Naturopathy by Anne McDevitt

Naturopathy is a system of healthcare using nature cures. The definition is that Naturopathy is a type of health care that promotes the body’s self healing mechanisms using an eclectic approach. The word Naturopathy stems from Natur meaning Nature and the suffix pathy meaning disease or suffering. The origins of the word means the human individual may be treated using nature cures, which implies using tools from nature e.g. herbs, or rest, or sunlight, water, detoxification, nutrition as well as stimulating the innate healing ability of the body i.e. to stimulate the vital force of the body. Naturopathy may be used as a preventative measure to ensure that we are living with optimal health, and not just living with an absence of specific infirmity. If dis-ease is present the naturopathic system may also be appropriate for a particular individual. It is essential to note that the “disease” is not treated, the person is treated. The Naturopath uniquely looks at who and why, not what. Naturopathic principles would also include that the underlying cause is identified and treated not just the symptoms. The whole person is treated, they are not seen simply as the physical ailment they present, rather, they are viewed from all aspects of their life.

The Naturopaths see their history as far back as forever, and at least to recorded images of healing, such as Ayurveda ayur(life) Veda (science) 3000-1000 BC and the Nei Jing Classics of internal medicine by the Yellow Emperor C2000 BC, Aesclepius (Greek physician) 1200 BC. and of course Hippocrates the father of medicine, who said many things over his long career including the naturopathic “let medicine be thy food and food be thy medicine”. Clearly he was the first recorded “You are what you eat” advocate. He understood that health was a balance and a harmony in man, of mind, body and things of the spirit, he embraced wholism. Hippocrates developed the Hippocratic Oath, which Medical Doctors, and Naturopaths observe in their patient approach. Naturopathy or Nature cure is underpinned by a fundamental principle-vis medicatrix naturae- the healing power of nature. This was made clear twenty-five centuries ago when Hippocrates said “Health is the expression of a harmonious balance between various components of man’s nature, the environment and ways of life……nature is the physician of disease.” Man was seen and lived as part of nature and the universe, and health was achieved by living in accordance with this principle. Harmony was achieved with proper nutrition, water treatments, rest, sunshine and fasting. Medicine, religion and science were intimately related and man was seen as a whole being, a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual being. The vital force or chi (qi) that made up the universe and nature also flowed through man. If man became dislocated from his source it caused illness. Hippocrates maintained that this balance could be restored with “the help of the patient”. This fundamental integrated aspect of naturopathy is very important to grasp, you can take the horse to water but you can’t make it drink!

Early naturopaths realised that if you could restore the vital force to the patient, the body would naturally heal itself. This ensured a ‘health system’, not an ‘ill health’ system, as we have today. Unfortunately the historical understanding has changed to a new paradigm: wait until it is broken, and then fix it. This is not intelligent medicine and part of a Naturopath’s role is to empower the patient to take responsibility for his or her own health. The body has this capacity to heal itself if given the right conditions and naturopathy along with acupuncture, homoeopathy and most other holistic modalities subscribes to this basic understanding of the body’s own innate intelligence. Modern Allopathic medicine, apart from all its positive and beneficial attributes, does not subscribe to this idea of wholism or more significantly, to the importance of prevention. The current allopathic or modern medical system works by treating ill health and sickness. Doctors and nurses, with respect, treat the symptoms of illness. Their training is focused on disease and disorder and the treatment plans for the aforementioned. Most often if there is infection an antibiotic will be prescribed to clear the infection, or if there is a fever paracetamol will be recommended to reduce the fever. There is often no effort to see why the patient becomes ill in the first place. Allopathic medicine is successful in the treatment of acute conditions, such as infections and broken bones. But many chronic conditions need a more holistic approach to their management. An individual who may feel out of balance and presents for tests to identify the cause will often be given a “clean bill of health”. This is because the test measurements may not exactly add up to a specific illness. But does an absence of infirmity add up to health? I don’t think so. Ideally we should have and should strive for an integrative approach, where both systems work together with mutual respect, with mutual referrals, and this is on the increase. This is the medicine of the future, but it will only happen when there is regulation of training in the alternative sector. Luckily this is imminent.

