity (disease) and mortality (death). This is why nutrition is the very foundation of naturopathic medicine and is a practice that is used in all treatment plans.

 

Indeed, ND’s use food for everything from health promotion to health recovery, as well as disease prevention. Your ND will typically recommend a balanced, organic, whole-food diet, rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, wild-caught fish, organically raised meats and whole dairy products. Of course, in keeping with naturopathic medicine precepts, there is no one size fits all, and this includes; therefore, diet meal plans are tailored to each patient’s unique needs. The foods you select should be local whenever possible and consumed in their natural state as much as possible to maximize nutritional value.

 

2. Lifestyle Modification / Behavioural Change
Lifestyle modification is one of the most important aspects of healing. Any dietary modifications you make, or vitamins/supplements you take will not yield the desired results if the lifestyle that contributed to the condition is not modified in a way that promotes health. This is why ND’s spend so much time and ask so many questions at the case intake phase, to identify the lifestyle modifications that are necessary to attain your health goals, and then lead you through these changes at your own pace. Some common lifestyle modifications include sleeping habits, your level of physical activity, how you handle stress, work environment, social circle, exposure to natural sunlight, spirituality, sense of purpose, and others.

 

3. Botanical Medicine (or phytotherapy/herbalism)
Botanical medicine is a modality that draws on the accumulated and developing knowledge of the medicinal properties of plants (or substances that come from plants) in the prevention and treatment of disease. Plants have long been used in traditional medicine thanks to their complex phytochemical composition including phytoestrogens, coumarins, glycosides, bitters, flavonoids, saponins, isoflavones, and tannins, among many others. Botanical medicines, when administered properly and in their appropriate therapeutic doses, can be extremely effective, cause fewer side effects than conventional drugs, and are also generally less costly.

 

4. Homeopathic Medicine / Low-Dose Medicine
Homeopathy is a modality that uses dilutions of natural elements of plant, animal, and mineral origin, to stimulate and strengthen the body’s innate self-healing abilities. Homeopathic medicine views symptoms of illness as normal attempts of the body to regain health. The remedies used in homeopathy are based on the idea that "like cures like", or similia similibus curentur. Meaning that if a substance causes symptoms of a disease in healthy people, this same substance can cure similar symptoms in sick people. One of the biggest benefits of homeopathy is that it can be used throughout all life stages including pregnant and lactating women because there is no risk of toxicity or side effects.

 

5. Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM (including acupuncture)
A modality that is based on balancing the flow of chi (energy) through meridian pathways under the skin. TCM is an ancient system of health and wellness that’s been used in China for thousands of years. While conventional or modern medicine focuses primarily on treating symptoms or diseases, TCM, like naturopathic medicine, treats the whole person. As such, TMC doesn’t focus on science or medicine, but rather on balance, harmony, and energy. TCM practitioners use various psychological and/or physical approaches (such as acupuncture) as well as herbal products to address health issues.

 

6. Physical Medicine
Naturopaths may also have recourse to physical medicine, a practice that includes soft tissue work (including therapeutic massage), naturopathic manipulation of muscles, bones, and soft tissue, and the skeletal system, as well as hydrotherapy, gentle electrical impulses, ultrasound, and therapeutic exercise. Physical medicine may also include light therapy, ultrasound, and laser. ND’s use physical medicine to help restore the structural soundness of joints, soft tissue, and skeletal system, as well as to bolster immunity, and stimulate and support the body’s natural detoxification process.

 

7. Chelation therapy
Chelation therapy is a treatment modality that is based on the process of chelation, in which chemicals are used to remove heavy metals and other substances from the body. Although originally designed to treat conditions like lead poisoning, chelation therapy is now used fairly frequently in complementary medicine to treat atherosclerosis, by removing calcium deposits from the arteries and restoring healthy blood flow. Chelation therapy is also used to protect against the damaging effects of chronic inflammation, and by extension, the treatment of most conditions with an inflammatory component. Other conditions that may benefit from this ND modality include, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, multiple sclerosis, and peripheral artery disease.

 

8. Colon Therapy / Colon Irrigation
Colon therapy, also known as colonic irrigation or colonic hydrotherapy, is a therapeutic modality based on the concept of autointoxication and involves flushing the colon with fluids to remove accumulated waste and toxins. Some forms of colon hydrotherapy use tubes to inject water, which may be mixed with a range of medicinal plants, into the colon via the rectum using colon hydrotherapy equipment. Oral colon hydrotherapy regimens may also be used with the help of dietary fibre, herbs, supplements, and/or laxatives.

