• What is Naturopathic Medicine?

• Naturopathic Principles

• Examples of the Naturopathic Approach to specific Health Conditions

• Is Naturopathic Medicine Research Based?

• Naturopathic Education

• State Licensure for Naturopathic Doctors

The naturopathic approach and philosophy of medicine is holistic and seeks to understand all the factors that may be affecting a person’s health. Naturopathic doctors aim to find the underlying origin of illness rather than suppressing symptoms.   By listening carefully we can understand all the factors contributing to your health problems and uncover the underlying causes. Naturopathic medicine is appropriate for the management of a broad range of health conditions affecting people of all ages.

The emphasis of naturopathic medicine is on prevention and restoration of balance physically, mentally, spiritually.  We recommend natural, non-invasive therapies aimed to support and encourage the body’s innate healing processes.  One of our main goals is to educate you and empower you in order to achieve optimum health. 

Naturopathic therapies include: 

• Clinical nutrition
• Acupuncture
  
• Diet, fitness, and lifestyle education
• Botanical medicine
• Vitamin, mineral and enzyme therapy
• IV Nutrient Therapy
• Physical medicine
• Cold Laser

Naturopathic Principles

Naturopathic medicine is defined by it's principles. Methods and modalities are selected and applied based on these principles in relationship to the unique needs of each person.

The Healing Power of Nature (Vis Medicatrix Naturae)
Naturopathic medicine recognizes an inherent self-healing process. Naturopathic doctors act to identify and remove obstacles to recovery and promote this self-healing process.

Identify and Treat the Cause (Tolle Causam)
Naturopathic doctors seek to identify and remove the underlying cause to illness, rather than just eliminating or suppressing symptoms.

First Do No Harm (Primum Non Nocere)
Naturopathic doctors utilize modalities which minimize the risk of harmful side effects and use the least force interventions.

Doctor as Teacher (Docere)
Naturopathic doctors educate their patients and encourage self-responsibility for health.

Treat the Whole Person
Naturopathic doctors treat each patient individually, taking into account an individual’s physical, mental, emotional state as well as genetic, environmental and social factors.

Prevention
Naturopathic doctors emphasize the prevention of disease, assess risk factors and hereditary susceptibility to disease and make interventions to prevent illness.

Wellness
Wellness follows the establishment and maintenance of optimum health and balance. It is a state of being healthy and is characterized by positive emotion, thought and action.

Examples of the Naturopathic Approach to Specific Health Conditions

Here are some examples of how naturopathic medicine may help a specific condition.

Valley Fever

If you have Valley Fever(VF), you know this is on the rise in the Phoenix Valley.  This can be devastating, but there is help.  Working in conjunction with conventional medical doctors, naturopathic medicine can do wonders.  Through the use of nutritional IV therapy, cold laser, acupuncture, and clinical nutrition, you can get your life back.  This is not a claim to "cure", although people have greatly benefited from the therapies of naturopathic medicine. Valley Fever has personally affected Dr. Sly's life through her own Father becoming ill with the disease.  She now is passionate about helping those whom suffer with Valley Fever. 

Aging

With the accumulation of toxins via the environment, foods/drinks we consume, stress, and negative thinking our bodies are aging faster than ever before.  By utilizing the powers of nature and detoxification, naturopathic medicine can aid your body to become younger, more energetic, more efficient, and more flexible. 

Asthma

Most often people suffer with this illness long-term and do not have to.  There are several modalities that decrease or eliminate the symptoms of asthma (depending on the individual) within naturopathic therapeutics.  Since this is an inflammatory condition, the focus begins with targeting the cause of inflammation.  Did you know that the digestive system is directly correlated with the respiratory system?  Find out how.

Weight Gain

Extra weight equates to extra waste. By optimizing the body to efficiently eliminate waste and utilize energy, naturopathic medicine helps you to achieve your bodies ideal weight with regard to your height and daily energy expenditures.

