What
is Naturopathy?
©2002
California College of Natural Medicine
"Traditional
Naturopathy: a
distinct system of non-invasive healthcare and health assessment
in which neither surgery nor drugs are used, dependence being
placed only on education, counseling, naturopathic modalities
and natural substances, including without limitation, the
use of foods, food extracts, vitamins, minerals, enzymes,
digestive aids, botanical substances, topical natural substances,
homeopathic preparations, air, water, heat, cold, sound, light,
the physical modalities of magnetic therapy, naturopathic
non-manipulative bodywork and exercise to help stimulate and
maintain the individual's intrinsic self-healing processes."
(See California Senate
Bill 577)
CCNM does not offer classes in Naturopathy Medicine, diagnosing, prescribing or the use of drugs, or surgery.
We clearly offer classes that are legally allowed under CA SB 577, which you can read by clicking the link above.
More About Naturopathy
Dr.
Benedict Lust (1872-1925) relocated to New York in
the late 1800’s on a mission to bring “Drugless Nature Medicine”
to the
United States
from
Germany
.
After being arrested more than 30 times by the New
York authorities
and at least 3 times by federal authorities, Lust tired of the
fight. Dr. Lust said, “The prosecution became so intense
that we could not use the words cure, healing, therapy, therapist,
physician, doctor, or any other similar title. We were
all in despair.
Finally, we decided to use the word ‘naturopath’ as being
the only safe term by which we could designate ourselves
as having to do with nature cure and disease. This
was the magic word that would set us free.”
(Nature Doctors: Pioneers in Naturopathic Medicine by Friedhelm
Kirchfeld
& Wade Boyle, 1994. Available from Medicina Biologica). The term ‘Naturopath’
now distinguishes the profession of “Drugless Practitioners”
from others.
It was from this experience that Dr. Lust decided that Naturopaths
should never use the term ‘medical’ with or near the term
‘Naturopathy.’
Furthermore, Dr. Lust considered the practice of Naturopathy
to be educating others in a ‘way of life,’ not a treatment
for ‘disease.’ Dr Benedict Lust states, “Naturopathy
is the mother, all-inclusive, of natural therapy.
It is the basic platform for all methods of healing; without
it any healing art will be a failure.” (Nature Doctors). Here is a summary of the principles
of Naturopathy.
A.
“vis medicatrix naturae” The Healing
Power of Nature. Naturopathic practitioners trust
that the body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain,
and restore health.
The healing process is ordered and intelligent, nature heals through
the response of the life force. The physician’s role is
to facilitate and augment this process and act to identify and
remove obstacles to health and recovery, and to support the creation
of a healthy internal and external environment.
B.
“tolle causam” Identify and heal the cause. Illness does
not occur without a cause. Underlying causes of disease
must be discovered and removed before a person can recover completely
from illness.
Symptoms are expressions of the body’s attempt to heal, but not
the cause of disease. Symptoms therefore should not be suppressed
by treatment. Causes may occur on many levels including
physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. The physician
must evaluate fundamental underlying causes rather than at symptomatic
expression.
C.
“primum no nocere” First do no
harm.
Illness is a purposeful process of the organism. The process
of healing includes the generation of symptoms which are, in fact,
an expression of the life force attempting to heal itself. Therapeutic
actions should be complimentary to and synergistic with this healing
process.
The physician’s actions can support or antagonize the actions
of the vis medicatrix naturae. Therefore,
methods are designed to suppress symptoms without removing underlying
causes are considered harmful and are avoided or minimized.
D.
“docere” Doctor means “teacher.”
The term “doctor” is derived from “docere,” a Latin word which
designated a teacher. It apparently was first employed in
the 12th Century in the school of Bologna,
being conferred upon those of the legal profession. The
French gave the degree of “doctor” to graduates in the schools
of divinity and later a similar degree was bestowed to both the
religious and legal professionals.
Beginning in about 1360 the title and degree of doctor was applied
to those in the fields of philosophy, literature and music and
to those in other academic crafts and sciences as well as those
from divinity and legal schools. The doctor is to teach
the patient the elements necessary to restore proper structure
and functioning of the body, so as to release and stimulate
the vital force to normalize. Good health is produced
in this manner through the medium of education (educate, Latin,
“to lead’). In this sense education, through the medium
of “Logos” (the spoken word) can be considered medicinal.
D.
phyein / physis / physicos / Physician means “healing by means of nature.” Phyein is the
Greek derivative from which the word “physician” originates and
is means “to produce or grow.” Later this term was applied
to a grower of medicinal herbs and plants, evolving subsequently
to “physis” meaning “nature,” thence into “physikos” meaning “natural,”
an allusion to the natural origin of plants that were used in
healing. Later, the term “physis,” or “the art of healing
by natural means with herbs and other natural substances,” was
evolved and finally led to the title of “physician” designating
“one who heals by natural methods.”
f.
“medico” Medicine means “to heal.”
Medicine is derived from the Latin word, “medico,” meaning “to
heal.” Thus, the science and art
of the prevention, cure, or alleviation of disease – restoring
and preserving health. Now, unfortunately,
commonly understood, in a much narrower sense, to only mean drugs
and their preparations.
The ultimate goal of any health care system should be prevention.
This is accomplished through education and promotion of life-habits
that create good health. The Naturopath assesses risk factors
and hereditary susceptibility to disease and makes appropriate
interventions to avoid further harm and risk to the patient. The
emphasis is on building health rather than on fighting disease.
g.
Addressing and healing the whole person. Recognize the multifactorial
nature of health and disease. Health and disease are conditions
of the whole organism, a whole, involving complex interaction
of physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental,
social, and other factors. The physician must assess and
addresss the whole person by taking all of these factors into
account. The harmonious functioning of all aspects of the
individual is essential to recovery from and prevention of disease,
and requires a personalized and comprehensive approach to assessment
and healing.
