Naturopathic medicine is a system and philosophy of medicine that has been around for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years. Before advent of ‘conventional’ medicine, which uses a wide variety of drugs and surgical procedures, almost every doctor learned how to use herbs, minerals, homeopathy, and other natural methods to treat disease. Since early 1900’s and with discovery of antibiotics, usage and public knowledge of naturopathic medicine has declined. This was most likely due to ‘quick fix’ nature of many of new drugs developed and increased safety of surgical procedures. Diseases such as influenza and measles, which today are generally nuisances and easily treated in most people, were very scary and sometimes life threatening in these earlier times. The plague literally plagued people. Today we are blessed with better opportunities for proper nutrition, hygiene, and information about these diseases, all of which lessen threat of many of more common diseases becoming life threatening. The attraction that people had towards conventional medicine was and is understandable. Treatments that decrease symptoms of a disease are often well received by patients who are dealing with a troublesome condition. Most advances in technology are viewed as progress and people want best, especially where their health or that of their loved ones is concerned. The problem that came with this flux towards conventional medicine was that it was new and no one knew what side effects or long-term effects of using synthetic drugs would be. Also, most people abandoned more natural methods of health care and stopped caring for themselves in a way that would keep them strong and vital. Instead they began using pills and surgery as ‘fixes’ when things went wrong. They began to eat more processed foods that have fewer vitamins and minerals. Our environment became more polluted. Most doctors know little about nutrition, how or what to eat, or what to do with people affected by environment. As well, more scientific medicine gets, less people understand it. This leads to people feeling ignorant about health matters and leaving all power in their doctor’s hands.

So, here we are today. When people feel sick or know something is wrong, they make an appointment and usually get a prescription. If that doesn’t work, another prescription is tried. If a person is lucky, they get sick very infrequently and live healthy lives. Complications arise when treatments given don’t work or cause side effects that need another treatment to lessen them. What happens if you have allergies, asthma, and diabetes? How many prescriptions do you take? What if drugs given interact with each other or cause a nutritional deficiency? What about people who are on a drug for rest of their lives? What about people with chronic diseases that have been told they have no cure but symptoms can be ‘managed’?