 

9. IV Vitamin Therapy
IV vitamin infusion therapy involves inserting an IV line into a vein in a patient’s arm to administer a high concentration of liquid vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids, and/or minerals into the bloodstream. Only one vitamin, or a cocktail of nutrients, may be infused during a session. There are several benefits to administering vitamins via infusion therapy including; a higher absorption rate, the possibility of tailoring the dosages specifically according to a patient’s needs, and a higher success rate of providing the nutrition the patient requires. IV infusion is also especially helpful for patients with moderate to severe dehydration.

 

10. Prevention
The ND’s ultimate goal is always prevention, which is why this modality will always be used in the treatment plan for patients. Prevention entails, helping the patient preserve, maintain, and support health, and the physician does this by assessing the various risk factors and susceptibility to disease based on family history, lifestyle hygiene, diet, and more. There is an important educational component involved in prevention (i.e. “Physician as Teacher”), as well as a lot of guiding, encouraging, and empowering patients to take charge of their own health and wellness.

 

There are many ways in which a Naturopath can treat their patients and they will use a mix of practices to best suit the patients needs, conditions and overall health status and lifestyle. Naturopath’s use an approach that gets to the root of the issue, to help the patient better their health and wellness long term rather than just addressing and potentially masking their unpleasant symptoms.

THE GROWING FIELD OF NATUROPATHIC MEDICINE

The interest in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has grown and diversified dramatically over the past few decades, especially ramping up in the last 20 years or so. According to the latest statistics, more than three-quarters of Canadians (79%) currently use alternative medicine, complementary approaches that can be categorized as Naturopathic Doctor consultations, as well as the use of vitamins & minerals, medicinal plants, dietary supplements, and mind/body practices for their health needs.

 

The shift towards natural health has been so intense in recent years that many conventional doctors and healthcare institutions are now showing a new acceptance of CAM treatments and philosophies. As a result, the term “alternative medicine” has fallen out of use, in favour of “integrative medicine”, a vision that does not reject conventional medicine, but rather insists there is room at the table for both approaches. Of course, even within the CAM sphere, there exist different schools of thought.

 

THE NATUROPATHIC APPROACH

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct form of primary health care that believes in the whole-person approach to wellness, and that distinguishes symptoms from underlying root causes. While symptoms are viewed as the body’s way of communicating imbalances, they are not the cause of illness. Rather, symptoms express a body’s attempts to heal. Naturopathic Doctors are trained to evaluate all aspects of health and wellness including diet, lifestyle, beliefs, genetics, psycho-emotional, spiritual, socioeconomic, environmental issues, and more. Licensed Naturopathic Medicine Physicians are guided by the six principles upon which the practice is based.

 

• First Do No Harm
• The Healing Power of Nature
• Identify and Treat the Cause
• Doctor as Teacher
• Treat the Whole Person
• Prevention

 

Building on the naturopathic model of individualized treatment plans based on a whole-person vision, there are a range of medical approaches, that while similar, are also quite distinct and include; functional medicine, integrative medicine, and lifestyle medicine. Let’s explore.

 

FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE

The functional medicine approach to health care also believes in a patient-centred approach to health but differs in that it focuses especially on chronic disease management using a laboratory-based analysis system. Some of the most common conditions that functional medical doctors treat include neuro-cognitive disorders such as; Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia, arthritis, asthma, autoimmune conditions, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, chronic digestive disorders, fibromyalgia, metabolic syndrome, pre-diabetes and insulin resistance, thyroid disorders, and others.

 

Much like ND’s, functional medicine doctors seek to find the underlying cause of chronic diseases as opposed to simply quieting the symptoms. Functional medicine seeks to answer the question, “Why are you ill?”, so personalized, effective treatment plans can be developed based on your unique needs.

 

As a multi-disciplinary approach, functional medicine physicians typically use nutrition as the foundation of their treatment plans, very much in keeping with the naturopathic approach. In addition, nutrients, and supplements are often prescribed, as well as lifestyle modifications, with a special focus on exercise, sleep, and meditation. In addition, because functional medicine physicians are licensed medical doctors (MD’s) who have adopted a more holistic approach to treating chronic illness they may also have recourse to conventional prescription drugs, and surgery, as needed.

 

INTEGRATIVE MEDICINE

Integrative medicine, like functional medicine, is practiced by licensed medical doctors (MD’s). It is a healing-oriented approach that takes the whole person into consideration (body, mind, and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle (diet, behaviours, beliefs, sleep quality, stress levels, home life, work-life, social circle, recreation, and more). Integrative medicine, as the name implies, is a philosophy that advocates for the integration of conventional medical care with a wide range of complementary and alternative therapies (CAM). Indeed, as defined by the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, integrative medicine “combines mainstream medical therapies and CAM therapies for which there is some high-quality scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.”

