What Exactly Is a Naturopathic Doctor?
Naturopathic Doctors in Winnipeg and across the globe are the most highly trained integrative health care providers available to you.
So what is integrative? Technically, it means two things:
1) Serving or intending to unify separate things, and
2) Combining allopathic (“regular” medicine in North America) and complementary therapies.
Naturopathic Medicine is science based, just like conventional medicine, and uses the same principles of disease and diagnostics; but it also uses the principles of other medical paradigms, such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, the energetic healing capabilities of the world’s plants and homeopathy, and focuses on proactive care and disease prevention.
ND’s are well trained in pharmacology and botanical medicine, bodywork, vitamin and mineral supplementation, intravenous therapies, and can educate you on the expected side effects and possible substitutions for pharmaceuticals that impart unwanted side effects.
Licensed primary health care practitioners
This means their medical training is standardized and regulated to keep you safe. ND’s can perform many of the services that an MD does, including complete physical examinations, internal exams for both males and females, order blood and urine tests, review imaging studies and reports from other physicians and provide expert natural medical care. ND’s write licensing exams and are required to do continuing education training annually.
Health and symptoms of the whole person
It looks at how the body’s systems are working together and impacting each other, and employs much broader testing that includes assessing HOW things are working, AS WELL AS if they are not working. Recently this has been called a Functional Medicine approach, but ND’s have always employed assessments of function or dysfunction.
Proactive and prevention focus
ND’s are motivated to recover your health and work with you to improve your body’s functions until you are at a low risk level and in optimal condition. This means that an ND will work to correct the root cause of symptoms whenever possible, as well as lower your disease risk by improving your diet and lifestyle habits according to your concerns and family disease tendencies. ND visits are usually 30-45 minutes long, allowing your history and concerns to be heard and taken seriously.
Tailored treatments
That’s right – we provide plans for each and every patient’s needs.
For example, herbs and vitamins to improve the immune system can be supplied in capsules, or in liquid forms for those who are unable to swallow pills. While some patients may be interested in acupuncture, others may employ intravenous routes of medicine for rapid delivery of nutrients that bypass the digestive system, allowing for better use by the body and minimizing poor absorption, for example in Inflammatory bowel diseases like Colitis or in patients with an ileostomy.
Whether one has a diagnosis or not, Naturopathic Doctors can help find the root of the specific problem and improve health naturally.
To learn more about naturopathic doctors or to book a consultation with Dr. Sara Korsunsky ND, click here to access our contact page.