By Richmond Natural Medicine

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January 9, 2020

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What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a system of primary health care that emphasizes prevention and combines a natural, whole-body healing approach with current health research and scientific methodology. Naturopathic doctors utilize a variety of modalities, including nutrition therapy, botanical and herbal formulas, homeopathy, supplementation, and sometimes pharmaceuticals. Their goal is always to understand the causative factors that lead to disease presentation, and work on a deeper level to balance the body and address the underlying causes of imbalance. Their primary focus is on disease prevention rather than symptom management.

Although naturopathic doctors are not licensed in all fifty states, a trained naturopathic physician has attended and graduated from an accredited, four-year graduate-level school, and some have attended additional residencies and post clinical rotations. In those states where naturopathic doctors are licensed, they are considered primary care providers and can deliver the same level of health care as an MD, including performing physical exams, diagnosing medical conditions, and prescribing medications. In those states where a licensed naturopathic doctor is not recognized as a primary care provider, they can still provide a high level of individualized care and are trained to work collaboratively with your primary care MD’s to provide an extra layer of holistic health support.

Read More: Naturopathic Medicine for General Health

How Your Naturopathic Doctor Complements your Primary Care Provider

Licensed naturopathic doctors (even in unlicensed states, such as Virginia) can provide an essential level of support to your primary care MD by focusing on areas of your health that are easily overlooked in the conventional health system. Your ND looks very closely at your health history, family history, diet, lifestyle, areas of stress, current health conditions and medications, and recent lab work, and makes holistic health recommendations that can fit in safely with your current medical protocol. They are trained to communicate professionally with your doctors and understand contra-indications, interactions, side effects, and complex physiology, all while staying informed of the most current health and scientific research to support their alternative approach.

Sometimes, symptom management with medications alone is not enough. Through a naturopathic viewpoint, all areas of your life and health are addressed. When you implement naturopathic recommendations that address your sleep, diet, stress, genetic predisposition, exercise, and/or happiness, your level of care is exponentially higher, and your body’s response to healing and balance is significantly improved.

Read More: A Naturopathic Approach to High Blood Pressure

Taking a Holistic Health Approach

No matter how complicated or misunderstood your health state is in, working with your naturopathic doctor can bring a level of clarity and understanding to your health journey that lab work and medications may leave lacking. The goal of the naturopath is to empower, educate, and explain to their patients how and why something is manifesting within their health, and put all of the pieces together in a way that you can understand while empowering you to ask questions moving forward. Sometimes, putting all of the pieces of a health history together is a complicated and lengthy process, but viewing it from a whole-body perspective is essential to gain a full understanding. That’s why appointments with your naturopathic doctor are one or two hours long. Gathering information is important, and hearing your story is a valuable piece of detective work.

Comprehensive Understanding

One of the skills your naturopathic doctor can provide is putting all of the pieces together from multiple areas of care. It is not uncommon for their patients to be seeing several specialists, a primary care provider, another alternative practitioner, and taking half a dozen supplements they have self-prescribed but may not fully understand. Your naturopathic doctor can view all of these pieces objectively, make educated and individualized recommendations for you to put it all together while understanding the bigger picture of health and healing. Communicating with your other health providers is very important while making sure you are not placed in the middle of choosing one doctor’s recommendations over another. Collaborative care with a comprehensive understanding of your overall health is one of the greatest values of naturopathic medicine.

Are you wondering if a naturopathic approach is right for you? Consider making an appointment with one of our naturopathic doctors, and see for yourself the benefits and improvements of working collaboratively with an ND can provide for you. Questions? Call our office at 804-977-2634.