Basics

• Natural medicine, or naturopathy, like other health systems that fall outside the realm of traditional medicine is considered to be an alternative health system if it is used instead of traditional medical care. When naturopathy is practiced in addition to traditional medicine, it is considered a complementary health system.
  
  

Description

• Naturopathy is based on the central belief that nature has the power to heal. Another belief held by naturopaths is that the human body has the power to maintain, or return to, a state of health. The treatments in natural medicine are based on nature, avoiding what naturopaths consider the more invasive treatments of traditional medicine.
  
  

Principles

• According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), naturopathy is guided by six key principles: promote of the healing powers of nature; first do no harm (this is also the central tenet in traditional medicine); treat the whole person (rather than viewing a person in components, such as this disease and that disease, the concept of treating the whole person relates to knowing and understanding that all body systems are connected); treat the cause (natural medicine seeks to look for and treat the underlying cause of the disease or ill health instead of treating the symptoms, which naturopathy ascribes as signs of the disease or ill health); prevention is the best cure (naturopaths guide their patients to practice healthy ways of living); and the physician is a teacher (natural medicine promotes self-responsibility of the patient in maintaining his own best health and the naturopathic physician provides guidance and teaching to the patient along the way).
  
  

Types

• Naturopathic physicians fall into three broad categories: those who attend one of the four naturopathic medical schools in the United States and graduate with a degree in naturopathic medicine; traditional naturopaths who have no degree but have learned the science through coursework or as apprentices to other naturopaths; and traditional medical doctors who have studied naturopathy and include it in their practice.
  
  

Treatments

• An initial visit to a naturopathic physician will likely last longer than a visit to a typical traditional medical physician. There is much about a patient's lifestyle, in addition to health and illness concerns, that the naturopath seeks to know and understand.
  
  The naturopath will make recommendations for changes in unhealthy lifestyle habits and may provide or encourage additional treatments such as hydrotherapy; vitamin, mineral and/or dietary supplements; manipulation; or herbal medicine.