Naturopathy is a wholistic health framework that respects the body’s ability to heal the impact of stressors (real & perceived, environmental, physical, mental, emotional, amongst others) and the impact of personal choices on health & wellness. The practise of naturopathy is guided by six core principles:

1. First do no harm
2. The healing power of nature
3. Find and treat the cause, not just the symptom
4. Treat the whole person
5. ‘Doctor’ as teacher
6. Prevention

And six core healers, most of which have already been adopted in mainstream medicine:

1. Food
2. Water
3. Exercise
4. Fresh air
5. Sunlight and
6. Rest/Sleep

Naturopathy has a long history drawing on traditions from early Greek medical philosophy, including Hippocratic health to more recent Western herbalism practices. A naturopath will seek to assess a person’s vitality and wellness utilising a variety of tools, including:

1. Health goals
2. Symptom presentation
3. Blood & urine tests
4. Functional pathology tests
5. Live blood analysis
6. Iridology
7. Tongue & fingernail analysis
8. Subjective questionnaires

A naturopath will endeavour to piece together causal factors of disease from the many different aspects of a person’s circumstances (mind, body, spirit, emotional, genetic, environmental, nutritional, significant life events, medical history, etc.). Naturopathic treatment aims to find and treat the cause of the health condition and increase a person’s vitality and wellness, which ultimately impacts on quality of life. Options used to assist a person’s unique healing process, health outcomes, health choices and health responsibility, include:

1. Nutritional medicine
2. Herbal medicine
3. Homeopathic medicine
4. Lifestyle advice, including sleep and exercise
5. Stress management
6. Detoxification
7. Meditation
8. when required, referrals for complementary treatment support, e.g. massage, physiotherapy, specialist medical, counselling, etc.

Naturopathy is increasingly being recognised by mainstream medicine as a valuable and effective system for treating a variety of disorders including (but not limited to)¹:

• Fatigue
• Digestive complaints
• Mood disorders and depression
• Allergies and sensitivities
• Behavioural problems
• Chronic fatigue syndrome
• Musculoskeletal complaints such as arthritis
• Cardiovascular (heart and blood vessel) problems
• High blood pressure
• Fertility problems
• Endocrine disturbance
• Hormonal imbalances, such as premenstrual tension and menopause

¹(https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/naturopathy ). If you would like to stay up to date with health topics from Nature’s Medicine, sign up to the Newsletter here.

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