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Lobbying in DC!

This morning I am in Washington DC preparing to speak with my senators and representative about naturopathic medicine. Every year the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians, the AANP (www.naturopathic.org), hosts an event called the DC FLI, where hundreds of naturopathic medical students and naturopathic physicians travel to DC to support federal legislation for ND's. Naturopathic physicians are primary care and preventive medicine specialists. ND's are fully trained primary care providers, completing 4-years of medical school and over 1,200 hours in direct clinical patient contact.   In fact, the U.S. Department of Education considers the ND degree as a First Professional Degree, on par...

“A restricted diet should be part of standard of care for all children with ADHD”

  Whaaaaaat?  This was my response as I read this summary article in BlackBag, a free medical app that has dozens of medical news articles delivered daily to your smartphone or ipod.  The title of the summary article was exactly as I typed it above, and the author’s conclusions were based on a study recently published in the Lancet, an excellent randomized controlled trial now known as the INCA trial (“The Impact of Nutrition on Children with ADHD”). For years naturopathic physicians have been huge proponents of the allergy (or, more accurately, the “intolerance”) elimination diet.  In fact, elimination diets have become...

Naturopathic medicine: the best preventive medicine

I strongly believe that prevention is the answer to our current healthcare crisis. I have heard a lot of discussion in the media lately saying preventive services are too expensive and significantly add to the enormous cost of healthcare in this country.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous post, the concept of prevention has become confused with screening.  Most primary care physicians now only practice screening, not prevention.  Screening is not cost-saving even though it is certainly life-saving, as it allows for early detection of many diseases. Preventive medicine is, by definition, cost-saving, since it prevents diseases that need to be...

Docere – Doctor as Teacher

We are in the age of passive medicine. Our current medical model reimburses physicians for investigating/making a diagnosis, and managing treatment of that particular diagnosis.   Physicians get paid for the diagnosis or treatment, not for the amount of time spent with patients (with some exceptions).  This leads to short patient visits and very little time discussing the rationale behind the treatment or the implications of the diagnosis.  The result is what I call "passive medicine,"  because the patient has almost no active role in the healing process. The role of the naturopathic physician is to fulfill the original meaning of the word...

The Vis Medicatrix Naturae – Vitalism, Evolution, Creation or Homeostasis?

I love the philosophical principles of naturopathic medicine: Treat the Whole, Treat the Cause, Prevention, First Do No Harm, and Doctor as Teacher. I find these concepts easy to discuss with patients, colleagues and my peers in the medical profession. Then we get to The Vix Medicatrix Naturae, translated The Healing Power of Nature. Opponents of naturopathic medicine have used this philosphical principle to label naturopaths as "vitalists," a term which many in the scientific field equate with quackery or fraud. I would like to offer multiple interpretations of this principle. Bastyr University provides the following explanation for the Vis Medicatrix Naturae:...

Treat the Whole AKA psychoneuroimmunology and its effects on physiology

Another philosophical principle that guides naturopathic physicians is called Tolle Totem or "Treat the Whole". Naturopathic physicians have long been advocates of treating the whole person, including mind, body and spirit. Addressing the emotional, mental, and physical problems simultaneously is often the key to uncovering the true cause of a disease (see my last post about treating the cause!). This is one reason why ND's have counseling in our scope of practice. We are trained in motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioral therapy, and sometimes biofeedback to help our patients bridge this gap between mind and body. New scientific evidence is also showing support...

Tolle Causem

One of the 6 prinicples of naturopathic medicine is Tolle Causem, or Treat the Cause. The ultimate goal of a naturopathic physician is to identify and treat the cause of the patient's disease or symptoms. Conventional physicians will often claim to do the same thing. I recently saw an advertisement for a medication for GERD (also known as heartburn) that claims to treat the "cause" of heartburn by preventing the stomach from making stomach acid. Do people with heartburn really have a deficiency of Tums or Prilosec? Wait a second...

Prevention versus screening

What is prevention? The standard of care for preventive medicine specialists in conventional medicine is determined by the USPSTF (The US preventive services task force), which is an independent panel of experts in primary care (like internists, pediatricians, gynecologists, etc). The USPSTF determines when screening exams are necessary, which medications to take for prevention, and how to counsel patients. The USPSTF comes up with guidelines based on a review of the scientific evidence, and publishes them in the form of “recommendation statements”. For example, the USPSTF determines at what age mammograms, physical exams, DEXA scans, blood tests, etc., are necessary. These...

Is naturopathic medicine science-based?

I had a great question about naturopathic medicine and science: You say that your medicine is evidence-based. Would you define "evidence" in the same way that the traditional medical model would (peer-reviewed journals, RCTs, meta-analyses, etc.)? Are all of your treatments supported by research? Thanks Anonymous! I'll do my best to answer your question...