What is Health?
Health is life, and life is love.
Love of art,
Love of nature,
Love of all that is beautiful and sublime.
These are the stimulants of life which are most essential to man if
he would retain his health.
~ a. John J. Ruegg, 1907
Naturopathic Medicine is a system of natural healing based on the
belief that the body has the inherent capability to heal itself.
Our bodies are wise and they want to be well: Through the use of
safe, gentle, effective and natural means, a Doctor of Naturopathic
Medicine works with this healing power to return the body to optimal
health.
The foundations of
Naturopathic Medicine are rooted in six key principles:
Primum Non
Nocere (First Do No Harm)
The Naturopathic Doctor uses methods and medicines that minimize the
risk of harmful side effects using the least force necessary to
diagnose and treat, avoids, when possible, the harmful suppression
of symptoms, and works with the individual's self-healing process.
Vis Medicatrix
Naturae (The Healing Power of Nature)
The Naturopathic Doctor shall recognize, respect and promote the
self-healing power of nature inherent in each individual human
being. Naturopathic Doctors act to identify and remove obstacles to
healing and recovery, and to facilitate and increase this inherent
self-healing process.
Tolle Causum (Treat the
Cause)
The Naturopathic Doctor seeks
to identify and remove the underlying causes of illness, rather than
to merely eliminate or suppress symptoms.
Docere (Doctor as
Teacher)
The Naturopathic Doctor shares information and knowledge with their
patients and encourages self-responsibility for health.
Treat the Whole Person
The Naturopathic doctor treats each patient by taking into account
individual physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental and
social factors.
Health Promotion, the
Best Prevention
The Naturopathic Doctor emphasizes the prevention of disease by
assessing risk factors, heredity and susceptibility to disease and
initiating appropriate interventions in partnership with their
patients to prevent illness.
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