Solutions You Can Find Through Naturopathic Medicine
by Katherine (Tori) Lutz
Since naturopathic medicine has been growing in popularity, there is a fair chance that you’ve heard about the general purpose: alternative treatments with a focus on natural remedies that work with your body’s healing system.
What you may not know is just how many different solutions you can find through naturopathic medicine.
To give you a general idea, here are just five of the many ways naturopathic medicine can be implemented to improve your health and overall well-being.
Aesthetic Treatments
One of the common ways that naturopathy has been implemented is through aesthetic treatments offered at medical spas(med spas) around the world.
That said, not every med spa is staffed with naturopathic physicians, so the holistic background is something special to look out for at practices. The reason it’s beneficial to have naturopathic doctors on staff is that they have a thorough and informed understanding of many different areas of medicine, including things like hormones and bodily functions.
Just a few of the aesthetic treatments with naturopathic roots include:
- Acupuncture
- Skin treatments
- Injections (Botox, Dysport, Juvederm, etc.)
- Weight management
Dr. Sarah Bennett, the physician at the Natural Med Doc med spa in Scottsdale, is passionate about this balance between medicine and beauty:
“I feel that my naturopathic background gives me the knowledge and training to bring aesthetic treatments to the next level. This means that while I offer health-related solutions and treatments, I’m also able to offer things like Botox and chemical peels with a thorough understanding of the science behind it all.”
Naturopathic medicine is changing the game with aesthetic treatments by raising the bar and making it more and more common to see naturopathic physicians administering aesthetic treatments.
Mental Health Care
Another area that has been receiving more attention recently in the naturopathic community is mental health care.
Since many patients have grown frustrated with the side effects and expenses associated with prescription medication for problems like anxiety, depression and ADHD, alternative, holistic treatments are being sought out instead.
Natural solutions that are often offered include homeopathic/herbal medicine, dietary advice, exercise plans, classical homeopathy, supportive therapies and more.
That said, seeking out natural and holistic remedies should still include finding a certified physician. Many practices will have “unlicensed naturopaths” who can do more harm than good if their lack of intensive medical training causes them to overlook or misunderstand something about the situation.
Since mental health concerns can be rooted in a variety of factors like environment, genetic mutations, hormonal/chemical imbalances and more, it’s important to seek out qualified medical professionals, even with alternative treatment.
Many naturopathic physicians have started offering help in areas like:
- Anxiety
- ADHD
- Depression
- Bipolar Disorder
- Schizophrenia
- PTSD
While some practices dedicate their focus to mental health treatment and others offer it as merely one of their many specialties, it’s no secret that this service is becoming more common and developed.
Lifestyle Structures
One of the things that many people associate with naturopathy is aid in lifestyle structuring that can promote an overall happier and healthier life.
Diet, exercise and mental awareness are just a few of the ways that your everyday life can dramatically impact your well-being. For example, since everyone’s body has different nutritional needs, it’s very easy to think you are maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but a naturopathic physician can help to make sure you are genuinely on track.
This is a particularly sustainable area of naturopathic medicine, too, because it’s something that you take home with you and implement every single day, not just the days that you are in a doctor’s office receiving treatment.
Overall, this is an area of naturopathic medicine that is often done in addition to the other treatments offered, but it’s absolutely critical and can really make a difference overall.
General Healthcare
Many naturopathic physicians are also fantastic sources for primary care, and some of them provide pediatric and geriatric solutions to help your entire family.
Since naturopathic physicians receive the sameprimary careeducation as MDs prior to their specialization, many practices are also able to offer things like:
- Nutrition
- Pharmacology
- Laboratory diagnosis
- Physical/clinical diagnosis
- Botanical/physical medicine
- Psychology
- Emergency medicine
- And more
One of the benefits of having a naturopathic physicianas a primary care doctor for the family is that they will be able to truly grow with you and learn your specific circumstances, making it much easier to help you with more specific concerns and treatments as they arise.
Plus, having integrative providers who have background in both traditional and homeopathic medicine assures that you will have a truly informed opinion that can help you find the natural treatments you are comfortable with.
Preventative Treatments
Lastly, many naturopaths take pride in their preventative treatmentssince they are an excellent way of helping anyone live their most fulfilling, confident life before any major problems or concerns even arise.
Since naturopathy has a bigger focus on health and the overall bodyrather than on disease itself, any naturopathic approach has preventative potential. Every part of your body is working together, so even if symptoms are only impacting one area, it’s beneficial to find treatments that work with your entire system.
One way that many naturopathic providers are able to accomplish this is by developing a solid relationship with their patients and getting to know what is normal and healthy for them specifically.
They are then able to implement dietary and lifestyle solutions to maintain a standard of health while also addressing possible concerns surrounding pain, hormones or mood before they develop into serious problems.
For example, most individuals (male and female) experience a decrease in testosterone starting in their late 20s and early 30s. Since this is common knowledge to naturopathic physicians, they are able to address and treat this concern before women experience concerns like menopause or men experience issues like erectile dysfunction.
In Summary
At a glance, naturopathic medicine may just seem like an alternative solution for a few specific, minor areas to help people lessen their overall dependence on more traditional medicine.
However, there are actually many different areas that naturopathy reaches, including aesthetic treatments, mental health, lifestyle planning, primary healthcare and even preventative treatments.
If you are looking to further develop your exposure to natural remedies and lessen your dependence on standard healthcare, see if naturopathic physicians near you might be able to help with your specific needs and circumstances. They just might surprise you!
Katherine (Tori) Lutz, Freelance Writer, Editor & Social Media Strategist
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-tori-lutz-55609512b/
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