Let’s talk about Naturopathy!
1.) Select a word from the image above and talk about how it relates to health.
2.) Do you use any home remedies?
3.) What are some reasons why some people distrust mainstream medicine and big pharmaceutical companies?
4.) What are some reasons why people distrust alternative medicine?
VOCABULARY
Naturopathy: “a system of treatment of disease that avoids drugs and surgery and emphasizes the use of natural agents (such as air, water, and herbs) and physical means (such as tissue manipulation and electrotherapy)” Webster’s Dictionary Read more!
Western medicine: The dominant, mainstream health system in ‘developed’ countries, that treats disease with diagnostic technologies, pharmaceutical drugs and surgery. Also called biomedicine
Naturopathic doctor: A licensed primary care physician with a specialization in naturopathy
Naturopath: Anyone who offers naturopathic treatments, who may or may not have received training or any type of license
Terrain theory: The idea that health and disease prevention is based on the equilibrium and strength of the whole person
Germ theory: The idea that most disease is caused by the invasion of pathogens into the body
LISTENING
We’re going to watch a video twice.
The first time, listen for general ideas. Feel free to take notes! Be able to answer the following questions:
1.) What is naturopathic medicine?
2.) What six principles is naturopathic medicine based on?
The second time, listen for a deeper understanding. Then try answering the questions again.
READING – The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Naturopathy
Naturopathy is based on the idea that bodies heal themselves, and that we must treat the whole person, body, mind, and spirit (bio-psycho-social). The root causes of illness isn’t seen as just physical, as it is interpreted by modern, mainstream medicine. It’s wholistic, so doctors take time with each patient, taking lifestyle, stress, and diet into account. It’s focused on preventing illness and educating patients.
A good naturopathic doctor offers patients all the best of mainstream medicine, combined with the time and attention doctors in busy, public systems don’t have to give. Sounds ideal, right?
Oftentimes though, concepts and treatments of naturopathy are thrown in with mainstream medicine in a way that benefits the doctor and the medical system more than it does the patient. Two examples of ways that naturopathy is exploited are unnecessary data collection and the sale of quack drugs that don’t work.
Wholistic Data Collection without Wholistic Care
We live in an age where personal data is a valuable commodity and where health systems are prone to security breaches and struggle to protect patients’ right to confidentiality. Yet patients are often not informed of the risks or of their right to privacy. Naturopathy is used as an excuse to ask very personal questions and collect data under the guise of using a ‘wholistic’ approach. Inviting patients to share intimate details about themselves is valid when the patient gives informed consent and the doctor uses the information in a therapeutic way. It is not valid or ethical to demand that patients share intimate details about themselves as part of basic intake when the information is not used to benefit them, they are not informed as to who might access the data, and they do not feel like they have a choice.
One of the benefits of naturopathic care is that doctors spend hours, not minutes with their patients. In mainstream practice, doctors and patients don’t have this luxury. Forcing patients to answer a long list of irrelevant personal questions in mainstream health settings is not only an unnecessary invasion of privacy, it eats into the few minutes patients get to address their immediate health concerns.
Snake Oil and Magic Water
All too often people who are ill are prescribed snake oil and pseudoscientist treatments alongside mainstream, regulated, scientifically proven medicine, without the patient being informed of the difference. While this may involve common-sense suggestions like eating more fresh, whole foods or getting more exercise, it sometimes involves prescribing expensive, ineffective drugs like homeopathic remedies, which are often nothing but water. It is one thing to offer patients alternatives and choice, and another to pass off charlatanry as mainstream, accepted practice.
The Takeaway
Naturopathic medicine is an umbrella term. It is everything from wholistic, personalized, prevention-based care that takes the whole person into account, to scams masquerading as scientifically based, regulated treatments. Naturopathy at its best is what we all hope for in quality, sensible excellence in medicine. At its worst, it’s no more than a cover for shoddy ethics and a way to exploit sick people.
Patient-centered, wholistic, preventative care is the heart of naturopathy. It means spending a lot of time with patients, and it involves educating them by offering them the information they need to make informed decisions about their health. Collecting extraneous personal data and prescribing dubious drugs without full-discloser in the name of wholistic care is of no value and does more harm than good. Naturopathy must not be treated like a buffet, where doctors can pick and choose self-serving justifications and meaningless add-ons to pad their wallets. Naturopathic medicine is a wholistic approach to healing that deserves to be considered as a whole.
LISTENING AND SPEAKING
Comprehension Questions
1.) What is the difference between a naturopath and a naturopathic doctor?
2.) What are the benefits and risks for patients regarding naturopathic medicine?
3.) What are two ways that naturopathic concepts are exploited, according to the author?
4.) What is the author’s attitude towards naturopathic medicine?
5.) What are the author’s concerns regarding health data collection?
SPEAKING
Conversation Questions
1.) What do you expect from your doctor, when you need help with your health?
2.) Do you have confidence in your medical system?
3.) What is great about mainstream medicine?
4.) How would you improve the mainstream medical system, if it were up to you?
5.) Does your doctor take sufficient time to listen to you or to give you the information you need to understand your diagnosis and treatment plan?
6.) How much of your treatment plan is based on lifestyle and personal choice, and how much of it is just drugs and invasive procedures?
7.) Has your doctor ever asked you about your diet or made suggestions about how you could eat better?
8.) What would an ideal doctor’s visit look like for you?
FURTHER READING
What is Naturopathy? Treatments and Approaches – Medical News Today
Naturopaths are Snake-Oil Sales People Masquerading as Health Professionals – The Guardian
Regrets of a Naturopath – Science
Ayurveda Can Harm Your Liver – McGill University
The Flaws of Bioenergetics Medicine – Researchgate
Quantum Healing – Wikipedia
Quantum Quackery – Medium
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