The Guiding Principles

Upon graduation from an accredited naturopathic medicine program, future Naturopathic Physicians take an oath in which they declare to follow the 6 Principles of Naturopathic Medicine. These principles guide our practice with every patient and are the foundation from which this system of medicine is built.

1. First do no harm (Primum Non Nocere)

Just like Medical Doctors, Naturopathic Physicians take this oath, promising to aid in the healing of their patients in a way that will cause them the least harm. For Naturopathic Physicians, this means the following:

• Utilize methods and medicinal substances which minimize the risk of harmful side effects, using the least force necessary to diagnose and treat. As naturopaths, we are trained in a number of healing modalities which gives us flexibility and options for treating our patients, rather than a one-sized-fits all type approach that may not be the best fit and/or may have side effects that can be avoided with other treatments.

• Avoid when possible the harmful suppression of symptoms. Symptoms are the body’s way of telling us something is wrong. If we suppress symptoms, we are essentially ignoring the body’s cry for help. The problem does not go away if we cover symptoms, but rather it is driven deeper.

• Acknowledge, respect, and work with the individual’s self-healing process. Again, every body is different and every person’s healing journey is different. Naturopaths work hard with each patient, tailoring a treatment plan that best fits their situation, their comfort, and their wallet.

2. The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae)

Naturopathic medicine recognizes an inherent self-healing process in every person which is ordered and intelligent (we refer to it as our Vis). Naturopathic physicians act to identify and remove obstacles to healing and recovery and to facilitate and augment this inherent self-healing process. Have you ever wondered how your skin heals after a wound? The cells of your body are programmed to return to their original, functioning state – and naturopathic physicians are trained to facilitate that process.

3. Identify and treat the causes (Tolle Causam)

Naturopathic Physicians seek to identify and remove the underlying cause of illness, rather than to merely eliminate or suppress symptoms. Using the above example of a cut, if a person continues to cut their hand on something sharp, it wouldn’t make sense to just bandage their hand and give them pain killers but not remove the sharp object. It’s a silly example, but it can be applied to any system in the body. Without removing the cause, a person can’t ever truly heal and regain health to their fullest potential.

4. Treat the whole person (Tolle Totum)

Naturopathic Physicians treat each patient by taking into account individual physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, social and other factors including spiritual health. Because we are trained to treat whole-persons, we take into account all aspects that make a person who they are when developing a treatment plan.

5. Doctor as teacher (Docere)

Naturopathic Physicians educate their patients and encourage self-responsibility for health and we understand the importance of developing a therapeutic alliance with our patients. We believe it is more beneficial for the patient to become familiar with and gain an understanding of their bodies, how they work, and how they can become sick, rather than blindly follow our recommendations. With this knowledge, the patient is empowered to take control of their health while we provide support along the way.

6. Prevention

Perhaps the most well-known aspect of naturopathy is the emphasis on the prevention of disease through the assessment of risk factors, heredity, and susceptibility to disease and by making appropriate interventions in partnership with their patients to prevent illness. Once health is obtained, future visits work to prevent illness from occurring again.

Questions, comments, ideas? Please comment below, or email me! erin.hayford@bastyr.edu

What is Naturopathic Medicine?

I suppose an appropriate first official blog entry is one defining what naturopathic medicine is. Here’s the short answer:

“Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary healthcare profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances which encourage the person’s inherent self-healing process.” -Dr. Pamela Snider and Dr. Jared Zeff

And here’s the long answer:

Naturopathic physicians understand that health is the natural state of being, therefore ill health or disease is an adaptive response to disturbances of our health. A naturopathic physician thus seeks to remove these disturbances, creating the foundation needed for the return of optimal health.

The intervention the naturopathic physician uses to assist the healing process (herbal medicine, massage, water therapy, pharmaceutical, homeopathy, etc.) should involve the least force necessary. “Least force” means that the physician will use an intervention that will assist in the healing process but will not be too drastic or too harsh given the condition; it will be the least harmful to the person and still produce results. You know the oath all doctors take, that states “First do no harm”? Naturopaths take that very seriously!

