About Naturopathy

What is Naturopaty

Naturopathic Medicine, or Naturopathy, is a system of medicine that uses natural substances to treat the patient and recognition that the patient's mental, emotional, and physical states must all be treated for a lasting effect.

Though the term Naturopathy was coined in 1895, this type of medicine had been practiced for hundreds, if not thousands of years prior. In the mid and late 1800s in the United States, the standard medical schools taught herbal, homeopathic, and nutritional medicine along with surgery and other more heroic type medicines.

The Natural Healing of Naturopathy

The foundation of Naturopathic medicine is the vitalistic philosophy of the "healing power of nature." This means that within every human organism there is a healing energy, which includes our immune system in the fuller sense of both the physical and the psyche, which is responsible for our wellness and our ability to heal and maintain health

Following this first premise is the second, that the therapies used to support and stimulate this healing power of nature must be in "the gentlest, least invasive, most efficient manner possible".

The third Naturopathic premise is "to diagnose and treat the cause". Naturopaths do not simply treat the manifestation of the disease but rather search for the cause and treat it.

Types of Naturopathy

One therapy that falls under the broad term of Naturopathy is Homeopathy — a 200-year-old medical system that uses dilute amounts of plants, minerals, and animals to treat patients.

Homeopathy originated when a medical doctor named Samuel Hahnemann became concerned by the frequent occurrence of serious side effects from conventional drugs. Hahnemann researched and experimented with the use of dilute amounts of the drugs to minimize these effects. To his surprise, he found that the potency of the medicine was increased while the side effects diminished.

Homeopathy aims to treat the whole person, taking into account personality, lifestyle and hereditary factors as well as the history of the disease. Since all people are unique, homeopathic medicines are prescribed to treat patients as individuals. For example, headaches in different patients would each be treated with different medicines, according to the patient's individual symptoms. Homeopathy can treat the symptoms of a wide range of chronic and acute illnesses.

Homeopathic is based on three principles:

• Like cures like
  For example, if the symptoms of your cold are similar to poisoning by mercury, then mercury would be your homeopathic remedy.
• Minimal Dose
  The remedy is taken in an extremely dilute form.
• The Single Remedy
  No matter how many symptoms are experienced, only one remedy is taken, and that remedy will be aimed at all those symptoms.

Homeopathy is an extremely effective form of Naturopathy. When the correct remedy is taken, results can be rapid, complete and permanent. Homeopathy is completely safe. Even babies and pregnant women can use Homeopathy without the danger of side effects. Homeopathic remedies can also be taken alongside other medication without producing unwanted side effects.

Homeopathy is a form of naturopathy because it is natural. Homeopathic remedies are normally based on natural ingredients. Homeopathic remedies are not addictive - once relief is felt, you should stop taking them. If no relief is felt, you are probably taking the wrong homeopathic remedy.

Homeopathy is a form of Naturopathy that is holistic. It treats all the symptoms as one, which in practical terms means that it addresses the cause, not the symptoms. This often means that symptoms tackled with Homeopathy do not recure.