Naturopathic Medicine

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary health care system that blends modern scientific knowledge with traditional and natural forms of medicine. The naturopathic philosophy is to stimulate the healing power of the body and treat the underlying cause of disease. Symptoms of disease are seen as warning signals of improper functioning of the body, and unfavourable lifestyle habits. Naturopathic Medicine emphasizes disease as a process rather than as an entity.

In addition to diet and lifestyle changes, natural therapies including botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, naturopathic manipulation and traditional Chinese medicine/acupuncture, may also be used during treatments.

In Canada, the naturopathic medical profession’s infrastructure includes accredited naturopathic medical programs, standardized North American Board Exams (NPLEX) and jurisdictional exams, national standards of practice and, regulation in five provinces to date.

What Can it Do For You?

Naturopathic medicine treats all forms of health concerns — from pediatric to geriatric, from irritating symptoms to chronic illness and from the physical to the psychological. It is the approach, philosophy and training of naturopathic doctors that sets it apart from other forms of health care.

The naturopathic philosophy is to stimulate the healing power of the body and to treat the root cause of disease. For many patients, this difference in approach to health provides them with a new perspective and awareness. By addressing the root cause(s) of disease and through the appropriate use of natural therapies many patients with chronic illness have found tremendous benefits.

There are typically three types of patients that seek naturopathic medical care:

Patients that are looking for health promotion and disease prevention strategies. Individuals that recognize that health doesn’t just happen by chance, that it is a lifelong process that involves a clear understanding of the factors that affect health and how to deal with them on a daily basis.
Patients that have a range of symptoms that they have been unable to address on their own or with the help of other medical practitioners. With Naturopathic medicine’s broad understanding of health and the relationship between health, life and the environment naturopathic doctors are often able to offer patients a new perspective and provide safe and effective ways to restore health.
Patients that have been diagnosed with an illness and are looking for treatment options. Naturopathic medicine is very effective in improving quality of life for those with serious and life threatening illnesses. It is used extensively and effectively for those patients that are looking to combine conventional and naturopathic treatments with the aim of minimizing side effects to drugs, surgery or conventional treatments.

What is integrated medicine?

Does an ND practice integrated medicine?

Integrated medicine is the combining of conventional and complementary approaches to treat an individual’s health concerns. It looks at all aspects of a person; physical, mental and spiritual, as essential to the diagnosis of disease and subsequent treatment. A Naturopathic Doctor (ND) treats every aspect of their patient and is therefore – an integral part – of integrated medicine.

Finding the root cause of a condition may not always be as straightforward as it seems.

Often, other factors aside from the physical ones come into play. Allergies, skin rashes, anxiety and digestive issues can be diagnosed based on physical symptoms. However, by digging deeper, a Naturopathic Doctor may find there is an environmental or emotional reason for the presenting symptoms.

One of the important aspects of integrated medicine, and perhaps the greatest benefit to patients, is its focus on health promotion and disease prevention enabling people of all ages to get and stay healthy. When practitioners from diverse fields, such as Naturopathic Doctors, Medical Doctors, Nurse Practitioners and Dieticians etc. come together in an integrated approach the potential for a successful outcome are much higher as all aspects of the patient are being considered and treated.

People are multi-faceted, not linear, which is why Naturopathic Doctors take all of life’s factors into consideration when assessing their patients – the physical, structural, environmental and emotional.

Naturopathic Principles

First do no harm
Treat the root cause
Emphasize prevention
Utilize the healing power of nature
Doctor as teacher
Treat the whole person

History of Naturopathic Medicine

Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived 2400 years ago, first formulated the concept of “the healing power of nature”. This concept has long been at the core of medicine around the world and remains one of the central principles of naturopathic medicine. In North America, naturopathic medicine traces its origins to Dr. Benedict Lust. He used the term “naturopathy” to describe a clinical practice, which integrated such natural healing methods as botanical medicine, homeopathy, nutritional therapy, manipulative therapy, acupuncture and lifestyle counselling.

The American School of Naturopathy was founded by Dr. Lust in New York and graduated its first class in 1902. Naturopathic practitioners formed the Naturopathic Society of America and established naturopathic colleges and large health centres throughout North America. By 1920, naturopathic practice was well established in Canada. Laws regulating naturopathic practice were enacted in Ontario by 1925, British Columbia in 1936, Manitoba in 1943 and Saskatchewan in 1952. The CAND has been representing the profession’s interests in Canada since 1955.

After the Second World War the trust of health care was placed on the advances in surgical techniques, the introduction of antibiotics and growth of the pharmaceutical industries. The more traditional healing practices lost ground. This was an era of scientific reductionism and an almost blind faith in the medical ‘miracle’. This approach continued through the 1950s.

