What Is Naturopathy? | Understanding Naturopathic Principles

It seems like the general population often views naturopathy as inferior to traditional or conventional medicine.  Yet, most of those people probably don’t understand the benefits of using naturopathic principles. Mainstream medicine tends to pay a lot of attention to treating the physical symptoms of an illness without really getting to the root cause of that illness.  However, the mental and emotional side of things can play a major role in getting better as well. One of the great things about naturopathic treatment is that it focuses on wellness in all of these areas. Here’s some background information on the fundamentals of naturopathy from a certified naturopathic physician.

Naturopathic Physicians Seek The Cause Not The Symptoms

If you’re having trouble picturing what a naturopathic practitioner does, you can think of them as a health detective.  The main goal of naturopathy is to look for and address the root cause of an ailment rather than just the symptoms. In comparison, a lot of the time mainstream medicine focuses on masking the symptoms until they go away.  For example, when you take an Advil for a headache, the medicine isn’t curing the cause of the headache; it’s merely keeping your brain from noticing the pain. Naturopaths on the other hand are focused on identifying and addressing the cause with natural remedies and various lifestyle changes.

Educating With Naturopathic Principles

Have you ever been to a doctor and received a prescription without even being part of the conversation?  This should never happen when consulting a naturopathic physician. Naturopathy focuses on education as well as making recommendations to balance the body in order to empower patients to take hold of their own well being.  Through solid communication with their naturopathic doctor, patients learn the importance of adjusting their lifestyle to return to good health. The goal is always to get the body back to homeostasis where it can flex it’s natural healing powers.

Healthful Living

A lot of the time an illness can be traced back to unhealthy lifestyle choices.  Remember, naturopathic physicians deal in whole-patient wellness so recommendations often extend further than just looking at and covering symptoms.  A naturopathic consultation can recommend healthy living habits like how to eat right and exercise efficiently as well as help with sleeping habits, managing stress and other emotional components.  The objective is to help the client learn to give their body the support it needs. Many times simple healthful living can be an effective and profound launching pad to optimal wellness.

Addressing Root Cause With Quantum Reflex Analysis

One of the newest tools at the disposal of naturopathic physicians is Quantum Reflex Analysis.  QRA is used to help identify the underlying cause of an illness through non-invasive means. Using applied kinesiology, a QRA practitioner looks to pinpoint any potential roadblocks to your body’s natural healing process.  It’s kind of like listening to the body tell you where it needs support. With this information, it becomes easier to develop a daily diet and routine to help you get back to healthy living and feeling incredible, perhaps more so than ever. 

Dr. LeAnn Fritz, PhD, is a naturopathic physician and the founder of New Hope Health.  Our goal is to help you get and stay healthy by empowering you to live by naturopathic principles.  If you’re interested in how alternative medicine can help you, feel free to contact us today! 269-204-6525

Nothing said or implied in this post is intended to treat, cure, diagnose or prevent any disease.  It does not take the place of a qualified health care practitioner and is intended for educational purposes only.