
Like Ayurveda or Traditional Chinese Medicine, Naturopathy is a way of viewing health, sickness, and healing. Based on centuries of mainly European wisdom, the term “Naturopathy” was first coined in 1895 in the U.S.
In its philosophy, a lot of focus is placed on preventing disease. However, since our modern lifestyle includes many habits that undermine good health and promote illness, Naturopathic Practitioners often use their knowledge to first cure and then prevent recurrence.
What Is Disease?
In conventional medicine, disease is often viewed as something you “have,” like owning a phone. It is seen as a condition separate from you—something you catch or, more accurately, that catches you.
Naturopathy, however, offers a more empowering perspective: disease is not separate from you—you and the disease are one. It is a state of being or a process you are going through.
How Is This More Empowering?
Because to heal, you are not fighting a separate entity—an entity that has already demonstrated its superiority by bypassing your defenses, invading, and taking control of your body. Instead, when you and the illness are one, healing becomes a matter of changing yourself. When you address the underlying causes within yourself—your habits, environment, and internal balance—your health will change with you.
What About Germs, Viruses, and Genetic Diseases?
While germs and viruses affect everyone, they can only thrive in a body that provides the right environment for them. By strengthening your body and creating a healthier internal environment, you make it inhospitable to these bugs and to disease in general.
Research increasingly shows that most illnesses aren’t strictly genetic but are influenced by lifestyle and environmental factors. Only when the body is weakened or burdened by toxins do these illnesses manifest as symptoms.
How Does a Naturopath Help You Heal?
Healing begins with understanding who you are—your unique history, environment, and habits. As a Naturopathic Nutritional Consultant, I give a lot of attention to your diet, but so do many other specialists working within the Naturopathic field. Why this emphasis on food? Because diet plays a crucial role in overall health.
The Importance of Diet
Your body runs on enzymes—about 75,000 of them—that create energy, digest food, remove waste, produce hormones, neurotransmitters, and more. To maintain health within the body, it is crucial to keep these enzyme systems functioning properly. These enzymes, in turn, depend on vitamins and minerals from your diet. Without proper nutrition, enzyme activity declines, leading to fatigue, poor digestion, and even depression.
Beyond missing nutrients, we may also introduce toxins into our bodies. Processed foods are notorious for containing substances that can damage or stop enzyme function altogether. Toxins also come from the environment, household products, and cosmetics. When these accumulate, they can disrupt your body’s systems, contributing to chronic health conditions.
Other lifestyle choices, circumstances, and habits—like exercise, alcohol use, smoking, stress, and emotional well-being—of course, also play an important role in maintaining balance. And diet can help to counteract the effects of ‘bad habits’ or negative aspects in our environment.
The naturopathic perspective is that certain practices or habits go against nature and the principles of life. They hinder our ability to thrive, block the flow of life energy, and create openings for germs and illnesses to take hold.
Detoxing to Heal
A key aspect of naturopathic healing is removing toxins and replenishing missing nutrients to strengthen the body’s systems. The goal is to create an internal environment where disease cannot thrive. Detoxification can often be achieved through dietary changes without the need for fasting. Specific herbs and supplements may be used to support cleansing processes or fortify particular organs and systems, enabling the body to heal itself. Once you feel better, establishing new habits helps maintain long-term health.
A Holistic Approach
Naturopathy goes beyond nutrition, encompassing other healing modalities like herbalism, acupuncture, osteopathy, and more. Each of these approaches works toward the same goal—restoring the body’s balance. Every modality has its unique strengths, and many therapies can be effectively combined for optimal results.
In a Nutshell
Naturopathy takes a personalized approach to healing by addressing the root causes of illness. It focuses on cleansing the body of toxins, empowering its natural healing abilities, and building healthy habits to prevent disease and create a fulfilling life.
Are you curious to find out if the naturopathic approach is something for you? Book a consultation today!
Read more about nutrition for: Women’s Health – Mental Health – Better Sleep – Detoxing.
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