--> Doctor of naturopathy)
N.D. licensure laws require a resident pre-med course of at least four years and 4,000 hours of study at a college recognized by the state examining board. N.D.'s are considered the general practitioners of the natural healing world.
O.M.D. (Oriental Medical Doctor)
This title generally indicates some additional training beyond state licensure to practice acupuncture. It also is sometimes taken by Chinese M.D.'s who are licensed medical doctors in China but not in the United States and by US. practitioners who complete O.M.D. degree programs at foreign schools. | | A pilot program at Mutual of Omaha, for instance, covers the Dean Ornish cardiac rehabilitation program, and Blue Cross of Washington has a policy that covers naturopathy and homeopathy. But no carrier has made a greater commitment to natural healing than the American Western Life Insurance Company of Foster City, California. The company's Wellness plan covers naturopathic treatments, including Ayurveda, homeopathy, nutritional counseling, massage and physical therapy. | | He says that "there were dozens of'eclectic' medical colleges in th; nineteenth century, which taught an approach to medicine that ultimately became naturopathy," a type of medicine still practiced today that us;s a number of alternative techniques, including homeopathy, acupuncture, massage, hydrotherapy, nutritional counseling and herbal and vitamin therapies.
It wasn't until the early twentieth century, the golden age of drug development, that Americans developed the attitude that good health was found in the medicine chest. |  As far as allopathy is concerned, such modalities—homeopathy acupuncture, herbalism, naturopathy, massage, chiropractic—either officially don't exist or their efficacy is so unreliable, their scientific validation so potholed, their practitioners so suspect, that it's just too inconsequential to mention in print. When Time or Newsweek acknowledge holistic protocols, most often it's couched in sarcasm and scorn.
"Preying on AIDS patients," headlined Newsweek, showing us how "quacks peddle false hopes to sufferers of the deadly disease. |  Comprehensive training in acupuncture, homeopathy, massage, and naturopathy, or natural medicine, is widely available, and most major cities have introductory courses in these and other alternative approaches.
Ten or even five years ago, when I appeared on radio or television to discuss "holistic" or "alternative" or "mind-body" medicine, I was looked at more as an anthropologist than as a physician, an explorer of some exotic culture reporting his curious and provocative findings back to the home country. |  Counseling or behavioral medicine is an important component of naturopathy, and practitioners emphasize the role played by mental and emotional health in disease. Naturopathic physicians are trained in counseling, biofeedback, stress reduction, and other means of helping improve mental and therefore overall health. Some naturopathic physicians obtain further training in one or more of these techniques and specialize in treating patients with these methods. Naturopathic doctors may also apply other alternative or unproven techniques, such as ozone therapy for patients with cancer or AIDS. |  The European tradition of "taking the cure" at natural springs or spas gained a foothold in America by the middle of the eighteenth century, making the United States receptive to the ideas of naturopathy. Among the movements earliest promoters were Father Sebastian Kneipp, a priest who credited his recovery from tuberculosis to bathing in the Danube, and Benedict Lust, a physician who trained at the water-cure clinic that Kneipp founded in Europe. | | Lust arrived in the United States in the 1890s and began using the term "naturopathy" to describe an eclectic combination of natural healing doctrines.1
In 1902, Lust founded the first U.S. college of naturopathic medicine in New York City. It taught a system of medicine that included the best of what was then known about nutritional therapy, natural diet, herbal medicine, homeopathy, spinal manipulation, exercise therapy, hydrotherapy, electrotherapy, stress reduction, and other natural therapies. | | That is to say, is it more amenable to combat disease by irritating drugs, vaccines, and serums employed by superstitious moderns, or by the bland intrinsic congenial forces of Natural Therapeutics, that are employed by this new school of medicine, that is naturopathy, which is the only orthodox school of medicine? Are not these natural forces much more orthodox than the artificial resources of the druggist? | | Since teaching the patient how to live healthfully is a primary goal of naturopathy, the time devoted to discussing and explaining principles of health maintenance sets naturopaths apart from many other health care providers.
