Naturopathic Principles #6 Prevention

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. I know, it’s corny but so true! I can’t resist a good adage especially when it conveys wisdom.  

Natural medicine seeks to optimize health and wellness by preventing disease whenever possible. This includes taking into account personal risk factors, family history, genetic predisposition and lifestyle factors. This principle also encompasses the idea of reversing a disease course before it gets too entrenched.

Many chronic diseases have precursor states. You may have heard of pre-diabetes or pre-hypertension (high blood pressure). These early disease states are the best time to use dietary, lifestyle and targeted supplementation to reverse early physiological changes. Unfortunately, conventional medical providers usually do not have the training or the ability to offer longer visit times to provide the necessary patient education.  

A lot of medical doctors are now adding continuing education courses in functional medicine to try to get a better grasp of highly effective diet and lifestyle modification. But a weekend seminar is no match for spending four long years steeped in these principles. Functional medicine is basically a re-boot of naturopathic medicine.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #healing #drjesskeating  #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #prevention

Naturopathic Principles #5 Doctor as teacher

This is one of my favorite parts of being a naturopathic doctor! Doctor as teacher is what truly sets apart holistic practitioners from a conventional medical provider. I get to build a therapeutic alliance with my patients, educate them about their health and give them lasting tools to establish and maintain great health. I spend a considerable amount of time in every appointment but especially the initial intake explaining things and answering questions. I want my patients to have an understanding of their bodies and the why behind my treatment recommendations. The Latin root for doctor is docere which actually means teacher.

Through patient education and empowerment, naturopathic doctors partner with our patients and encourage self-empowerment. I support patients taking ownership of their health. I love patients who have lots of questions because then I know they are engaged in the process. I frequently refer to this as a health journey and there is lot of learning along the way.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #healing #drjesskeating #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #ownyourhealth

Naturopathic principles #4 Treat the whole person

I keep saying I treat the whole person but what does that even mean? That I look at your head and your toes? Not quite. More like I take into consideration the various facets of your life, your health, your reality.

 Naturopathic medicine looks at the whole picture and does not reduce patients to their particular symptoms. This includes mental, emotional, physical, genetic, environmental, social, spiritual and other factors. Stay tuned next week where I will post a series that lays out the various “determinants of health” that guide the naturopathic approach. Because we treat the whole person, we claim the mantle of “holistic” practitioners.

This is one reason why my intake is longer than what you might be used to from a conventional medical doctor. I will ask about your diet, sleep, exercise, mental-emotional state, self-care, supportive relationships, occupation, etc. We will dive into your family medical history as well as your own medical history. Working together to understand you as a complete person gives us a foundation to create a comprehensive treatment plan. 

Most of my patients find me because they are looking for a more patient-centered approach that does not reduce them to a runny nose or sprained ankle. You have probably heard the old joke about “The heart attack in room 5.” You are not your symptoms, you are an individual and deserve to be treated as such.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #healing #drjesskeating #willowcnm #herbalmedicine #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #chiropractic #acupuncture #treatthewholeperson

Naturopathic Principles #3 Treat the root cause

Rather than suppressing symptoms, naturopathic doctors work to find the root cause and treat accordingly. The classic phrase “Don’t kill the messenger” fits nicely with this principle. Painful periods, headaches, anxiety, constipation, acne, low libido, joint pain and poor sleep are all symptoms. Symptoms are your body’s way of communicating that something is wrong. While you can take a pill for most of these conditions, that approach fails to address the root cause.

We’ll take headaches as an example. In my practice, I have found the most common underlying causes of headaches to be dehydration (chronic inadequate water intake), muscle tension (particularly in the neck) and food triggers (also called food sensitivities). While patients sometimes get relief from over-the-counter pain meds, the lasting and complete solution is to address these fundamental causes.

If you desire a deeper solution to your health challenges, find a licensed Naturopathic Doctor to work with on your health journey. A comprehensive intake is part of the process we use to investigate the true causes of your health concerns. We then craft a comprehensive treatment plan to help you regain great health.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #healing #drjesskeating #willowcnm #herbalmedicine #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #chiropractic #acupuncture #rootcause #nature

Naturopathic Principles #2 Healing power of nature

Humans evolved over thousands of years to thrive in the environment on earth. This includes a cycle of light and dark each day, a certain amount of oxygen in the air, the food that is available, etc. Our natural state is good health. Naturopathic medicine believes when you remove the obstacles to health, healing is the natural response.

My favorite way to visualize this concept is to think about getting a fairly serious cut. You go to urgent care and have it stitched up (the appropriate intervention in this case). Over the next few weeks, the skin closes, the pain recedes and you are (just about) as good as new. Did the doctor (or nurse) who did the stitching “heal” you? No! They helped your body have a good healing outcome but your body (nature) did the healing. 

Along these same lines, I am not responsible for you regaining great health. I contribute my expertise, give you the road map, troubleshoot your roadblocks, motivate you to get past plateaus and direct your general trajectory. But YOU do the work and your body does the healing. Together we harness the power of nature to achieve great health. When you remove the obstacles in your path, your body returns to its innate state of good health.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home. 

#naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #healing #drjesskeating #willowcnm #herbalmedicine #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #chiropractic #acupuncture #powerofnature #naturecure

Naturopathic Principles #1 First do no harm

This is part of the oath that every doctor takes upon completing medical school. We always work for the highest good for our patients and the best possible outcome given the individual circumstances. In naturopathic medicine, it means we try to choose natural or comparatively gentler interventions first. The least invasive options ought to be exhausted before higher force interventions are tried.

We recognize that different interventions are appropriate for different conditions. Someone with a broken wrist needs surgical attention first and foremost, while a patient with pre-diabetes would benefit from dietary and lifestyle counseling to prevent the progression to diabetes.

Patients with low back pain may be familiar with this “progression of force.” Conservative approaches are tried first: weight loss, over-the-counter (OTC) pain pills and physical therapy (PT) are usually the first line options. If these fail to bring relief, steroid shots are usually next and surgery is the last resort. However, during that first trial of therapy, we can also add chiropractic, acupuncture, yoga, stretching, cold laser, herbal medicine and dietary counseling to the list of effective interventions. The naturopathic tool kit is quite large and we always seek to use the simplest, least risky options first.

Does this principle resonate with your own health beliefs? Are you looking for a new kind of partnership with your primary care provider? If you are ready to start or revitalize your health journey, you are in the right spot! Check out my bio to get in touch. I offer free 15-minute consultation calls to answer your initial questions. Convenient telehealth appointments are available from the comfort of your own home.

 #naturalmedicine #naturopathicmedicine #naturopathicdoctor #healing #drjesskeating #willowcnm #herbalmedicine #willowclinic #telehealth #holisticmedicine #healthjourney #foodismedicine #healthylife #health #chiropractic #acupuncture #firstdonoharm