In the last twenty years, public desire for greater control in their health care process and a growing dissatisfaction with high tech solutions to health problems has resulted in a resurgent interest in the natural methods of preventive health care. This trend has increased demand for naturopathic services as people seek ways to improve their health, cope with day-to-day stresses and avoid illness.

Naturopathic medical education began in Canada in 1978 with the founding of the Ontario College of Naturopathic Medicine (OCNM) in Toronto.

OCNM offered post-graduate courses in naturopathic medicine to chiropractors, dentists and medical doctors. By 1983, the first four-year, full-time program was offered at OCNM and enrolment was expanded to include students with a University degree who had completed the appropriate prerequisites. In 1992, the College became the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM) to better reflect its mandate to educate students from across Canada. Application rates for CCNM program have grown over 10 times since 1991. In 2000 the Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine opened in British Columbia to further support the growing demand for naturopathic doctors in Canada.

Diagnostic & Assessments

Naturopathic doctors use conventional and naturopathic diagnostic tools for assessing health concerns and determining the most appropriate treatment program.

Thorough Health History

The initial intake with a Naturopathic doctor is typically one-and-a-half to two hours in length and includes a detailed history. A naturopathic doctor will take the time to find out about your family history, your lifestyle, the stressors in your life, past medical history, history of accidents or injuries and the significant events in your life that may have affected your health or well being. Often naturopathic doctors will use questionnaires to ensure that they are aware of the factors that may be affecting your current health status.

Clinical Nutrition

Understanding your nutritional status, eating habits and patterns and the type of food that you eat regularly is an important part of the naturopathic assessment. Naturopathic doctors will often take the time to assess the effect that diet is having on health and the body’s ability to process and tolerate the foods a patient may consume.

Chinese Tongue and Pulse Diagnosis

Through tongue and pulse diagnosis, a naturopathic doctor is able to understand a person’s health status according to the principles of traditional Chinese medicine, which may provide additional insight and information about an individual’s health.

Naturopathic Medicine Today

Today, more people than ever before are seeking and benefiting from naturopathic medical care and the number of naturopathic doctors is growing at record rates to accommodate this increased demand. Currently there are naturopathic doctors practicing in every province and all but one territory in Canada. The more than 2,400 naturopathic doctors across the country continue to be an emerging answer to Canadians’ health-care concerns.

Naturopathic doctors are experiencing greater recognition as health care practitioners and as experts in the field of natural and preventive medicine. They provide leadership in natural medical research and are politically active at the federal, provincial and territorial levels. Positions for naturopathic doctors are opening up in hospitals, multi-disciplinary clinics and specialized health centres across Canada.

In Canada there are five provinces that regulate the practice of naturopathic doctors: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario. The Naturopathic Doctors Act of 2008 grants title protection for naturopathic doctors in the province of Nova Scotia. All of the other provinces and territories in which there are naturopathic doctors actively engaged in the process of seeking regulation.

Currently, the naturopathic profession finds itself well positioned in health care. With more research emerging that supports the therapies used by naturopathic doctors, and the public demand for greater choice and increased access to more natural approaches to health care, naturopathic medicine is meeting the health needs of an ever increasing number of Canadians.

If you haven’t experienced the benefits of naturopathic medicine yourself, take the time to get a second opinion on your health by making an appointment with a naturopathic doctor in your area.

What exactly is alternative medicine?

How does naturopathy fit in?

Naturopathic medicine blends modern scientific evidence with traditional and natural forms of medicine. Naturopathic Doctors are primary care practitioners providing care for all health concerns in addition to providing complementary or supportive care to conventional medicine.

Complementary, integrative, or alternative medicine (CAM) are all treatments or therapies used in place of, or alongside conventional medical treatment. Today’s stressed, fast paced lifestyle, makes people seek alternative ways to realize optimum health. They want high level energy, immunity and overall health by incorporating a more natural approach and natural remedies.

Naturopathic medicine or naturopathy, fits within the scope of CAM, with the added value of addressing illness through a comprehensive assessment, diagnosis and treatment plan. A regulated/licensed ND (Naturopathic Doctor) treats the whole person, determining and treating the underlying cause rather than simply managing or suppressing symptoms. Symptoms are viewed as expressions of the body’s natural attempt to heal.

Advantages of Naturopathic Care

Safe & Effective Treatment

The goal of naturopathic practice is to treat underlying disorders and to restore normal body function by enhancing the body’s own healing abilities. Therefore, naturopathic doctors must focus their efforts on understanding the unique needs of each patient.

