Naturopathic medicine in the form of clinical nutrition
The famous adage "you are what you eat" is the golden rule in natural healing. Food is often the best tool used in naturopathic medicine to build the body back up from a state of disease or imbalance. Food is the best medicine because it is the foundation and building block of every cell in the body. It is hard to have a strong body if the materials (nutrition) used to build it are unhealthy.
Food is also the least intrusive and most natural cure in naturopathic medicine.
Many medical conditions can be treated more effectively with food and nutritional
supplements than by other means, with fewer complications and side effects.
Naturopathic medicine providers use dietetics, natural hygiene, fasting, and
nutritional supplementation in practice.
The use of fasting in naturopathic medicine
"Strictly defined, fasting is abstinence from all food and drink (except water) for a limited period of time to maintain or improve health, or treat a specific illness. Juice fasting, a popular variation, is abstinence from all food and drink except water, vegetable juices, and fruit juices."
"A modified fast includes small amounts of solid food, usually raw fruits as well as raw and steamed vegetables. Some advocates of fasting include other modifications as well, such as vegetable broth, herbal teas, and nutritional supplements. Most of the research into the therapeutic value of fasting has explored the water-only method." (http://www.medicomm.net/Consumer%20Site/am/fasting.htm)
In naturopathic medicine, fasting, especially the protein modified fast is one of the best and simplest medicines because it lets the body do what it was designed to do, heal itself. The way fasting works is by giving the body a break from the energy consuming process of food digestion, assimilation and elimination, while supporting the liver's natural detoxification process.
Freeing up the body from its daily grind of digestion allows it to turn its energies to "housekeeping issues" such as clearing toxins built up in the tissue. It is like giving a person time off from work so they can have the time and energy to clean up their house. Most people are accustomed to eating too much and too often so the body doesn't get a rest from processing food. This can lead to a "messy house."
Because naturopathic medicine is based in the premise of both natural and preventative medicine, many naturopathic physicians prescribe fasting in their practice. Fasting is not only good for balancing the body in times of stress and ill health but it is also used for healthy people as a preventative measure and as a tool to break addictions.
What animals tell us about naturopathic medicine and nutrition
Gorillas are the animals most closely related to humans. Research shows that gorillas who live in the wild never come down with diseases such as cancer, diabetes, heart disease or arthritis. However, gorillas living in captivity do come down with these diseases because they are fed food processed by humans. This food is also usually given to them in the wrong combinations and lacks essential enzymes.
The above mentioned diseases are so common among humans that it is hard to imagine a world without them or understand that they could very well be prevented with proper nutrition. Eating raw foods with live enzymes is one of the best ways to fight the aging process and prevent degenerative disease. If we see the way animals eat as natural, we can begin to question the ways humans have complicated and confused nutritional issues and habits. Food is the best naturopathic medicine there is.
Naturopathic medicine's approach to food
Depending on the condition of the patient and the paradigm of the practitioner anything from light to drastic changes of diet can do wonders for the health. Sometimes the culprits of conditions such fatigue, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and allergies could be food intolerances. Cutting these foods out of the diet can be very healing for the body as it no longer has to deal with the stress of being attacked by intestinal irritants.
Many foods also have latent healing power. For example cherries are recommended for conditions like gout because of their anti inflammatory properties. Adding higher levels of protein to the diet may help with depression and mood swings as protein not only helps stabilize blood sugar but it also provides the body with essential, mood-boosting B vitamins and amino acids that help balance brain chemistry.
Naturopathic medicine and nutrition don't provide the quick fix
In a culture that is so accustomed to instant gratification and pill popping there is an inherent impatience with the time it takes for the body to heal itself. While the process of healing through diet alone is possible, it may take a sharp departure from ingrained habit and many months or years to bring the body back into balance. Because it took years of abuse with food, stress, toxins or drugs to create disease it can take just as long to regain health.
The road of naturopathic medicine is not a quick one and may require faith, hard work, patience and a complete revamping of lifestyle. If lifestyle is indeed the culprit that brought about a particular disease, it will take more than supplements or pharmaceuticals to set it right.
That is why the nutrition route to healing is often the most frustrating path because the progress is the slowest. But with the support of naturopathic medicine and changes in unhealthy lifestyle habits, the transformation from disease to health can be comprehensive and profound.
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