WHAT IS NATUROPATHY?

Although the term "naturopathy" originated in the late 19th Century, the art can be traced back through Germany into Greece, to Hippocrates himself, and even beyond. There have always been people who understood that healing will occur naturally in the human body, if it is given what it truly needs, that is proper diet, pure water, fresh air, sunlight, exercise, and rest. For these people, the emphasis has not been on finding a disease and killing it, but rather on helping the body establish its own state of good health. Today, these people are known as naturopaths or naturopathic consultants.

While naturopaths recognize that allopathic health care is, at times, necessary, they understand that many accepted allopathic treatments can be harmful. Allopathic philosophy holds that disease is caused by external agents, chiefly bacteria and viruses. According to this belief system, a cure will result when these offending agents are eliminated. In addition, allopathic belief also tends to look at the symptom and the disease as one in the same, so that when the symptom has been eliminated, it is presumed that the disease is cured. The naturopath, however, sees a symptom as nothing more than a signal that something is wrong. According to naturopathic belief, when a symptom alone is eliminated, it is most likely being suppressed. Unless the original cause has also been eliminated, the symptom may return later in a chronic form.

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NATUROPATHY

In helping their clients, naturopaths follow a number of basic principles. Among them are:

DO NO HARM. Primum non nocereis part of the Hippocratic oath. Naturopaths do not use harmful substances, such as drugs and pharmaceuticals, and do not rely on dangerous procedures, such as surgery.

RECOGNIZE THE HEALING POWER OF NATURE. Naturopaths understand that the body has an innate capacity for self-healing. They are equipped to educate their clients in setting up the proper external and internal environments so that healing will take place.

FIND AND ELIMINATE THE CAUSE. All "dis-ease" has some kind of cause. Self-healing can occur only when that cause has been eliminated. Naturopaths help clients evaluate their lifestyles, identify the cause of their problems, and take corrective action.

TEACH HEALTH. Naturopaths teach their clients how to achieve and maintain good health. This empowers their clients and enables them to participate in the process of staying well.

HONOR THE TOTAL PERSON. A person is never simply a headache, or a backache, or a sore throat. Unless there has been an injury, seldom does any problem occur in isolation. Naturopaths understand that people are physical, mental, and spiritual beings, and that one "dis-ease" affects all areas of life.

PREVENT "DIS-EASE." In teaching their clients how to achieve a state of balance, naturopaths are helping them remain healthy into the future.

Depending on the extent of their training, naturopaths may sometimes help their clients by using such hands-on modalities as reflexology or acupressure. The origin of "doctor" was in the Latin "docere," which means "to teach." A naturopath, does exactly that, teaching skills that will carry clients into a healthy, strong, and independent future.