What is Naturopathy?
An Introduction to Longevity Health Clinic

The Healing Power of Nature

Naturopathic medicine recognizes and respects the inherent power of the human body to heal itself.  The naturopathic physician utilizes techniques that work gently in harmony with these self-healing capabilities and avoids those treatments that might cause new illness and complicate the existing disease process.  Thus, naturopathic therapeutics aim to stimulate the body’s homeostatic mechanisms to restore healthy structure and function. 

Holistic Medicine

Illness affects the entire person, not just a particular organ or system.  Consequently, the physician must approach each patient as an individual responding to, and creating his or her own environment-physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  The naturopathic physician considers all these aspects of illness and attempts to discover the most basic cause of each patient’s disease.  When both doctor and patient understand the nature of the problem-its causes and effects-they are better able to find a permanent solution.  Therapy can then be directed at underlying as well as immediate causative factors, thus treating the whole person. 

Preventive Medicine

Perhaps the most important role of the naturopathic physician is that of the teacher-the literal meaning of the word “doctor”.  Naturopathic physicians teach people how to restore and maintain their own health by living in harmony with themselves and their environment.  Health and disease are often a reflection of the way we choose to live.  The naturopathic physician helps people to recognize their choice and to understand how their actions affect their health.  Thus, counseling on diet, exercise, and occupational and environmental hazards is an integral part of naturopathic practice.