Some Brief Comments on Naturopathy and Alternative Medicine

This last weekend I was at a social gathering and was chatting with some close acquaintances. As is often the case when a group like this gets together, we began to talk about personal concerns. One of the women in the group began to tell us of her various medical situations. Her major complaint was having to take so many medicines and their possible long-term effects.

This led us into a discussion of the use and effectiveness of diet and supplements to treat chronic conditions instead of, or along side of, conventional medication. During the course of our conversation, I found myself strongly advocating natural alternative methods for dealing with health issues, based on the information that was given to me by my own primary care practitioner (a conventional medical practitioner). I beat the drum so loudly that the next day I had friends e-mailing me to ask where I get my supplements.

A couple of days later I was thinking about this conversation and I had one of those "if I knew then what I know now" moments. In retrospect, I think I would have made a pretty good naturopathic practitioner, at least in terms of enthusiasm for the specialty. If I had this insight, say, twenty years ago, maybe I would have studied for this and the path of my life would have gone in a different direction.

At this point in my life, I do not have the financial means or the time to retool for a different career, but this has not stopped me from investigating the field. As a good consumer, I should at least educate myself on what I advocate for myself and others.

First, what is a naturopathy? According to A Consumer's Guide to Naturopathic Medicine published by The State of California Department of Consumer Affairs "naturopathic medicine is a distinct and comprehensive system of primary health care that uses natural methods and substances to support and stimulate the body’s self-healing process." Specifically, it is
using "the body's inherent wisdom to heal itself" by way of herbal and homeopathic medicine, diet and nutrition, vitamins and other supplements, massage, physical therapy, behavioral therapy and lifestyle management. It considers the whole person -- body, emotions, spirituality, environment, genetics and many other factors. In short, naturopathy is a preventative, non-evasive approach to wellness and good health.

That being said, one should not practice naturopathy on oneself anymore than one would practice conventional "allopathic" medicine on oneself. ALWAYS, consult with a licensed health practitioner before embarking on "alternative" routes to health. In the conversation with my friends, I emphasized the importance of employing both conventional and alternative medicine. In fact, I said "if you ever find me having a heart attack, take me to the HOSPITAL, not my herbalist!"

We also discussed that herbs are powerful substances and often do not interact well with conventional drugs. A conventional health practitioner most likely will not ask if you are taking any herbs or supplements before prescribing a drug, so you need to tell him or her. On the other hand, a good naturopath will want to know what medications you are taking. I am pleased to say that my herbalist asks his patients what drugs they have been prescribed and adapts his herbal prescription accordingly. There are many online drug/herb interaction databases. One that is particularly useful is The University of Maryland's Alternative Medicine Index.

When doing some initial research on what it takes to become a naturopathic doctor, I was shocked to find out that only sixteen states and five provinces in North America have licensing requirements for naturopathic doctors. This tells me that there are a lot of quacks out there practicing in areas that do not have such licensing requirements. For example, yesterday, I listened to a podcast by a "traditional" naturopath who declared that the field had been taken over by naturopathic schools which, in his opinion, had deviated from true naturopathy. He cited a couple of schools which he said were the best in the country. Upon my investigation, I found that both schools cited in the podcast were unaccredited distance-learning programs and one of them had been closed down since the podcast first recorded. I will think twice about listening to anymore podcasts by this individual.

On the other hand, California, for example, will only grant licenses to naturopathic doctors who have graduated from one of only seven schools in North America. These schools are accredited by Council of Naturopathic Medical Education and each requires students to undergo rigorous and lengthy training. I recommend that if you are selecting a naturopathic doctor that you find out where she or he trained and verify the license with your state or regional licensing board.

My point in commenting here is this: we all need to be responsible for our own wellness, and this means we need to do our homework when it comes to receiving both conventional and alternative medical care.

ljgloyd © 2011
Image from Morguefile.com