As a result naturopathic treatments are highly individualized. Patients are involved in their treatment programs and learn to make effective, educated self-care decisions, which can prevent future health problems.
Naturopathic diagnosis and therapeutics are supported by scientific research drawn from peer-reviewed journals from many disciplines, including naturopathic medicine, conventional medicine, European complementary medicine, clinical nutrition, phytotherapy, pharmacognosy, homeopathy, psychology and spirituality.

Information technology and new concepts in clinical outcomes and assessment are particularly well-suited to evaluating the effectiveness of naturopathic treatment protocols and are being used in research, both at naturopathic medical schools and in the offices of practicing naturopathic doctors. Clinical research into natural therapies has become an increasingly important focus for naturopathic doctors.

Health Promotion

The focus of naturopathic medicine is health promotion and the understanding that the body has an innate ability to heal itself. By identifying and removing obstacles to cure, the body is able to heal and move toward optimal health. The goal of naturopathic practice is to treat underlying disorders and to restore normal body function by enhancing the body’s own healing abilities.

Disease Prevention

Disease prevention and preventing the progression of disease are principles inherent to naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic doctors work with patients to identify the root causes of disease and to address all the factors that are affecting a patient’s health.

Individualized Treatment

Naturopathic treatments are highly individualized. Each patient has a unique story, history, genetics, dietary habits, lifestyle and associated health concerns. A naturopathic doctor will work to determine the underlying cause(s) and create an individualized treatment plan to stimulate a person’s innate healing ability. Patients are also involved in their health program and learn to make effective, educated, self-care decisions that can prevent future health problems.

Typical Visits

The first appointment with a naturopathic doctor is between one-and-a-half and two hours. Subsequent appointments will be from 20 to 60 minutes in length depending on your specific health concerns and the naturopathic doctor you are working with. Typically during the initial visits your naturopathic doctor will take a detailed history of your current and past health concerns, conduct a physical exam and order laboratory tests to make an assessment and diagnosis. With the patient’s input, a personalized treatment plan will be proposed to help facilitate achieving his or her health goals.

Diagnostics and examinations

The foundation of naturopathic diagnosis is an extensive patient history, physical examination, review of medications, and evaluation of appropriate laboratory tests and diagnostic imaging. Naturopathic doctors use the conventional medical diagnostic framework, but are also trained in Chinese medical diagnostic skills and spend time looking for contributing factors in patient’s lifestyle, habits, attitudes and constitution.

Conditions and illnesses treated

Naturopathic doctors are primary health care practitioners. They are trained to treat virtually all health concerns from acute to chronic, pediatric to geriatric and physical to psychological. Naturopathic doctors work with three main groups of people:

patients that are looking for disease prevention and health promotion
patients with a range of health concerns and no clear diagnosis
patients with chronic and severe illnesses

Working with conventional medicine

Naturopathic doctors can and do work with conventional medical doctors. NDs are trained to refer patients to other health care practitioners, where appropriate. Most naturopathic doctors cross-refer extensively to other health care practitioners.

Cost-effectiveness

Naturopathic medicine can contribute to resolving the costly epidemic of chronic disease. The cost-effectiveness of naturopathic medicine is currently being researched in Canada. Research conducted in the United States on the cost-effectiveness of naturopathic medicine has demonstrated the significant savings to be realized by individuals, insurance companies and the health-care system in general.

Health insurance coverage

Most extended health insurance plans in Canada cover naturopathic treatments. Insured patients are encouraged to contact their employer or individual insurance brokers to determine if they are covered and/or to request that their policy be extended to include naturopathic services if it does not already do so. Since naturopathic doctors use alternatives to costly techniques and drug therapies, more insurance companies are expanding coverage of this cost-effective treatment method. Naturopathic medicine is currently not covered by any of the provincial health plans.

Referral

You do not require a practitioner’s referral to see a naturopathic doctor. To find a naturopathic doctor in your area visit our online referral program and use Find an ND or contact the CAND or one of its provincial affiliates directly and then call the ND to book an appointment.

Education & Training

Like a conventional doctor, dentist, or chiropractor, the naturopathic doctor first completes an undergraduate degree at university. The naturopathic student then enters into a four-year, full-time accredited naturopathic medical program. Training includes basic, medical, and clinical science; diagnostics; naturopathic principles and therapeutics; and extensive clinical experience under the supervision of qualified naturopathic doctors. Graduates receive the title “N.D.” or Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine.

