There are natural treatments for every complaint. I once heard from a wise doctor, “There are no incurable diseases, only incurable people”. What he meant was that every case of cancer may not be curable, but it is possible to cure cancer. No condition is incurable. What happens in treatment is more a factor of person, nature of disease, and other variables, and not so much which disease is being treated. It is more difficult, of course, to treat diseases that are long-standing, severe, or in other ways complicated. But that does not mean it can never been done. If a person does not want treatment and they get something from being in place they are at, that makes recovery all more difficult. It is much easier to treat conditions when they first start and when person wishes to be well. But still there are no guarantees.

What tends to work best for most people is a multifaceted approach to treating their condition. First, treat whole person. Find out what their needs are and treat them physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, as they need it. Treat their whole body. Migraines, arthritis, and urinary infections can be related and not separate diseases. A person may not need antibiotics or removal of an organ, they may need something that seems entirely unrelated. The toddler with constant stomach pains may not need medication; he may need to change day cares. Try to understand what is going on for person.

Second, treat them in such a way as to increase their vitality. The goal is to increase healing response within so that body becomes healthier and reverses disease process naturally and in its time (if this is possible). It may be necessary to provide some symptomatic relief, but goal of a treatment should not be to simply suppress symptoms. Just because symptoms are gone does not mean that disease is not there. The goal is a complete cure and no return of condition (sometimes this is possible, at other times it is not). Your body holds an incredible healing force that wants to keep you in harmonious balance at all times. Think of miracle of healing a broken bone. Think of how microorganisms cause your lungs much distress in bronchitis, yet how well you breathe and how complete cure when body is done healing that condition. Think of miracle of life itself. If disease arises when we hinder body in maintaining its perfect balance, then restoring conditions of balance will help our bodies to heal themselves. After all, it is not antibiotic that heals you. The antibiotic simply kills off enough bacteria to allow your body upper hand. Ask yourself if body shouldn’t have upper hand to begin with. If you really do need antibiotics, what is causing bacteria to gain upper hand?

Naturopathic medicine strives to restore balance by removing any obstacles keeping your body from healing itself. Physicians using this medicine understand importance of treating each person individually and in a way that helps restore their natural vitality. They also try to use most gentle yet effective treatment possible to avoid causing side effects or interactions between treatments. Naturopathic physicians also recognize importance of using conventional medicine when it is necessary. They will also use appropriate lab work, x-rays, and other tools for diagnosis and tracking when necessary. As all physicians, they frequently will refer a complicated condition to providers who can give patient best care along with natural treatments. Naturopaths regard wants and needs of their patients highly. A patient is encouraged to share their goals and take and active part in their healthcare. Consultations and treatments are generally longer than those with a conventional practitioner so questions can be addressed and a healing relationship established.

People did not begin to experience heart disease and cancer in such great numbers until advent of our more modern diet and lifestyle customs.

These “advances” included: •growing and eating more grains •discovering how to ‘refine’ and ‘preserve’ foods to extend shelf-life •consuming sugar and ‘simple‘ carbohydrates •pasteurizing and homogenizing dairy products

With human tampering of food overall health took an undeniable turn for worse.

Almost exclusively we now eat, even in so called ‘healthy‘ or ‘organic‘ foods, following: refined products, products with added sugar, preservatives, additives, petroleum products, animal products laden with antibiotics and hormones, and animals that are fed diets that they would never eat in wild (wild cattle do not eat other cattle, poultry by-products, or even grains; cattle eat grass).

Native cultures worldwide, before being indoctrinated with more westernized food choices, eat remarkably similar diets.

Since many food products spoil without refrigeration or freezing, most people fermented their foods. This supplies necessary probiotic bacteria, which many people supplement with today since we eat natural fermented foods so infrequently.

Whether or not they inhabited same regions, most people ate a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and animal products in season. Very few societies tip scales by eating mostly animal products (Inuit cultures) or mostly vegetarian (a few tribes in Africa and South America).

The similarities that bind historical human diet together are: •A diet based on fresh or fermented whole, unrefined foods •A diet high in essential fatty acids with an omega 6 to omega 3 ratio of 4:1 (current US diets have a ratio of 16:1) •A diet where spirituality around food is more meaningful than material •A diet with 10 times level of fat soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) •A diet lower in total calories overall

Wisdom passed down through ages says that a varied diet with foods found abundant in nature is best. In almost all cultures this means a diet, as available, of fresh or dried wild meats and fish, fermented cheeses, fresh whole or fermented milk, butter, eggs, fresh, dried, or fermented fruits, fresh or fermented vegetables, whole grains (these were fermented normally, even if dried), some beans, and water or fermented beverages to drink.

It is interesting to note that instead of eating fresh foods or those naturally fermented, we chose to cook or destroy what could spoil in our foods then add additives and preservatives. Are these ‘foods’ as digestible? Do they supply same nutrients? Does magic number of carbohydrates versus fats or proteins really matter? What if answer lies in ancient wisdom and thousands of years of knowledge?

Something to think about.

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