The patient-physician relationship begins with a thorough medical history and an interview designed to cover all aspects of a patient's lifestyle. Making a diagnosis of a disease is only one part of this process. If needed, the physician will perform standard diagnostic procedures, including a physical exam and a blood and urine analysis. | | Contrasting naturopathy with Allopathy
You may be wondering how a naturopathic physician views health differently than a conventional medical doctor. Conventional medicine is also referred to as allopathic medicine. The definition of allopathy is "a term that describes conventional medicine as practiced by a graduate of a medical school or college granting the M.D. degree." Allopathy is a system of medicine that focuses primarily on treating disease rather than on promoting health. | | The biggest difference between naturopathy and allopathy is that the allopathic physician tends to view good health as a physical state in which there is no obvious disease present. In contrast, naturopathic physicians recognize true health as an optimal state of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. The key differences between a naturopathic and an allopathic physician are apparent if we look at how each doctor views both health and disease.
To illustrate the differences, lets take a look how each views and addresses the infection equation. |  She is a certified Doctor of naturopathy and a Ph.D., with extensive experience in formulating and testing herbal combinations. She is the author of several successful books, including Healthy Healing, Cooking for Healthy Healing, How to be Your Own Herbal Pharmacist, and Party Lights, as well as a Library Series of specialty booklets on nutritional healing. Dr. Rector-Page speaks nationwide regarding Lifestyle therapy on radio and TV talk shows and at conventions.
DR. JANE GUILTINAN Natural Health Clinic Bastyr University Seattle, WA (206) 632-0354
Dr. | | Sorge, a graduate of the United States School of naturopathy and Applied Sciences and the Anglo American Institute of Drugless Therapy, has been in private practice since 1964. He is director of Abunda Life Holistic Clinic and editor of Abunda Life Times.
DR. DAVID STEENBLOCK
Health Restoration Center
26381 Crown Valley Parkway, Suite 130
Mission Viejo, CA 92691
(714) 367-8870
Dr. Steenblock is director of the Health Restoration Center in Mission Viejo, California, the first comprehensive stroke and brain injury center to use hyperbaric oxygen as a method of treatment.
DR. |  Also called naturopathy, naturopathic medicine is a very broad system of scientifically based healing. It emphasizes disease prevention and wellness and incorporates a wide range of alternative or traditional techniques.
Naturopathic physicians (N.D.'s) attend 4-year naturopathic medical schools before being licensed. The techniques they use in their practices include (but are not limited to) nutritional therapy, herbal medicine, homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and many types of physical therapies.
HOW DOES IT WORK? | | The techniques used in naturopathy can help ease the pain and discomfort of the surgery, reduce the length of your hospital stay, shorten your postoperative recovery time, and generally improve the outcome of the surgery.
IS IT SAFE?
Licensed naturopathic physicians undergo extensive postgraduate training at accredited naturopathic medical schools; they are trained diagnosticians and primary care providers. They know the strengths and limitations of their approach, and they don't hesitate to recommend conventional intervention when it's appropriate. |  I continue to expand our highly effective rejuvenation programs, which incorporate the best elements of nutrition, Ayurveda, homeopathy, acupuncture, naturopathy, Tachyon technology, and other healing modalities. Here on this blessed land, surrounded by its mountain views, we connect with the natural rhythms of nature through sunrise and sunset ceremonies, yoga, meditation, breathing exercises, nature hikes, sweat lodges, and the profound awakening of spiritual energies nurtured by an uplifting lifestyle and environment. |  Functional Medicine: Though the modern allopathic form is the dominant system of Western medicine, there are many variations in styles of practice and therapies, including naturopathy osteopathy, chiropractic, homeopathy, quantum medicine, integrative medicine, and functional medicine. It is well beyond the scope and purpose of this book to describe all of these systems, and therefore I have chosen those that best fit the principles necessary to understand how the immune system works and how to treat viral conditions. |  Their combined talents include naturopathy, homeopathy, Touch for Health, and One Brain Instruction. They are living and practicing the things that they are writing about. The result is an easy-to-use book full of practical professional advice. Problems requiring medical attention are readily identified so that referring to this book will not delay proper advice being sought in an emergency.
Frances and Louise have given parents easy signs and symptoms to help recognize conditions. | | What It Can Do for You
Because naturopathy uses many different techniques, it is necessary to examine them individually, just as conventional medical therapy would be evaluated. Most naturopathic remedies are considered harmless by conventional practitioners, but more study is needed before naturopathic therapies can be said to reverse disease.