 

Integrative medicine physicians are guided by the principles below:

 

• Building partnership between patient and practitioner as part of the healing process
• Making the appropriate use of conventional and CAM modalities to stimulate the body’s innate healing response
• Considering all factors that influence health, wellness, and disease, including mind, body, and spirit
• Neither reject conventional medicine nor accept alternative therapies uncritically
• Recognize that good medicine should be based on good science; be inquiry-driven, and open to new paradigms
• Make use of effective, natural, less-invasive interventions whenever possible
• Make use of the broader concepts of health promotion and the prevention of illness as well as the treatment of disease
• Be models of health and healing, committed to the process of self-exploration and self-development.

 

LIFESTYLE MEDICINE

Lifestyle medicine is a medical approach that uses evidence-based behavioural interventions to treat and manage chronic diseases related to lifestyle. As such, it focuses on the use of a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, regular physical activity, adequate sleep, stress management, and avoidance of risky substance use, to prevent, treat, and reverse chronic diseases. Lifestyle medicine is often described in terms of its six pillars:

 

• Diet & Nutrition
• Physical Activity
• Smoking Cessation
• Alcohol Harm Reduction
• Stress & Sleep
• Social Connection

 

In other words, lifestyle medicine may best be defined as, "The application of environmental, behavioural, medical and motivational principles to the management (including self-care and self-management) of lifestyle-related health problems in a clinical and/or public health setting" – or “How lifestyle impacts health”. In turn, lifestyle medicine practitioners focus on finding the causes of illness and help their patients implement healthy lifestyle choices. In keeping with the naturopathic approach, lifestyle medicine also empowers individuals to take charge of their own health care and to play an active role in managing and reversing chronic illness and disease.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

It cannot be argued that the growing interest in a more natural and holistic approach to health and wellness has had a profound impact on the way many conventional doctors now choose to practice medicine once they graduate. Unsurprisingly, this has increased in the use of various CAM modalities across the medical professions, and while many parts of one field of medicine may now overlap with parts of another, the end result is better health care for patients. A win-win in anyone’s book!

This is a common question, and one typically posed by those accustomed to the conventional medicinal model. While naturopathic medicine has undergone significant growth and legitimization in the last few decades, many people are still unsure just what naturopathic doctors do, what their medical training looks like, and what their qualifications are. In order to answer the question comprehensively, let’s first define the term “doctor”.

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Doctor - A Definition

A conventional dictionary definition of doctor reads as such: “Physician, medical practitioner, medical doctor (MD), or simply doctor, is a professional who practices medicine, and whose ultimate goal is the promotion, maintenance, and restoration of health through the study, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of disease, injury, and other physical and mental impairments. A doctor may focus his practice on certain disease categories, types of patients, and methods of treatment, specialties, or assume responsibility for the provision of continuing and comprehensive medical care to individuals, families, and communities— general practice. Medical practice requires both a detailed knowledge of the academic disciplines, such as anatomy and physiology, underlying diseases and their treatment, the science of medicine, as well as competence in its applied practice and the art or craft of medicine.”

 

Do Naturopaths Fit The Dictionary Definition of "Doctor"?

Many people may be surprised to learn that licensed naturopathic doctors (ND’s), like conventional medical doctors (MD’s), dentists, and chiropractors, must first complete an undergraduate degree at the university level before applying to medical school. The naturopathic student then enters into a four-year, full-time, accredited naturopathic medicine program. This extensive training includes a standard medical curriculum, as well as clinical sciences, diagnostics, naturopathic principles, anatomy, and the full range of therapeutic modalities. ND students also intern in clinical settings under the supervision of licensed, practicing ND’s for the last two years of their program in order to gain the experience and confidence they need to prepare for their future as physicians. Finishing students must take and pass a professional board exam, the Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations (NPLEX) to become licensed. Graduates of these accredited programs receive the title “N.D.” or Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine.

 

Licensed ND’s, like MD’s, can assess and diagnose diseases, disorders, and dysfunctions, order lab testing, as well as perform a range of in-office tests, and dispense, and prescribe some restricted drugs, and other substances. As such, the answer to the initial question is yes, naturopathic physicians are indeed doctors. They do; however, differ in the way that they view health and wellness and in the way they treat illness.

