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Naturopathy, or naturopathic medicine, is a healthcare model based only on natural therapies that aid the body's natural ability to heal. Naturopathy harnesses nature and natural principles which recognise the body has this innate ability to heal itself when given the right conditions unique to the individual.
The World Naturopathic Foundation (WNF) describe Naturopathy as, 'a system of healthcare with a deep history of traditional philosophies and practices, medically trained practitioners and a breadth of natural treatment options to serve patients.'
What separates Naturopathy from conventional medicine, is that it looks at the body as a whole - body, mind, and soul. It looks at all the systems of the body, all symptoms, to understand the imbalances present. More conventional paths focus on one area of the body or one symptom and treat it without consideration of how the whole body is behaving.
Naturopathy is a very safe and supportive health modality, it is governed by the principle to use the most gentle and non-invasive treatments possible to restore the body to optimal health.
The role of a Naturopath Practitioner is to guide, inspire and support his client to optimal health through the use of natural therapies in the most gentle way possible.
A Naturopath, Naturopathic physician, or Naturopathic Doctor is trained to diagnose, treat and manage both acute and chronic health conditions.
A Naturopath works with the principle that there is a vital force (energy field) which runs through our body. This vital force works to heal through cleansing, nourishing and repairing the body to create a state of positive health. Stressors in our life whether physical, mental or spiritual, ultimately block the flow of this vital force flow in the body.
The symptoms which arise in the body are simply a sign indicating that it’s striving to restore health and is struggling to do so. The body is not at ease - it is operating in a place of dis-ease. Therefore, a naturopath’s role is to determine the root cause of these symptoms/imbalances and support the clients healing processes toward health.
According to the GCRN (General Council and Register of Naturopaths), they state: "The UK based Naturopath tends to have a broader perspective than a pure Functional Medicine practitioner in that they are likely to also take into account the emotional health and the posture of the person."
There are many positive benefits to Naturopathy, which are as follows:
Naturopathic medicine is governed by a set of key principles that every Naturopath follows when working with any client. By following these principles it ensures that a Naturopath adopts safe practices and recommendations, working on getting to the root cause of ill-health and it honours the body’s natural wisdom to heal and return to balance.
The principles of naturopathy are fundamental to how we approach all of our consultations at Higher Healing, which is in a safe, responsible and caring way.
The naturopathic principles are as a follows:
There is a vital force (also known as a Life Force) that, given the right conditions, will help self-heal and self-correct. It is important to recognise that the body has it’s own innate healing capacity which is stimulated by factors which promote health and suppressed by excesses and deficiencies.
This holistic principle recognises the body as an integrative whole and the importance of healing all elements of a person for true healing to occur. A naturopathic consultation will look at an individual’s physical (body), mental and emotional (mind), beliefs (soul) as well as lifestyle, nutritional status, family history (genes) and other environmental factors.
A naturopath will look to treat the individual in front of him, not the disease. Linked to the principle above, symptoms should not be treated in isolation but in the context of the individual as a whole. For this reason, Naturopathic Practitioners will tailor each naturopathic nutrition and lifestyle plan specifically to the person in front of them.
The thought process behind this is to first look at the most non-invasive and least toxic treatments necessary for the individual in order to support their symptoms. The human body has an amazing innate ability to heal itself, if we give it the right tools, without the need for more serious interventions.
This is all about getting to the root cause of symptoms. Too often treatments can be provided which only stop the symptoms rather than the root cause underlying those symptoms. A naturopath will always be looking to determine the root cause.
As a naturopath, prevention is preferred to supporting health and wellbeing. Too often many of us wait until the symptoms have progressed into a chronic condition before seeking help. An individual at any stage of their health should be looking towards optimising to their health and wellbeing in order the prevent disease onset.
The role of a doctor (naturopath) is to educate and support the individual on their journey to wellbeing. They look to empower individuals to understand the causes of their symptoms and help them to take responsibility for their own health.
At Higher Healing, in our consultations, we take time to explain your symptoms so you’ll understand how our recommendations will help bring your body back into balance.
A naturopath works through the use of only natural treatments and remedies. These recommendations can be physical and emotional in nature and can are always tailored to the individual and their needs. The health tools available to a Naturopath are typically as follows:
> Detoxification programmes
> Hydrotherapy
> Bach flower remedies
> Bodywork (posture)
> Tissue salts
> Homeopathy
> Herbs
> Nutrition and lifestyle advice
> Emotional Healing
Let's look at some of these health tools in more detail:
Detoxification techniques and protocols are one of the most powerful tools a Naturopath has in their health kit. Detoxification is the process of clearing harmful toxins from the body which drive up inflammation and damage cells. In today's society, we are all exposed to toxins from the food we eat, the water we drink, to the air we breathe. Therefore, it is more important than ever to ensure that your detoxification channels are working optimally. Techniques such as a liver flush, supporting the kidneys, ensuring the gut and bowels are eliminating effectively and optimising lung efficiency are but some of the approaches a Naturopath will adopt.
Hydrotherapy is any method that uses water to treat a variety of symptoms in the body.
