This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dr. Tara Andresen - ND for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
As a registered dietitian, I am very interested in the treatment and prevention of illness and disease the most natural way possible. If you do not need to take medicine for something and can treat it with food, I believe that is your best bet. For example, type two diabetes many times can be managed without medication. Watching what you eat and eating a balanced amount of carbohydrates along with weight control can be the key to managing diabetes.
There are doctors that specialize in treating illness in a natural way called the Naturopathic Doctor. They have to complete seven years of school at an institution for naturopathic medicine. There are 2 schools in Canada that qualify and 5 schools in the United States. They also must pass an exam called the NPLEX and have 4,500 hours of classroom training and 1,500 hours as a supervised intern. They must keep up with continuing education as well.
The way that they treat different conditions includes using acupuncture, clinical nutrition (my favorite of course), botanical medicine, Asian medicine, physical medicine, lifestyle counseling and homeopathy. These many ways of treatment are aimed to help the whole person.
This kind of medicine combines the scientific knowledge and standard medical diagnoses used in traditional medicine with a lot of different types of therapies to find out the real sauces of the illness. A complete physical exam would be done if you went to an appointment with a naturopathic doctor. Like in traditional medicine, some lab testing may be done to help find out a diagnoses. This may include blood work, urinalysis and saliva testing. They believe that the body has it's own ability to heal.
What I also found interesting is that many fees from a naturopathic doctor are covered by traditional insurance plans which is great so that you do not have to pay out of pocket.
Before now, I never really knew what conditions that a naturopathic doctor treats and was interested to learn about it:
Women’s Health
Menopause & Perimenopause
Menstrual Irregularities
PMS
Urinary Tract Infections
Yeast Infections
Fertility
PCOS and Hormonal Imbalances
Breast Health
Osteoporosis
Thyroid Disorders
Cardiovascular Health
High Blood Pressure
Stroke and Heart Attack Prevention
High Cholesterol and Triglycerides
Pain Management
Arthritis
Back & Neck Pain
Migraines & Tension Headaches
Muscle Tension
Fibromyalgia
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
TMJ/ Jaw Pain
Immune System Health
Allergies
Cold and Flu Treatment/prevention
Frequent Infections
Gastrointestinal Health
Gastric Reflux/ Heartburn
Chronic Constipation, Diarrhoea, Gas
Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Crohn’s Disease
Celiac Disease
Food Sensitivities
Skin Health
Acne
Eczema
Dermatitis
Aging
Blood Sugar Management
Diabetes
Hypoglycemia
Stress Management
Anxiety
Panic Attacks
Depression
Insomnia
Chronic Fatigue
Weight Management
Weight Loss
Weight Maintenance
Source: Conditions Treated by a Naturopath
I have personally never gone to see a naturopathic doctor but it does sound very interesting. If I had some kind of ailment that could not be figured out by traditional medicine, I would consider seeking out the help of a naturopathic doctor. Again, I like that naturopathic doctors help to treat patients by using nutrition because that is a very important part of preventing illness and treating it.
If you are interested in naturopathic medicine, check out the Dr. Tara Andresen Naturopathic Clinic which is a naturopathic doctor that treats patients with all kinds of illnesses.
What are your thoughts? Have you ever seen a naturopathic doctor?