 

The Naturopathic Approach

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct type of primary care that blends age-old healing traditions with the latest scientific advances and current research. It is guided by a unique set of principles that recognize the body's innate healing capacity, emphasize disease prevention, and encourage individual responsibility to obtain optimal health. Naturopathic treatment modalities include diet and clinical nutrition (the foundation), behavioural change, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, botanical medicine, physical medicine, pharmaceuticals, and minor surgery, among many other modalities.

 

One of the most important concepts of the naturopathic approach to health and wellness is that it aims to treat the whole person – this, in fact, is one of the six guiding principles of naturopathic medicine. Indeed, ND’s focus on identifying the underlying cause(s) of health concerns and empowering patients to engage actively in restoring and managing their health. Naturopaths also recognize that multiple factors contribute to health and illness including; diet, lifestyle, genetics, psycho-emotional makeup, spirituality, socioeconomic position, environmental issues, and much more. This is why they seek to understand all of the facets of a person, and with this information, tailor individualized treatment plans that aim to bring patients back into homeostasis (balance), and ultimately stimulate the body’s innate self-healing capacities. Make no mistake; however, the whole-person approach to health and wellness is not merely a flight of fancy. Research has shown that whole-person care leads to higher patient satisfaction and improved outcomes.

 

In addition, some of the other benefits of naturopathic medicine include:

• The promotion of optimal health & wellness
• Disease prevention
• Individualized treatment plans that aim to transform one’s overall health and wellbeing
• Safe and effective treatments with minimal risk of side effects
• Cost-effective
• Strong educational component (“when you know better, you can do better”)
• Empowers patients to take charge of their own health

 

Naturopathic doctors have a wide range of modalities at their disposal to treat their patients, including medicinal herbs, supplementation, massage therapy/bodywork, acupuncture, exercise therapy, and, last but certainly not least, nutritional counselling.

 

Conventional Medicine (Or Modern Medicine)

In sharp contrast, the conventional medical model is what is commonly practiced by most licensed medical doctors (MD’s) and is widely accepted as the mainstream approach to health care. While it cannot be argued that modern medicine is responsible for the development of a wide range of incredibly innovative medical advances and ground-breaking medications that have helped countless people regain health and avoid disability and early death, there is one significant drawback to conventional medicine that cannot be ignored. That is that it focuses exclusively on symptoms rather than on the patient. Thus, the conventional medical doctor takes a science-based approach to treating patients with the use of modern medical diagnostic tools and treatments such as surgery, prescription medication, and a range of therapies. So, rather than addressing the root cause of illness through diet and lifestyle changes, conventional MD’s prioritize drugs to remedy the symptoms of a given condition. As a result, many experts estimate that the over-prescription of medication to treat, calm, and quiet symptoms is the third most common cause of death globally after heart disease and cancer.

 

Interestingly, in recent years, many classically trained and licensed medical doctors (MD’s) have begun complementing their standard medical approach with a range of complementary alternative medicine (CAM) modalities, a practice that has been coined "complementary" medicine or "integrative" medicine. These newer approaches to health care combine the best of alternative medicine with the best of conventional medicine to help patients maintain health, reduce the risk of illness, as well as help manage chronic diseases effectively and safely over the life span. This is an interesting and positive trend that ultimately benefits the patients health and wellness.

What to Expect on Your First Naturopathic Appointment?
Naturopathic medicine and other forms of complementary and alternative medicine have steadily been gaining popularity in recent years. Naturopathic medicine, which has been practiced in North America for over a century, emphasizes prevention and takes a holistic, proactive approach to disease prevention and illness. If you’re considering visiting an ND and would like to know what to expect during your first appointment, here's an overview.

 

First things first: Make Sure to Budget Enough Time
Your first visit with an ND will take considerably longer than what you’d typically spend in a conventional medical practice, usually around 90 minutes. Your first visit may take longer in fact, depending on the practitioner and your health status. Subsequent visits; however, are usually shorter, around 45-60 minutes in general.

 

In a nutshell, there are four phases to your first naturopathic consultation:

 

1. Explore – (The case taking phase)
It’s important to start at the beginning, i.e. what brought you in for a consultation in the first place. So your ND will spend a considerable amount of time on this, helping you put into words exactly what your primary health concerns are; what & how you are feeling, what has changed, what you may or may not be doing as well as you could be, what your overall lifestyle looks like, how your sleep is, what your stress levels are, what your energy levels look like, etc.

 

The exploration phase (or patient intake phase) is, unsurprisingly, the longest, and especially important from a naturopathic perspective, because it allows the practitioner to get to know the patient in great detail.