Hydrotherapy can be as simple as taking a warm bath at home, working with hot and cold water to optimise circulation within the body, all the way to using enemas to help clear our excess waste from the gut. In these approaches, water is often used alongside herbs and natural supplements to optimise their efficacy.
A naturopath will be able to determine which type of hydrotherapy approach will be the most effective depending on the nature of the symptoms and illness presented to them.
Bach Flower remedies work by harnessing the energetic properties of certain flowers to gently balance out negative emotions (imbalanced energies) within the body. There are 38 flowers in total and they can be categorised into 7 emotional groups associated with a basic human emotion. Through regular use Bach flower remedies allow peace and happiness to return to a person so that the body is free to heal itself.
Related Content:
> Take a look at our Comprehensive guide to Bach Flower Remedies if you'd like more information.
Naturopathy has been evaluated and reviewed by many journals and research papers.
One research study evaluating Naturopathy concluded: "Naturopathic Medicine shows that it is effective for treating cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal pain, type 2 diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, depression, anxiety, and a range of complex chronic conditions."
The lead researcher into this study, Professor Stephen Myers also commented:
“This study coupled with the large body of literature which demonstrates the effectiveness of individual naturopathic tools of trade (nutritional and herbal supplements and lifestyle interventions) there can no longer be any doubt that naturopathic medicine is an effective approach to chronic disease.”
The Therapeutic Order guides how the naturopathic principles are applied, and is based on the idea that the human body possesses an inherent drive to heal itself. It provides a practical order in which the healing modality should be applied first.
This stems from the Naturopathic Principle of “Vis Medicatrix Naturae” (The Healing Power of Nature) which acknowledges that the body knows how to heal itself.
This healing mechanism should be stimulated with the least force possible.
Dr. Constaine Hering developed the Law of Cure which is a very useful framework when assessing healing from a Naturopathic perspective. It is one of the main principles used within Homoeopathy.
Hering's Law of Cure is summarised as "All cure starts from within out, from the head down and in reverse order as the symptoms have appeared or been suppressed."
Cure takes place with the disappearance of the symptoms from:
Above-downwards - healing will progress from the upper part of the body before the lower parts of the body are healed.
Inside-outwards - symptoms disappear from within (i.e. you heal from within) in order to heal the outside of the body (e.g. the skin)
From more important organs to less important ones - healing progresses from the mental and emotional levels and Vital organs such as the liver or lungs are before organs such as the skin are healed.
Symptoms disappear in the reverse order of their appearance - health will retrace backwards via the same path that led to the condition in the first place. "We don't catch diseases, we create them by breaking down the natural defences according to the way we eat, drink, think and live".
Hering's Law is a very useful law to understand and remember when you embark on a healing journey. It is imperative to follow this law in order to allow the body to eliminate toxins created daily.
Dr. Hans-Heinrich Reckeweg developed a logical staging system of illness and the healing process. Similar to Hering's Law of Cure he identified there was a process/path that illness followed which elicited symptoms and regulatory reactions in the body. Homotoxiciology is based on the principle that diseases are caused by homotoxins. He described a homotoxin as "any substance that creates a direct or indirect toxic burden in the human organism." Reckeweg’s description of Homotoxicology, or literally, the ‘study of toxins in man’, is another useful result of clinical observation.
If a person continues to encounter toxins, but does not eliminate the ingested or absorbed toxins, he will eventually clog up, become inflamed and literally become impregnated with toxins. This impregnation of toxins is a stage along Reckeweg’s description of homotoxicology and it is so that when it occurs, degeneration takes place, and eventually, de-differentiation, which is the hallmark of cancer.
The order of Reckweg’s intoxification process goes as such:
Excretion -> Inflammation -> Deposition -> Impregnation -> Degeneration
Degeneration -> Impregnation -> Deposition -> Inflammation -> Excretion
Naturopathy is gaining popularity in the UK as many individuals are starting to take health into their own hands and are looking for more natural and safer ways to heal their bodies. People in the UK are also gaining awareness of the importance of getting to the root cause of the issue rather than simply managing symptoms through drugs and other suppressants.
There are several main governing bodies, which are the BNA (British Naturopathic Association), GCRN (General Council and Register of Naturopaths), GNC (General Naturopathic Council) and ANP (Association of Naturopathic Practitioners). The CNHC (Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council) is a voluntary regulator of complementary healthcare practitioners which includes Naturopaths.
It is advisable to work with a Naturopath practitioner who is registered with one or more of these governing bodies to ensure they have the necessary training and skills to support you with health.
At Higher Healing, all our practitioners are qualified in both Nutritional Therapy and Naturopathy. Our ‘Holistic Health Packages‘ utilise all the wisdom and principles of Naturopathy with the latest science and evidence-based research from Nutritional Therapy.
As a result, we are able to provide a more tailored, unique, natural and in-depth approach to healing illnesses and the physical body. We are able to provide a wide range of nutritional and natural lifestyle solutions for our clients that go beyond what you may expect from a traditional Naturopath or Nutritional Therapist.
This gives us the confidence and knowledge to support a wide range of conditions and illnesses.