Pain

Often pain is present because there is inflammation in the body. Certain dietary and lifestyles can contribute to the development of inflammation. The naturopathic approach would be to determine the causative factors that may be creating the problems. There may be a dietary component, as certain foods can promote inflammation or there is a lack of nutrients such as omega-3 essential fatty acids or enzymes, both known to decrease inflammation. In addition, the use of cold laser and acupuncture treatments helps dramatically in decreasing pain.

Depression/Anxiety

There are both physiological and psychological factors to the development of depression and/or anxiety. It may be a result of nutrient deficiencies such as low vitamin B6 or magnesium which is needed for the production of serotonin. In addition, low thyroid function, a food allergy or sensitivity or imbalance in hormones may be underlying causes of depression/anxiety.. The basis of naturopathic medicine is to find out which may be a contributing factor and implement changes in diet, lifestyle and supplements to bring about change.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

PMS has many contributing factors such as high dietary intake of dairy and simple carbohydrates, ineffective elimination of hormones by the liver or gastrointestinal tract or elevated estrogen to progesterone ratios. Depending on the underlying cause specific recommendations are made to promote effective elimination patterns of the gastrointestinal tract and/or support liver function so that it may properly metabolize hormones. Depending on the needs of the individual, specific dietary recommendations may be implemented.

Type II Diabetes (Non-Insulin Dependent)

Type II diabetes is becoming increasingly prevalent in North America. There is much that can be done from a naturopathic perspective. For example, stabilizing blood sugar levels can be helped by incorporating small amount of protein at each meal and botanicals such as gymnema sylvestre have been shown to increase the cells uptake of glucose. A complete naturopathic protocol can help prevent cardiovascular and nervous system damage due to elevated blood sugar levels and educate you so you can help your own body heal.

High cholesterol

There are multiple factors that may contribute to elevated cholesterol levels. Many times there are dietary and exercise components that need to be addressed. In addition, there may be ineffective elimination of cholesterol through the gastrointestinal tract, lack of enzymes in our body to break down nutrients causing accumulation, or ineffective metabolism of cholesterol by the liver. A naturopathic approach would be multi-faceted focusing on diet, lifestyle and specific vitamins, minerals, enzymes or botanicals to help the digestive tract and liver function optimally.

Infertility

This condition is becoming increasingly common among men and women. A combination of factors contribute to its development such as food allergy/sensitivities, nutrient deficiencies, stress and hormonal imbalances. Through dietary and lifestyle modification, nutrient supplementation, acupuncture and stress management, balance can be restored.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and Fibromyalgia

Both of these conditions are on the rise. These conditions are usually a result of multiple system problems. Many times there is underlying sleep deprivation history that needs to be addressed or hormonal imbalance. In addition to nutrient depletions and dietary factors which may contribute to the problems, a naturopathic approach would focus on diet, lifestyle and try to determine which systems need to be brought back into balance. Focusing on the underlying causative factors needs to be addressed for people to regain energy and decreased pain.

Peripheral Neuropathy

This condition can be caused by but not limited to inflammation, nerve damage, lack of circulation, or nutritional deficiency.  Through the use of acupuncture, cold laser, physical medicine, and some supplements, patients have positive results and with decrease in pain and numbness, and may regain the full use of their hands, arms, legs, or feet. 

Naturopathic Education

A naturopathic medical doctor (NMD) attends an accredited, four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical institution after obtaining a basic pre-med undergraduate education. There are over 1500 hours of clinical training at a teaching naturopathic medical clinic. In addition to the basic medical sciences and conventional diagnostics, the naturopathic doctor is required to complete additional training in therapeutic nutrition, homeopathy, botanical medicine, physical medicine, counseling, acupuncture, and a few other modalities.

A naturopathic medical doctor takes rigorous professional basic science and clinical board examinations so that he or she may be licensed by a state or jurisdiction. Passing the naturopathic physicians licensing examinations (NPLEX) is required before a Doctor of Naturopathic medicine can be licensed as a naturopathic physician. Dr. Sly is a licensed Naturopathic Physician in Arizona.

Dr. Sly received her Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine from Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine, one of the few accredited schools of naturopathic medicine.  The naturopathic medicine program at Southwest College is accredited by the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (www.cnme.org).  For more information you can go to www.scnm.edu.