Naturopathic medicine is a form of primary health care which emphasizes prevention of disease using natural therapeutic methods and modalities.  These methods aim to stimulate the vis medicatrix naturae also known as the body’s innate wisdom to heal itself.  The focus is placed on optimizing patient health and well-being through individualized treatment care and education.

Naturopathic doctors (NDs) treat their patients holistically, taking into consideration the individual’s body, mind and spirit.  Working with the vital force or the ‘healing force within’ involves assisting the immune, nervous, hormonal, detoxification and elimination systems of the body to achieve homeostasis or biological balance.  Once these systems are in harmony with one another, restored health may be achieved. 

Principles of Naturopathic Medicine

The naturopathic doctor uses fundamental principles and philosophies to identify any imbalances present within the body and in turn, devise individual treatment protocols which will help to assist healing within the patient.

• Primum non nocere - First, do no harm.
  NDs utilize gentle treatment methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful effects and apply the least possible force necessary to diagnose a patient’s health concerns in order to restore health.  The physician must work with and respect the vis medicatrix naturae to support the healing process, while avoiding suppression of symptoms which could cause harm to the patient.
  
  
• Vis medicatrix naturae - To cooperate with the healing powers of nature.
  It is the NDs role to support and facilitate the body’s own innate healing power.  This is accomplished through identifying and removing obstacles standing in the way of achieving optimal health and well-being.
  
  
• Tolle causum - To address the fundamental causes of disease.
  Signs and symptoms are reflections of a deeper root cause of disease.  Treatment is aimed at addressing and removing these root causes so recovery can take place.  Suppression of symptoms can be harmful to the patient because it does not address the root cause of the problem; it just merely palliates it.
  
  
• Docere - Doctor as teacher
  NDs act as health care teachers educating the patients and empowering them to take charge of their own health.
  
  
• Treat the whole person - Both health and disease are a result of a complex combination of physical, mental, emotional, social, genetic, and environmental factors.  Every person expresses susceptibility and disease very differently and thus must be considered as individuals to ensure harmonious functioning of all these factors.  NDs treat the ‘whole’ person taking all of these factors into account.
  
  
• To teach the principles of healthy living and preventive medicine -
  By assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease, a naturopathic doctor can assist the patient in developing appropriate and individual interventions to prevent the occurrence of illness.

Commonly Treated Conditions

Naturopathic medicine treats all forms of health concerns -- from pediatric to geriatric, from acute symptoms to chronic illness and from the physical to the psychological. It is the approach, philosophy and training of Naturopathic Doctors that sets it apart from other forms of health care.

• General Conditions:
  Chronic fatigue, colds & flu, fatigue, fibromyalgia, headaches, health improvement, insomnia, migraines, multiple sclerosis, smoking cessation, stress, weight management
• Elderly:
  Alzheimer’s, osteoporosis, osteo-arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, Parkinson’s disease
• Endocrine:
  Cushing’s disease, diabetes, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism
• Digestive:
  Constipation, Crohns’, diarrhea, diverticulitis, heartburn/GERD, irritable bowel syndrome, ulcers, ulcerative colitis
• Heart & Circulation:
  Angina, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high triglycerides, prevention of heart disease, poor circulation
• Lungs:
  Allergies, asthma, bronchitis, difficulty breathing, frequent infections
• Mental & Emotional:
  Anxiety, depression, stress
• Men’s Health:
  Benign prostate hypertrophy, cancer prevention, impotence, infertility, prostatitis, prostate cancer
• Pediatrics:
  Allergies, attention deficit disorder, autism, chronic ear infections, difficulty gaining weight, diaper rash, frequent illness, thrush
• Skin:
  Acne, eczema, psoriasis, rashes, shingles, hair loss
• Women’s Health:
  Cancer prevention, decreased libido, healthy pregnancy, endometriosis, fibrocystic breasts, infertility, menopause, premenstrual syndrome, PCOS, vaginal infections, yeast infections