Naturopathic treatments generally can be helpful against minor illnesses, but using naturopathic instead of conventional therapy for major illnesses or serious conditions is not wise. |  The naturopath emphasizes the importance of diet, fresh air, exercise, and peace of mind, as does the homeopath. naturopathy is also holistic; the naturopath treats the whole person in an effort to find the cause of illness, rather than merely removing symptoms.
Preventive medicine and a holistic approach are important, but homeopathy alone is a science that operates systematically. As Harris L. Coulter says in his introduction to Homeopathic Medicine, the laws of homeopathy "enable the physician to understand the patient's illness and to prescribe the drug that will act curatively. | | In the 1830s and 40s, when the public was dissatisfied with the harsh practices of regular medicine, homeopathy was not the only "alternative therapy"; botanical medicine and Thomsonian naturopathy were also popular. But homeopathy posed the greatest threat to orthodox medicine because its practitioners were licensed medical doctors. It was galling to the establishment that these homeopathic physicians, well trained in orthodox medicine, were critical of the system and had "defected" to homeopathy.
The establishment promptly took strong measures to suppress this upstart discipline. |  You'll learn about alternative healing methods like yoga, meditation, t'ai chi, Shiatsu, akido, aromatherapy and naturopathy.
¦ You'll find a section on natural "wonder drugs" — honey, ginger, fish oils, garlic, onions, ginseng, aloe — that are so effective in treating so many different problems that some people actually label them "panaceas" (cure-alls).
¦ You'll find a section on relaxation and stress-management techniques — another on natural ways to keep your energy levels at their peak — and yet another on ancient (and modern) secrets of longevity. | | Tb this end, naturopathic doctors are seen as teachers who educate patients about their own bodies and about the best ways to maintain health. Naturopathy's beliefs and methods stem from case-history observations, medical records, practitioners' experience in treating patients, clinical nutritional data, and therapies long popular in Europe, Asia, and India.
Research Evidence to Date
Naturopathic medicine uses several specific techniques that vary in their effectiveness or ability to influence health. Some naturopathic approaches, such as homeopathy, may be of little value. |  Also known as "nature cure," naturopathy traces its roots to alternative healing systems of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries and is based on the belief that our bodies, in their "natural" state, already contain everything we need to overcome disease and restore optimal function. The physician's role is to aid the body in its healing efforts rather than to take over the functions of the body. |  The Eclectic tradition, contemporary with physiomedicalism (and with the new professions of osteopathy and chiropractic in the same setting), crossbred European naturopathy with a vigorous new American materia medica to provide a new professional impetus that currently flourishes in the north-west of North America. | | It also provided the founding principles of a variety of practices that have been grouped under the heading of naturopathy. The use of dietary changes (and in later years dietary supplements), hydrotherapy and a range of physical therapies in order to allow 'nature cure' has one of its strongest cultural roots in this tradition.
The European naturopathic tradition also developed Galenic concepts of heat and cold and notably (as a northern European phenomenon) that of damp. The concept of 'catarrh' and 'mucus' became a cornerstone of naturopathic treatment. |  Herbs play central roles in homeopathy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and naturopathy. In addition, medicinal plants are connected to nutritional therapies because some herbs, such as onions and apples, are foods.
This book focuses mainly on herbal medicine, a discipline that offers remedies for most health problems. For some conditions, it will also touch on vitamins and supplements, dietary changes, and other ways you can support your own health. |  Among these are Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Traditional Ayurvedic Medicine (TAM), European phytotherapy, naturopathy, Eclectic medicine, Native American medicine, Arabic medicine, and African Traditional Medicine, as well as many others. All the well-known major systems became legitimate learned professions at some point in time, producing doctors, theories, medicines, standards of practice, and results.
What is traditional Chinese medicine?
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the traditional medicine system of China, developed from its ancient beginnings in shamanistic medicine. | | Some Precautions to be Observed
There are two aspects of naturopathy which require careful consideration. First in the cleansing of the body as a means to good health, as advocated in many currently popular books. This is not a universally appropriate method. Some people need a building and repairing process because their systems are depleted. For a person who has a frail, overextended system, cleansing may create an additional stress. On the other hand, a cleansing process may make a relatively well-nourished person feel better and increase his emotional stamina. | |
Email this page to a friend
