The Future of Medicine. Why the world needs Naturopathic medicine.

When I decided to open Reddy Natural Medicine a couple months ago, I sat down and took a look at what it was about Naturopathic medicine that drew me to the profession. I mean let’s face it, why would someone deliberately choose to practice a form of medicine that no one has heard about and that many people disregard as invalid? The answer is actually pretty simple: the philosophy. Once I knew and understood the philosophy of Naturopathic medicine, I couldn’t imagine practicing any other way. The foundational core of Naturopathic medicine is elegant, practical and extremely effective. In a world struggling with disconnection, chronic diseases, and ever growing medical costs, I’m convinced that the future of medicine is with Naturopathic medicine.

Naturopathic medicine‘s philosophy is unique in the medical world. While a few other types of medicine have similar guiding beliefs, Naturopathic medicine stands alone as a complete therapeutic system of medicine.

Here are the six guiding tenants for practicing Naturopathic medicine:

1. First do no harm

2. The healing power of nature

3. Identify and treat the cause of disease.

4. Treat the whole person

5. Doctor as Teacher

6. Focus on Prevention

Some of these tenants are pretty self explanatory but let me elaborate on my favorite: The healing power of nature. This tenant is really at the core of what makes NDs special in the medical world. We recognize that we are all part of nature and that there is significant healing to be found when we recognize and connect to that fact. We call this connection the Vital Force and I liken it to a flame that is within each of us. The role of the Naturopathic doctor is to use remedies that support and grow the flame of the Vital Force in our patients. The body already knows how to heal if it gets what it needs (water, nutrition, love, relaxation, laughter, etc), and can eliminate what it doesn’t need (toxins, chemicals, wastes, stress etc). It’s not complicated really, but somewhere along the way we’ve forgotten how amazing our body is. We don’t trust our Vital Force and instead reach for quick symptom relief, medications, and surgery to fix what we perceive as broken. And while there are appropriate times for these medical interventions, many many issues can be dealt with easily and effectively with natural approaches. If we really want to see changes in healthcare we’ll have to move back to these methods. Can you imagine a world where ALL doctors focused on supporting the Vital Force first? It’s tough to imagine isn’t it? I believe it will happen and until that day I will be one of the few to hold my light high, trust the Vital force, work to treat the whole person, teach, prevent chronic issues, and treat the cause of disease. I’m proud to call myself a Naturopathic doctor. I can’t imagine practicing any other way.