Naturopathy encourages us to aim all the time for optimum health, strive on a daily basis to assist the body to reach the homeostasis, which it craves. Homeostasis from the Greek homoios ( similar) + stasis (standing still) is the body’s innate way of maintaining balance, but it requires a number of factors to be in place for this to happen. Rest, good fresh spring water, nutrients, whole food, daylight, detoxification, exercise, fresh air, recognition and a system of dealing with emotional issues before they affect health, or at least as soon as they do. From the Naturopathic perspective disease does not happen overnight, it develops over time, it is cumulative. Disease starts with a disruption to the body’s homoestatic mechanisms. The Naturopath uses a number of tools to treat or work with the patient. Naturopathy is essentially a consultation based treatment. The Naturopath will consult the patient on a detailed case history, during which observation of the patient is taking place. There may be some other tools to assist the consultation, such as tongue diagnosis (as in Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine), iridology (a system of reading various markings on the fibres of the iris of the eyes.) and/or checking the pulse(s) as in Chinese or Ayer Vedic medicine. There may also be examination. The Naturopath will include nutrition or supplementation as necessary for the individual.

Basic training to be a Naturopath includes anatomy, physiology, medicine, pathology, pharmacology, naturopathic nutrition, psychology, clinical examination, laboratory tests, detoxification, an eclectic array of diagnostic tools, and one or more specialisation subjects, such as herbal medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture and many other subjects. Subsequent to this initial training there will be at least 400- 600 clinical hours, i.e. hours seeing and treating patients, and writing up case histories.

Different Naturopaths will work in different ways and each will have his or her own style, as in any profession, they may have their own specialisation, but the patient and not the condition will always be central to the philosophy. Because Naturopathy is an eclectic system of treatment the patient may find they will be advised or treated with nutrient supplements, herbs, biochemical supplements, homeopathy or acupuncture, or a combination of the above. The patient may require referral, if another modality or specialisation, tests or x-ray etc is required. Some Naturopaths will be in general practice and some may choose to specialise. The Naturopath is trained to view the patient as a whole being and may observe the spiritual or emotional need of the patient and may offer guidance in these matters, it is the philosophy of Naturopathy to work with the patient and offer the best route to take given who the individual is. Alas, many times fear coupled with a set of beliefs, gets in the way of the patient getting well. Fear in life can crush the innate power of the individual to heal. Commonly now Naturopaths see patients buried under a veil of emotions and it is not always an easy task amid a hostile environment of toxins and chemicals, and with a reduction in the availability of nutritious food to get fast results. The modern day naturopath faces many more challenges than those of their forefathers Most of us now live in a “sea” of electromagnetic pollution, married with approximately 50,000 chemicals introduced into our environment which were completely alien to man 40 years ago. Add to this a dose of denatured fast food and we are looking at an ill health epidemic. In short most people have too much of what they shouldn’t have in their bodies and not enough of what they should have. The naturopath of today needs a very eclectic approach to meet these challenges and guide their patients back to vibrant health. Whilst never losing sight of the basic fundamentals of the nature cure, the modern-day naturopath might employ a raft of skills such as herbs, homoeopathy, manipulation, flower essences, acupuncture or biochemical supplementation to augment their work. These may be necessary to offset many of the suppressions brought about through living in our modern times with all its concomitant stresses that seek to strangle the life force in our bodies.

In Ireland there is a website with a list of registered Naturopaths, some trained in Ireland, England, Europe and as far a field as Australia.. The Association of Naturopathic practitioners provides information on Naturopathic medicine for the information of the public as well as practitioners. www.anpireland.com

Anne McDevitt has been practicing Beauty Therapy for the last 25 years and Holistic Therapy for the past 18 years. Anne opened her clinic in 1983 treating both men and women. She holds diplomas in Naturopathic Medicine, Herbal Medicine, and Colon Hydrotherapy. To make an appointment phone 01 6777962