 

Your practitioner will also ask you what treatments, therapies, practitioners, medications, and/or supplements you have tried to address your primary health concern(s) you are consulting about. These include pharmaceuticals, herbals, vitamins, and any other supplements, as well as dosages and length of use. The importance of 100% transparency cannot be stressed enough here, as it will enable your practitioner to get a better understanding not only of you, but of how your body responds, as well as to warn of any potential toxicities that you may be dealing with, weaknesses in a given organ system, and/or contraindications with ongoing treatments or medications.

 

Your ND will also go through your immediate family’s health and medical history, as well as will ask you many questions about your daily diet including, what you regularly eat, and how you feel after eating certain foods. The practitioner will also explore the relationship between certain foods and your GI health, energy, stress, and sleep with you. This will not only help you connect the dots but will also inform the eventual treatment protocol. You may additionally be asked to complete a food diary and other paperwork before your first visit.

 

2. Understanding the Symptom, Discomfort, Illness
Once your ND has a good overall idea of the person in front of them, it’s time to work on trying to understand the symptom(s) you are consulting about. This is where your naturopath will help guide and focus your attention on all of the specificities of the symptoms. This involves open discussion of course, as well as physical examination, palpation, body sign observations, reviewing medical reports, blood work, and any other available test results. The “understanding phase” is important both to the practitioner and the patient, as it allows to see firsthand strengths and weaknesses in a person's health, and to start to realize what some of the most important contributing factors in the patients lifestyle may be. Your ND will also prescribe any laboratory tests that are relevant to complete an assessment and diagnosis. Your practitioner may use conventional diagnostic tools along with the principles and practices of naturopathic medicine. They may also incorporate Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) diagnostic techniques and pay special attention to physical details that can provide a holistic understanding of your complaints.

 

3. Determining & Setting Goals
The next phase of your appointment will consist of goal setting. It's important to highlight that this is done in partnership with your ND, where you will work together to negotiate goals and define strategies to achieve a variety of positive outcomes for your health. This discussion will include what treatment modalities may be used, what effects are expected, what potential side effects may occur, as well as what the prognosis is based on the treatment options discussed. What’s important to reiterate here is that the naturopathic medicinal model is one in which there is a true partnership between the practitioner and the patient, where the patient will be encouraged to take full ownership of their health and as such, it makes perfect sense for the goal setting and choice of potential therapeutic modalities to be made conjointly.

 

4. Treatment Roadmap
Once you and your practitioner have defined and agreed upon health goals, it’s time
for your practitioner to provide you with a treatment roadmap. Sometimes this will be a temporary one as you wait for blood tests and other diagnostic tests to come back, but at least you should be leaving your first ND consultation with a clear treatment plan (albeit perhaps abridged until all test results are in), that will likely include diet, exercise, supplementation, and other lifestyle hygiene tweaks, as well as a range of other potential treatment modalities.

 

If you’ve chosen to book an appointment with a naturopathic physician, congratulations! You’ve just taken an important first step in taking charge of your health. You’ve also started on an amazing journey towards optimal physical and mental health and wellness. Here's a little recap of what you can expect to discuss with your ND during your first visit:

 

• Your detailed health history (remember to budget between 90 and 120 minutes)
• A thorough examination of your health concerns
• A methodical review of your bodily systems to try and identify the potential root cause(s) of your health concern
• A review of any medications and/or supplements you are currently taking, or have tried to address your health concern, as well as any therapies or practices you are currently on/following or have tried
• A detailed examination of your diet and physical activity
• A discussion about your lifestyle, social network, and support systems
• A physical exam, as needed
• Order of any requisite blood work and appropriate diagnostic tests, as needed
• Goal setting discussion
• Preliminary roadmap to address your health concerns and to help you meet your health goals

Allopathic Medicine vs. Naturopathic Medicine

Allopathic Medicine (a term now considered archaic that’s largely been replaced by “Modern Medicine”) is for all intents and purposes, the current mainstream approach to health management. While, a polar opposite in its approach, Naturopathic Medicine is a distinct type of primary health care that concentrates on whole-patient wellness, and that emphasizes prevention, natural remedies, and the promotion of a person’s inherent ability to self-heal.

 

Let’s look over a hypothetical situation; “Doctor, I’m having these strange, uncomfortable, painful symptoms for the last couple of months, they come and go, but are impacting my quality of life. I haven't changed anything about the way I eat, sleep, or exercise – I haven’t gained or lost weight, I’m not stressed, and I’m really worried.”