The primary question a naturopathic physician seeks to answer when helping a patient heal is, “What is determining this person’s health?” Our health, whether optimal or not, is determined by a multitude of factors. These Determinants of Health include any combination of the following:

1. Inborn factors: Genetics, maternal health/nutrition/lifestyle, maternal exposures (drugs, toxins, etc.), and so on.
2. Disturbances such as illnesses (past and/or present), medical interventions (or lack thereof), physical or emotional stresses or trauma, and/or toxic and harmful substances.
3. Hygienic and lifestyle factors: These include environmental, lifestyle, and psycho-emotional influences such as water and hydration, sleep, nutrition and digestion, nurturing relationships, a sense of purpose and meaning, structural integrity, exercise, education, culture, and economic status, to name a few.

Health is not a static state; it is a dynamic and ever-changing entity. Our lives are also ever-changing and therefore there is a constant flux of influences, both good and harmful, which affect our health status. A phrase most of us are familiar with is “balance is key.” All disease states are generated by imbalances in the Determinant of Health. For example, not drinking enough water can lead to dehydration, but drinking too much water can be damaging to your kidneys.

Thus, naturopathic physicians assist patients in regaining optimal health by finding balance with the things that determines that person’s health – and what those things are are unique to each person. Naturopathic medicine believes in treating the whole person, not just a liver, or a rash, or a headache… therefore, a naturopathic physician takes into account an individuals physical, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social health, as well as others. This is why a naturopath will often spend an hour and maybe more in their first visit with patients – they need to get to know you in order to know how to treat you!

So what is this optimal health? Again, it varies for every person, and it is the best health a person can achieve when considering what they have been given to work with in life (a person with diabetes has a different experience of optimal health than a person without diabetes, for example).

Every single day our bodies go through physiological and biochemical changes due to changes in diet, water intake, sleep, psychological states, and so on. Our bodies are constantly seeking to be in balance, which is referred to as homeostasis. In response to the changes we undergo, our bodies compensate, readjust, and discharge, the latter of which includes normal discharges such as exhalation, feces, urine, sweat, menstrual blood, vocal expression, lymph and tears; and discharges associated with disturbed function such as mucus, vomit, and skin discharges (showing up as rashes, dryness, acne, and so on).

Imbalances to the Determinants of Health show up as signs and symptoms, which is the signal to us that something is wrong. It is important to recognize that symptoms are our body’s way of telling us something is out of balance. They are not in and of themselves the illness! A naturopathic physician works to determine the underlying cause of the illness, i.e. determining what is the disturbance in the Determinants of Health – also known as the obstacles to cure.

Naturopathic medicine will very rarely suppress the symptoms, which is often the mechanism of action of pharmaceuticals. Blocking or eradicating signs and symptoms without correcting the underlying imbalance will suppress your body’s attempt to compensate for the disturbance to the Determinants of Health.

If we listen to our symptoms, we can figure out where we are out of balance, and then support our body and aid the healing process to regain optimal health once again. On the flip side, blocking, ignoring, or eradicating signs and symptoms will often additionally compromise our health and recuperative ability. Furthermore, regular or prolonged disturbances can generate stronger and/or worse signs and symptoms.

If the underlying imbalances are not corrected, the compensatory reactions will become chronic and lead to degeneration. An example of this could be observed in a person who is allergic to milk but continues to consume milk products; chronic inflammation would be the compensatory reaction and could eventually lead to degeneration of the intestines.

However, there is still hope! Even if degeneration has occurred/is occurring, optimal health can still be regained. This is accomplished by correcting the underlying imbalances (there seems to be a repeating theme here!). Moving from degeneration to optimal health will often cause acute reactions and discharges from the body which should be viewed as a positive sign. Naturopathic medicine teaches that discharge is a necessary step in the healing process.

Naturopathic physicians seek to educate their patients in order to encourage them to take responsibility for their own health and healing. A big piece of this education involves working to create appropriate interventions to prevent disease from occurring in the first place. Once optimal health is achieved, prevention for future illness becomes the focus.

Curious about seeing a naturopathic physician? Check out The American Association of Naturopathic Physicians webpage to find a naturopath near you.

Questions, comments, ideas? Please comment below, or email me! erin.hayford@bastyr.edu