My favorite part of being a naturopathic doctor is seeing patients getting better, seeing them improving their own life along with the lives of their family. I was called into naturopathic medicine because of the philosophy, the 6 principles and the therapeutic order.  I know my most recent blogs have given you glimpses of some of my favorite recipes, herbs, recent topics in the news and general health information. But in this blog I wanted to get back to my naturopathic roots, I want to share the six principles with you again along with the therapeutic order.

  • Primum No Nocere ~ First, do no harm
  • Vis Medicatrix Naturae ~ to act in cooperation with the healing power of nature
  • Tolle Causam ~ to address the fundamental cause of the disease
  • Tolle Totum ~ to heal the whole person through individualized treatments
  • Docere ~ to teach the principles of healthy living and preventative medicine, doctor as teacher
  • Praevenire ~ Prevention is the best cure

The therapeutic order is how naturopathic doctors treat each patient. We want to work from the lease invasive to more invasive, doing as little as we can to more toxic treatments and always working from the inside out. The therapeutic order is to be followed from the top down and only going as far down the list as we need to.

  • Determinates of Health ~ assess the determinates of health and find the cause of the disturbance to the natural balance of the body. - Remove obstacles to cure by establishing a healthy regimen - mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
  • Stimulate the healing power of Nature ~ support the body's natural healing mechanism and give the body the rest, supportive nutrition and attention necessary for proper function. - Use various systems of health such as botanicals, homeopathy, Chinese medicine, Ayurveda medicine, nutrition, psycho-spiritual.
  • Tonify Systems ~ support specifically the effected systems and facilitate normalization of their function. Give physical and biochemical support to the effected tissues and organ systems. - Use modalities to strengthen the immune system, decrease toxicity, normalize inflammatory function, optimize metabolic function, balance regulatory systems, enhance regeneration, and harmonize life forces.
  • Correct Structural Integrity ~ manipulate the tissue or bones to facilitate the needed compensation for health to return. - Use therapeutic exercise, spinal manipulation, massage, cranial-sacral to return to optimal structural condition
  • Natural Symptomatic Treatment ~ while attempting further assessment or treatment of the causative factors palliative symptoms, while being cautious not to undermine the vis. - Use vitamins, minerals, and herbs to promote health
  • Synthetic Symptomatic Treatment ~ utilize synthetic treatments designed to alter physiological function in order to control the reaction of the body to the disturbance. - Use pharmaceutical drugs to return to health
  • Surgery, Chemotherapy, etc ~ when all subtle attempts fail and surgical or suppressive therapy is indicated. - Use aggressive therapies to attempt to maintain health