 

With Allopathic medicine, your doctor proceeds to give you a physical, checks all your vitals, and promptly orders a bunch of blood work to give a better idea of what’s going on. You go back in for your follow-up the next week and your doctor tells you there’s nothing wrong with you, all the tests came back normal. Baffled, you ask him how that could be since clearly these symptoms aren’t just in your head. To which your doctor replies, “I’m sorry, but everything looks normal and there isn’t any indication that anything is wrong with you. You can take some Advil or Tylenol whenever the pain comes on and come back in 6 months, and we’ll see if anything has evolved, maybe we can run some more tests then.”

 

Many of us have been there before, not feeling like ourselves, but not getting answers when tests come back inconclusive. By relying on one form of medicine, we often miss the mark and don’t see the whole picture of our health.

What is Allopathic Medicine?

Allopathic Medicine, or Western Medicine, is a system of medicine that is characterized by growing specialization and ever-more complex diagnostic and therapeutic technology, that “treats the body as a biochemical machine and physicians as specialized technicians who can repair the machine.” We’ve all used this form of medicine before and it is practiced by an MD. Of course, it should be recognized that Modern Medicine does have it’s place and has seen the development of multiple groundbreaking prescription medicines and sophisticated advances in medical treatment that have helped many people avoid disability and death caused by disease, lowered overall treatment costs, and has lowered death rates for heart disease, stroke, cancer, and other deadly diseases for several decades.

 

Problems with Allopathic Medicine

Despite the many positives, the one big caveat of modern medicine is that it focuses squarely on symptoms, conditions, and diseases first, rather than the patient as a whole with interconnected parts. As a result, the approach is reliant almost to a fault on obtaining a diagnosis before deciding on the course of action, and so tends to wait until there is something detectable and diagnosable (i.e. severe enough to be picked up in blood work or via other diagnostic tools) to start treating the patient. The conventional medicine approach thus leaves little room for prevention. Another issue of modern medicine is that it focuses primarily on working with pharmaceutical medications to manage and quiet symptoms (often referred to as a “band-aid” approach), rather than on getting to the root cause of a symptom, discomfort, or illness.

 

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic Medicine uses both age-old healing traditions, as well as the latest scientific advances and research (including blood tests and other more conventional diagnostic tools when necessary). Naturopathic Medicine considers the body as an integrated whole, and so, considers the person in their entirety, starting with the symptoms and building on that to include a thorough examination of dietary habits, lifestyle hygiene (environment), exercise, stress levels, sleep habits, behaviours, beliefs, and so forth.

 

Why Naturopathic Medicine?

Their extensive and comprehensive case taking allows naturopaths not only to make a precise diagnosis but perhaps far more importantly, to address health problems holistically. A naturopathic’s first goal will not be symptom suppression, but rather addressing the root cause (or causes) of a symptom, discomfort, or illness. Because of this, naturopathic physicians are often compared to educators because not only do they help individuals on their health journey, but they also teach and guide them towards optimal health and wellness, as well as educate them on natural, safe, and effective disease management. However, let’s be clear, Naturopathic Physicians are just that, licensed physicians. In fact, just like MD’s, licensed ND’s must attend an accredited medical school for four years and must pass rigorous professional board examinations before being officially licensed to practice medicine.

 

Other Approaches That are Gaining Momentum

Beyond Modern Medicine and Naturopathic Medicine, some grey areas have been developing over the last decade or two. Indeed, various forms of natural medicine, such as functional medicine and integrative medicine have been steadily gaining in popularity as of late. Both of these disciplines are highly regarded by leading health care practitioners. Indeed, functional medicine and integrative medicine may well be the future of conventional medicine, as they both involve physicians taking on a more holistic approach; one that puts the focus squarely on the patient as opposed to the symptom, condition, or disease taking centre stage. Functional medicine and integrative medicine as approaches are also both less concerned with symptom management, and far more centred on all aspects of prevention. Though quite similar, there are some very distinct differences between the two approaches.

 

Basics of Functional Medicine

Much like naturopathic medicine, the functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centered, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of symptoms, or illnesses. Practitioners of functional medicine have recourse to a range of modalities such as nutrigenomics, which looks at the effects of food and food constituents on gene expression, and how genetic variations affect the nutritional environment. This particular modality focuses on understanding the interaction between nutrients and the genome at the molecular level, to understand how specific nutrients or diets affect overall health and wellness. While conventional medicine is certainly quite effective at treating acute and emergency medical situations, functional medicine is ideally suited to addressing chronic illnesses, and ultimately guiding patients on how to safely and effectively manage chronic conditions long-term. 

