Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Medicine is a system of primary care medicine which examines the processes and imbalances present in human beings which lead to disease.

Naturopathic medicine looks at the presenting problems from a systems perspective, and when physiological systems are imbalanced, however subtle and non important the imbalance may seem to someone untrained in this area, the Naturopathic Doctor has medicine to help shift the body back to a more natural equilibrium.  

Naturopathic Doctors have 4 years naturopathic education along with a post secondary degree which includes education in basic physiological sciences and medical science, human health and disease, psychology, and naturopathic modalities for healing and optimizing health.

You will find Dr. MacKenzie to be knowledgeable in the diagnoses which your Medical Doctor has given you, as well as have explanations for the things that bother you which don't seem to have a regular conventional diagnosis.    

Naturopathic Healing Modalities include:

• Clinical Nutrition: identifying and correcting deficiencies, treating with vitamins 
• Asian Medicine: diagnosis, acupuncture and dietary treatment 
• Botanical Medicine: plant medicine to treat and prevention conditions 
• Dietary and Lifestyle interventions:  help you sleep better, digest better.   The little things we do everyday have a major impact on our health! 
• Homeopathic Medicine: is a powerful modality to improve all the symptoms you have:  there is nothing too insignificant for homeopathy. 

Principles of Naturopathic Medicine:

• First do no harm 
• Treat the cause of disease 
• Teach the principles of healthy living and preventative medicine 
• Treat the whole person through individualized treatment 
• Emphasize prevention 
• To support the healing power of the body

What is preventative medicine?

Although the topic of preventative medicine is really the topic of many other Blog entries, the first thing I want to say is that preventative medicine is in fact medicine.  

What is medicine?  Medicines are substances, positive interactions with others like a counselor or healer or spirit guide, or personal daily practices which bring our bodies to a more healthful state and help to alleviate suffering.  With this type of understanding of medicine we can see that there are many types of medicines which can help human beings feel better and have an easier time with life and the attainment of goals.  Imbalances are identified and a medicine is applied - a change in routine, taking a herb, homeopathic remedy or a pharmaceutical when needed.   When we speak of preventative medicine we must remember that to need a medicine an imbalance must be identified.  
 
Naturopathic Medicine is focussed on understanding subtle shifts in healthy physiology, (in medicine this is called homeostasis), which can go unnoticed, or ignored because they are seemingly minor problems.  Naturopathic doctors are trained to understand what a symptom, like a skin issue, is saying about your body on the inside.  

Thus, preventative medicine requires our attention and engagement to learn what our more subtle symptoms are telling us.  

Dr. Erin MacKenzie, ND