Learn How Naturopathic Medicine Can Help Your Wellness

Many people believe because they are not ‘sick’ that means they are well but unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. It may be that something you are doing, or not doing, is laying the groundwork for a future illness that will catch you by surprise. 

Are you living a lifestyle to support optimal wellness? Room for improvement exists in almost everything we do and living a healthy lifestyle often falls under this umbrella. Naturopathic Doctors and Naturopathic Medicine can help your wellness.

Don’t feel like you used to?

It’s normal to some degree that as we age, we may not be able to eat as we did when we were younger, may not have the energy we had when we were younger, may not feel quite as we did when we were younger. Part of this though is because we often lose our state of optimal health through unhealthy habits or not paying attention to our body’s signals to change the way we live.

Deterioration of optimal health often starts with vague, nonspecific or mild symptoms. Early signs may be a joint ache or stomach pain from eating certain foods. Signs may include a lack of energy, weight gain, or a lack of concentration. If addressed and corrected early enough, you can help yourself live a healthier, more productive life for years longer than if these early signs are ignored. Prevention and early detection are key to making changes in addressing issues, rather than waiting until your health spirals downhill.

Most common complaints

Too much stress and too little energy are two of the most common concerns people have today. While many people will blame them on the world we live in today and say they are just a fact of life to be dealt with, both of these can lead to a slow decline in your health.

Through identifying individual triggers, supporting sleep, evaluating your diet and possible nutrient deficiencies, and by looking at your environment, we can often find ways to more appropriately manage stress, boost your energy and ultimately help you live longer, healthier more fulfilling lives.

But my doctor says I’m healthy

On the surface you may be classified as “healthy”- your blood work seems to come back “normal,” you eat what you consider a fairly healthy diet, you exercise throughout the week and are taking no, or very few, pharmaceutical medications. Your friends complain of the same issues with aches and pains and loss of energy as you, and so you assume this is all normal.

But, you still feel “off” – like your energy isn’t where you want it to be; your sleep isn’t as restful as you’d like. Maybe you get more frequent colds or flu, or you don’t recover from exercise as well as you used to…

Often medical lab work is used to definitively diagnose certain diseases or illnesses. Naturopathic medicine though uses lab work for more. Examined more thoroughly, even a blood test can serve as an early detection tool for body systems or processes that may be functioning at less than an optimal level. Because our goal is to identify possible health conditions before they become diagnosable by conventional medical standards and before they start negatively impacting your health or requiring a pharmaceutical medication for management, we don’t ignore results that fall within so-called acceptable ranges but look instead to what variations and combinations of factors tell us.

Don’t accept what doesn’t feel right as normal

Just because you are hearing from others with similar complaints, doesn’t mean this has to be your fate. Having a family history of cancer, autoimmune disorders, cardiovascular disease or diabetes does not mean you are guaranteed to struggle with the same health concerns. Genetics and aging play a small role in comparison to diet and lifestyle. You have the opportunity to avoid manifesting these illnesses even if they’re present in your family and even if those around you seem to be struggling with the same aging challenges.

Understanding that we are all unique, it is important not just to jump into trying what your friend or cousin or co-worker said helped them with a particular symptom.

Our uniqueness means it is critical to understand that what may support optimal wellness in one person may not be best for someone else. Certain foods or supplements, which may lead to positive effects in some people, may actually be harmful to others. For example, while fruits are commonly seen as “healthy choices,” for some people certain fruits can actually wreak havoc on the body. Similarly, while B12 can be beneficial for energy production in many people, there are a large percentage of people who either will be minimally affected by B12 supplementation or actually react negatively.

Looking at each person individually to figure out what supports overall wellness in them is what is most important. This may include the combination of a thorough personal and family history, evaluation of individual triggers, environmental stressors and possible chemical exposures, along with lab work such as routine chemistry panels, food intolerance assessments or an evaluation of your genetic makeup, which together help us to formulate a plan for optimal health.

You Can Be The Change to Feeling Well

Whether you’re 5 years old, in your 20’s, 40’s or 80’s, there is always room for positive, healthy alterations to your lifestyle. It’s never too early or too late to start nourishing your body in as many ways as possible. The healthiest of people support their body every day, not just when they’re ill or noticing symptoms. Commit to living the healthiest life possible, which starts with everyday general wellness.

Let’s be proactive rather than doing damage control. Let’s support the immune system year-round, not only when you’re ill, avoid environmental and chemical exposure before cancer or autoimmune conditions surface and nourish the digestive system before discomfort appears. General wellness is a goal worth striving for.

All of the Naturopathic Doctors at Richmond Natural Medicine are trained and schooled in helping provide you with improvements to your health and wellness. Check them out here.  Make an appointment today.