 

Basics of Functional Medicine

Much like naturopathic medicine, the functional medicine model is an individualized, patient-centred, science-based approach that empowers patients and practitioners to work together to address the underlying causes of symptoms or illnesses. Practitioners of functional medicine have recourse to a range of modalities such as nutrigenomics, which looks at the effects of food and food constituents on gene expression, and how genetic variations affect the nutritional environment. This particular approach focuses on understanding the interaction between nutrients and the genome at the molecular level, to understand how specific nutrients or diets affect overall health and wellness. While conventional medicine is certainly quite effective at treating acute and emergency medical situations, functional medicine is ideally suited to addressing chronic illnesses, and ultimately guiding patients on how to safely and effectively manage chronic conditions long-term.

 

Basics of Integrative Medicine

As previously mentioned, functional medicine and integrative medicine are similar in their approaches, which is why, like functional medicine, integrative medicine considers all factors that influence health, wellness, and disease, including mind, spirit, and community, as well as the body. Integrative medicine neither rejects allopathic (conventional) medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically, but rather believes that good medicine is based on good science. As such, integrative medical practitioners are inquiry-driven and open to new ideas and models, and can make use of all of the treatment modalities that the practitioner sees fit, coming from all branches of medicine. Worth noting, is the fact that integrative medical physicians are licensed medical doctors who take an integrative approach to healthcare. This involves adopting both conventional treatments and complementary alternative medicine (CAM) modalities.

 

While each approach has it’s place, it’s important to see that when we rely solely on one practice for our health, we could be missing the underlying issue; therefore, not getting the full picture when it comes to our health. While modern medicine is a great approach for when something is already wrong, alternative approaches are excellent for preventing health concerns and increasing overall health and well-being. This proactive approach often leads to more energy, vitality, and graceful aging because underlying, root concerns are addressed and a natural, healthy lifestyle is implemented from the inside out.

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct approach to health care that embraces modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods. Contrary to conventional medical doctors (MD’s), naturopathic medicine is patient-centred. As such, naturopathic physicians (ND’s) take the whole person into consideration, as opposed to simply a set of symptoms, a condition, or an isolated organ or organ system. This is why naturopathic medicine is often referred to as holistic, because it addresses the entire person as a whole and considers mental and social factors, rather than just the physical symptoms of a disease.

 

Overall Vision & Approach

Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the body has the innate ability to heal itself and looks to nature to stimulate and support this healing potential. This is done via both lifestyle, diet, as well as with the use of a wide range of therapeutic modalities, which we will detail a little later on in this article. Naturopaths believe in prevention first and guide their clients on how to enhance and improve their overall health and well-being, as well as empower them to take full ownership of their health status. ND’s also educate their patients on effective, non-invasive, and natural disease management via the principles and practices of naturopathic medicine.

 

The Six Principles of Naturopathic Medicine

In addition to conventional training in health sciences and diagnostics, naturopathic physicians learn about and make use of a wide range of natural therapies and non-invasive techniques that ensure a holistic approach to health and healing, that is adapted to each patient. ND’s must adhere to six guiding principles:

 

1. 1. First Do No Harm (Primum Non Nocere)
      This includes:
      • Choosing the most non-invasive and least toxic treatments necessary for each patient.
      • Whenever possible, avoiding the harmful suppression of symptoms
      • Acknowledging and respecting each person's healing process, and using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat illness.

       

   2. The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae)
      • Recognizing the body's inherent ability to heal itself.
      • Identifying and removing obstacles to recovery.

       

   3. Identify and Treat the Causes (Tolle Causam)
      • Identifying, addressing, and removing the underlying causes of disease.

       

   4. Doctor as Teacher (Docere)
      • Educating patients on personal health management and empowering patients to take full ownership of their health.

 

1. Treat the Whole Person (Tolle totum)
   • Naturopathic doctors must treat the patient, not the disease, and must see the body as an integrated whole.

    

2. Prevention (Praevenic)
   • Naturopathic medicine focuses on overall health, wellness, and disease prevention.

 

Therapeutic Modalities

As a natural approach to primary health care, naturopathic medicine aims to assess and meet the needs of each patient on an individual basis, using a range of therapeutic modalities to stimulate and support the body’s innate healing potential. These modalities and therapeutic approaches can include:

• • Acupuncture
    Acupuncture is a holistic approach that stems from ancient Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in which practitioners insert thin needles very shallowly into the skin to stimulate specific points throughout the body. This modality aims to stimulate the balance and flow of Qi (pronounced: chi, meaning vital energy) energy, which TCM tells us is essential to health. Acupuncture treats both the symptoms and the causes of illness. In naturopathic medicine, acupuncture is often used to restore homeostasis (balance) to the body, when conventional medicine has failed. Treatment involves inserting atraumatic acupuncture needles into specific “acupoints” and may be used in a wide range of applications including; pain conditions, to increase energy, relieve seasonal allergies, induce labor, improve mood, as well as to resolve sleep disorders.  

