WHAT IS NATUROPATHY?
The word naturopathy comes from the Latin word «natura» - «nature, natural property», and the Greek word «pathos» - «disease, suffering», which together means «natural healing, natural treatment, natural treatment».
Sometimes, as synonymous with the word naturopathy, the term naturology is used, which literally means «wise use of natural resources».
Natural medicine is now regarded as a special primary health-care system that includes diagnosis, treatment and prevention of various diseases by natural, natural means.
Where did it come from?
The term «naturopathy» was introduced by American doctor Benedict Lusto, who in 1901 founded the American Naturopathic Society and the first naturopathic medical school in New York City in the early 20th century.
In fact, naturopathy tools have been used by humans for millennia, such as herbal infusions with proven properties, specific products have been used with certain complaints, and breathing practices are a perfect example of the technique of the interaction of consciousness and body (mind-body medicine techniques).
WHAT DOES NATUROPATHY INVOLVE?
The whole essence of naturopathy in the system approach, so when working with the person always combines several practices. Classical naturopathy may include nutriciology ( nutritional work ), phytotherapy ( application of plant harvests ) and nutraceuticals support ( vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, biologically active supplements ) depending on the patient, the specialist gives recommendations on physical activity, hydrotherapy, stress management, keeping working and sleeping, eliminating external factors of negative impact ( ranging from toxic paints on furniture, mold in the house and ending with dishes made of harmful materials ).
I hope already at this stage you see that it is a modification of the way of life in general.
IS EFFECTIVENESS PROVEN?
Naturopathic practice works with people of all ages, focusing on disease prevention and non-communicable diseases. Non-communicable diseases (non-communicable diseases) are the leading cause of death and disability in the world and place a heavy burden on the health system. The risk of these diseases is associated with modifiable factors (can affect them!), such as lack of physical activity, obesity, unbalanced diet, excess processed food, adverse environmental effects.
Seeing the urgent need to improve the health care system finally in 2018 WHO in the «Strategy of Traditional Medicine» and the Astana Declaration underline the importance of integration of nautropatic medicine into the prevailing medical practice at the moment.
Back in 2000, a research team from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) in the United States of America urged the addition of modules on naturopathic and integrative medicine to the mandatory program for physicians, Emphasizing that many complex and chronic clinical images often encountered by general medicine specialists can be cured or converted into remission using naturopathic methods. Why these recommendations are only now being heeded and what is the main reason for the slow popularization of naturopathic approach I will describe below.
In the meantime, let’s look at the highlights of naturopathy.
KEY PRINCIPLES
Holistic approach. The organism is seen as an integral system in which all processes are inextricably linked to each other.
This is the main difference from conventional medicine and it lies in the perspective of the problem. Usually the doctor treats the disease, not the patient, i.e. looks at his task as narrowly as possible, not viewing the body as a whole system, but only working with a specific request, responding to those complaints that fall under the narrow specialization of the doctor.
Any symptom we rush to call a disease is just our body’s signal that it is very hard and it is not coping. The central goal should not be to dampen the symptoms, but to understand why the disease has developed, what triggered it, what other systems of the body can be threatened and what needs to be done to recover and prevent the situation from worsening in the future. For if we do not find the root cause, we can only temporarily run away from the problem by using pharmaceuticals. ( another principle - working with the cause! )
2. Healing. Our body is a very smart, self-regulating system, and every person’s body is inherently self-healing. And our task is to figure out what the body will pick up for the correct course of all these processes, to provide it with the necessary resources and to remove as much as possible those factors that prevent it from being in balance.
It is also important to understand that any unwarranted interference in the process of fighting the disease through artificially created means (mainly chemicals) will lead to negative consequences.
3. Individual approach. Methods of correcting unhealthy conditions should be consistent with the principles of natural medicine, but chosen individually for each person.
In my opinion, personalized approach is one of the principles that helps patients achieve such incredible results. And that is why the treatment of naturopath can never take 10 minutes, after which you will leave with a prescription of several prescribed drugs and go «treated» to the pharmacy. To draw up a proper scheme to recover health simply need to study in detail the condition of the person well before the admission and now, lifestyle, external factors that move a person, activity and eating style.