Accredited Programs

The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) is the only government-recognized accrediting body for naturopathic medical schools in Canada and the United States. The CNME has accredited the following naturopathic medical programs:

The Boucher Institute of Naturopathic Medicine (New Westminster, British Columbia)
The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (Toronto, Ontario)
The National College of Natural Medicine (Portland, Oregon)
Bastyr University (Seattle, Washington)
The University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine (Bridgeport, Connecticut) – This program is being phased out and is no longer accepting students.
Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences (Scottsdale, Arizona)
The National University of Health Sciences Naturopathic Program (Lombard, Illinois)
The Council on Naturopathic Medical Education has granted candidacy status to the naturopathic program at the Universidad del Turabo School of Health Sciences (Puerto Rico)

Upon successful completion of any accredited program, a naturopathic doctor is eligible to sit for NPLEX and take provincial or state board examinations to obtain licensure.

Correspondence programs

To become a qualified ND one must graduate from a CNME-accredited naturopathic medical program. Individuals completing correspondence programs are not recognized by any of the provincial/territorial/state regulatory authorities and do not qualify for licensure or membership with the national/ provincial/territorial/state naturopathic associations in Canada or the United States.

Qualified naturopathic doctors

A qualified naturopathic doctor is one who has completed a four-year, full-time program at an accredited school of naturopathic medicine. Following the completion of an accredited program, NDs must write and pass standardized North American board exams known as the Naturopathic Physicians Licensing Examinations (NPLEX) in order to qualify for regulation/licensing.

Research

Many naturopathic therapies developed out of a rich history of use and have been validated by scientific research. For example, many herbs have been used effectively for centuries by various indigenous cultures. Current research supports the direct link between many health conditions and diet and stress. The research supporting naturopathic medicine continues to grow and incorporate new scientific findings.

The Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM – www.ccnm.edu) continues to conduct state-of-the-art research that is regularly published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.

The naturopathic profession supports research into the efficacy of the products and therapies used by NDs with their patients. The CCNM is currently involved in a number of research projects in collaboration with other naturopathic and conventional medical schools, hospitals, universities and foundations around the world.

What is the difference between a Naturopathic Doctor and a naturopath?

These titles are not interchangeable: the Naturopathic Doctor is a regulated primary care practitioner.

When seeking naturopathic treatments, it is imperative to know the difference between a regulated ND (Naturopathic Doctor) and a naturopath. The education, training regimes and scopes of practice are vastly different.
A licensed ND is a primary care practitioner who is trained to diagnose, prevent and treat acute and chronic illness and in some provinces, prescribe medication. By law, a naturopath is unable to provide a diagnosis or prescribe medication.

Many years commitment are required to become a Naturopathic Doctor. In Canada, as well as the United States, a Bachelor’s degree is required before attending a four year professional, in-residence doctoral program accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME). The CNME is the only accrediting body for naturopathic medical programs in the U.S. and Canada that qualify graduates for regulation/licensure. Therefore, naturopathic students complete more than 4,100 contact hours of instruction, including at least 1,200 hours of supervised, hands-on clinical training. Upon completion of the program naturopathic medical graduates must also pass the North American standardized board exams. Only then, are they a fully qualified Naturopathic Doctor or Doctor of Naturopathy with the ND designation after their name.

Naturopaths on the other hand have access to any number of programs. Many are delivered online or via correspondence. Program length can vary from a few months to a few years to complete. There is no standardized or accredited curriculum nor supervised clinical experience. Individuals taking any of these programs are not eligible to write the North American standardized board exams (NPLEX) and do not qualify for regulation/licensure.

Naturopathic Doctors have a wide spectrum of employment opportunities aside from private or group practice. They work in government, hospitals, medical schools and integrated health clinics alongside conventional medical doctors and an array of integrated health care professionals.

A regulated/licensed ND is a primary care practitioner who is trained to diagnose and treat all health care concerns. It can be confusing for patients as some naturopaths may refer to themselves as a “Naturopathic Doctor,” or use “nd”. Always check the practitioners credentials to ensure they are a regulated/licensed ND.

Patients are looking for new ways to maintain or improve their health. They are not merely patients, but savvy consumers; who are informed, educated and seek best practices in all aspects of life. A Naturopathic Doctor, who works in an inter-disciplinary health environment deliver these results – naturally.

Botanical Medicine

Extensive knowledge of herbs in the forms of tinctures, teas, powders

Traditional Chinese Medicine

Diagnoses and treatment which includes a comprehensive acupuncture education

Homeopathy

Individualized energetic form of medicine used by the Queen, in which substance is diluted and successed to treat “like” conditions that the substance would have caused had a healthy person ingested it.