 

• • Botanical Medicine (herbalism, or phytotherapy)
    Herbal medicine is a hallmark of naturopathic medicine and one of the most effective modalities that can be used to treat illness gently and safely, with minimal risk of harmful side effects. In this sense, botanical medicine is entirely in line with one of the six guiding principles of naturopathic medicine, Primum Non Nocere. In essence, herbal medicine uses medicinal plants and extracts, individually or in combination, to improve overall health, support wellness, and treat acute and chronic diseases. Interestingly, many conventional prescription medications are derived from some of these same plants (such as aspirin (from white willow bark), digoxin (from foxglove), quinine (from cinchona bark), and morphine (from the opium poppy).

 

• • Clinical nutrition
    Nutrition is often a pivotal component of an individual’s health journey. In addition, poor diet is also the most important preventable risk factor for disease, disability, and early death. As such, it should come as no surprise that clinical nutrition is the cornerstone of naturopathic medicine. It consists of evaluating and optimizing a patient’s overall diet and ensuring it meets the specific nutritional needs of the patient, based on age, gender, activity level, health status, digestion potential, etc. ND’s consider nutrition as integral to health, healing, disease prevention and use clinical nutrition as the foundation for most of their therapeutic protocols.

 

• • Homeopathy (low-dose medicine)
    A quick mention of homeopathy because many ND’s do incorporate homeopathy into their treatment protocols, but it’s worth mentioning that homeopathy is a complex standalone approach, best practiced by formally trained, experienced homeopathic practitioners.
    By definition, homeopathy is "the treatment of disease by minute doses of natural substances that in a healthy person would produce symptoms of the disease." It is a modality that is based upon “like cures like” (or the “Law of Similars”), that calls for treatments to be “individualized” to a patient’s specific symptoms, history, body, and needs.

 

• • Hydrotherapy
    Is a therapeutic technique used by ND’s and many other complementary medicine professionals, it involves the use of water to treat various pain conditions such as arthritis, rheumatic complaints, and many others. Hydrotherapy relies on both the mechanical and thermal effects of water to help heal the body (the water used is considerably warmer than that is typically found in a swimming pool). Indeed, hydrotherapy harnesses most of the physical properties of water, such as temperature and pressure, for therapeutic purposes, to stimulate blood flow, enhance circulation, loosen tense, tight muscles, increase metabolic rate and digestion, and stimulate the immune system.

 

• • Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
    TCM is based on the idea that energy called “qi” (pronounced: chi), flows along pathways in the body called meridians, and that if the flow of qi along these meridians is blocked or unbalanced, illness can occur. TCM dates back over 2,500 years and may better be described as a “system of medicine”, which includes natural treatments such as acupuncture, herbal remedies, dietary tweaking, stress support, exercise, and treatments such as cupping. Well-versed ND’s will often incorporate aspects of TCM into their treatments.

 

• Vitamin Therapy (supplementation)
  Supplementation is frequently used by ND’s, and with good reason. Because while today more than ever is known about the importance of getting all of the necessary nutrients your body needs to thrive, deficiencies are still extremely common, even in North America (and other industrialized nations). Micronutrient deficiencies have a negative impact during rapid growth periods like; infancy, childhood, adolescence, and pregnancy, when the body has a much-increased need. Deficiencies can also adversely affect health throughout life including cognitive functioning, immunity, wound healing, gastrointestinal health, vision, heart health, and joint health among others.

 

 

Natural, Safe, and Effective Patient-Centered Care 

As we’ve seen, naturopathic medicine takes into account the nutritional status, lifestyle, family history, physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social factors in a person's life, to tailor a therapeutic approach aimed at supporting the whole person. A naturopathic practitioner will select the best therapeutic modalities to address health concerns and needs with the help of the most non-invasive and least toxic treatments necessary, all the while, avoiding as much as possible, the harmful suppression of symptoms. Remember, that a naturopath sees the person first, and not the symptom or the disease, and has all the tools at his or her disposal to help protect your health and guide you on your journey back to optimal wellness.