4. Prevention of unhealthy conditions. It is important to organize life in such a way as to prevent the development of certain unhealthy conditions. The main question to ask is «How to be healthy?» and not «How to cure a disease?» because in the first case, you focus on your health, and in the second you focus on your illness.
5. Conscious Approach. Naturopath is primarily a teacher, a guide to a healthy lifestyle. Here, the patient is not a passive exposure subject, simply offered a magic pill and waiting for the healing to come.
The purpose of naturopathy is to explain the impact of various factors on health and to provide all the necessary information so that a person can continue to maintain his health, make informed decisions and feel control over his condition.
Accepting that our health is in our hands helps to make informed decisions, taking responsibility and at the same time inspiring, we see the power of small steps if we make them meet healthy lifestyles.
6. Continuous Self-education. Naturopath is not just a person who has deep knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, biochemistry. A truly competent specialist should constantly develop and revise their understanding of the nature of health and disease in the light of the newest scientific discoveries.
7. Do no harm. Excess, as well as a lack of certain substances can lead to serious negative effects on the body, whether it is even the most useful plant or vital vitamin. Moreover, it is important to take into account the interaction of things that are taken at the same time and personal features of the human body.
So, the task of naturopath is not to interfere with nature and not to harm, but to find the very natural human forces responsible for healing (restoration) and multiply them with natural (natural) means.
SO WHY IS NATUROPATHY STILL NOT WIDELY PRACTICED?
In 1978, WHO (World Health Organization) wrote about the important role of naturopathy in general health care and recognized it as culturally acceptable and accessible! and viable (sustainable) medicine. Despite this, have these practices remained largely neglected and poorly integrated into care? for patients, while conventional medicine «thrives».
Maybe it’s the big evidence base from the last one? Nay. Simply tools used in alternative medicine are too «simple». You see, it’s impossible to patent curcumin, broccoli extract or vitamin B2, claim the right to drink water or a balanced diet.
Although all these things have been studied in a laboratory based on their effectiveness, their action is described scientifically in many papers and, moreover, in practice thousands of people have found that the application of these tools really works, to turn such treatment into a global businessthe system is not so easy.
Moreover, the idea of naturopathy - to make a person healthy and teach him to maintain his condition on his own is simply not profitable. It is more profitable to give a person crutches in the form of ZLT (hormone replacement therapy), steroid drugs, painkillers or birth control pills, showing that you can feel better with them, but not eradicating the cause of the disease, making a man a lifelong customer of the pharmaceutical industry.
WHAT PROBLEMS DOES A NATUROPATH WORK WITH?
Any symptom or diagnosis already made is a clue that there is an imbalance in the body and it needs to be addressed. Naturopathy offers solutions for complaints ranging from hair loss, brittle nails and allergies to autoimmune diseases, chronic infections, and recovery from chemotherapy. Popular requests when the person constantly feels a lack of strength and energy, and surveys show that serious diseases are not detected. Or when on the contrary many diagnoses are made, there is nothing that requires urgent therapy, and the body continues to slowly «crack». In all these cases, it is necessary to understand the causes of the imbalances and to address the true causes of the ailments. To look not superficially at the person, but to assess the state of the body at the cellular level and the course of biochemical processes, in one situation to replenish the supply of nutrients, in the second to eliminate the things that prevent these nutrients from penetrating the cell.
1. World Health Organization. Traditional, complementary and integrative medicine. 2019. https://www.who.int/traditional-complementary-integrative-medicine/about/en/
2. Reference to Declaration of Astana (Global Conference on Primary Health Care)
Declaration of Astana (Global Conference on Primary Health Care), Kazakhstan (2018)
3. Empowerment in naturopathy: A qualitative analysis of practitioner perspectives
4. Prevalence and predictors of naturopathic practitioners’ self-reported practice behaviours.
5. Naturopathic paradigm and practice in Ontario, Canada
6. Naturopathy, complementary and integrative medicine in medical education
PMID: 35692361
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