When life gets busy, we often find that there’s very little time left for self-care. Or, if you manage to scrape together enough time to do something nice for yourself, you might have that niggling thought in the back of your mind about all the things you’ve put on hold to do it. Many people believe that taking care of themselves is selfish – however, it can be the opposite. By taking care of yourself mentally and physically, you’ll be better prepared to take on the challenges that life throws your way, and better able to support your loved ones too.

While perfect nails or beautiful hair might make you feel good about yourself on the surface, true health involves feeling good about yourself inside and out. Healthy eating and exercise might sound cliché – but with a proper regimen exclusively designed for you and your body, you’ll find it’s an incredibly supportive way to empower you in matters of your health.

What Is Naturopathy?

Naturopathy is a system of treatment that takes us back to basics. Rooted in tradition and revived in the 19th century, it has steadily grown into a reputable practice that takes a holistic approach to healthcare. Rather than treating symptoms as individual and distinct phenomena, naturopaths consider everything about your health and lifestyle to create a holistic treatment plan that gets to the root of the problem – rather than placating the symptoms giving you the most bother.

There are many benefits of naturopathy, however, these will depend on your health concerns as well as other related, intertwined factors. A naturopath will never recommend treatment that will inflame other conditions or negatively impact other treatments you may be receiving. This can limit your options – however, it is for your safety that this is the case.

Benefits of naturopathy include:

Managing quality of life limiting symptoms such as hormonal imbalances,
Improving sleep quality,
Increasing mindfulness through meditation,
Understanding how diet and exercise play a vital role in our health,
Helping to understand your body so you can predict flare-ups,
Managing stress levels

What Are the Benefits of a Naturopath?

Unlike conventional medicine, naturopathy isn’t limited to reacting to established conditions and symptoms. Rather, a naturopath is able to use a holistic (whole body) approach to your care – both targeting existing issues, while offering preventative options too.

Naturopathy is distinct from the western tradition in this way. However, despite being based on ancient practices, modern naturopaths are inspired by modern scientific research and innovation too. Our priority is your health. Naturopathy isn’t exclusive from modern medicines either – so you don’t always have to pick one or the other. A professional women’s naturopath can help you bridge the gap between the relief offered by prescribed medicines, and the symptoms that have been neglected.

Urban Lifestyles Can Come with Negative Health Consequences

Our bodies are under considerable strain in the modern urban and busy lifestyle. There’s a lower focus on nature and respite from the crowds than in rural areas. Covering large distances means we often rely on transport to make the commute manageable, rather than walking. For some, getting to the gym can be quite the mission – whether it’s too far from home/work, childcare needs, or existing painful conditions that make the thought of exercise a challenge in itself.

Urban environments impact your physical health through concentrated air pollution from vehicle exhaust fumes that can result in respiratory conditions such as asthma. Minute particulates in the air can also lead to cardiovascular concerns and reduced lung capacity. Elevated light pollution and constant noise can impact your mental wellbeing, while industrialised and built-up areas have significantly reduced access to green spaces. Psychological impacts can include anxiety, isolation, and chronic stress – which can also show up as physical symptoms.

As a society, there’s been a recent lack of focus on the benefits of nature – or walking and healthy food. Often, it’s all hustle, which can have a significant impact on your physical health and mental wellness. Of course, a naturopath does more than offer nutritional advice. We can help you create a manageable program of dietary changes, suitable and accessible exercises, offer health boosting herbal supplements, detoxification programs, homeopathy, and so much more. By understanding your lifestyle, we can help discover the underlying cause (which may not show up on a conventional medical test) and give you the validation you need to tackle these challenges head-on.

Using a range of approaches, a naturopath can take your entire body health into consideration, to create a tailored recommendation that’s perfect for where you are with your health and, importantly, where you want to be.

What Are the Seven Principles of Naturopathy?

Just like conventional doctors, naturopathic practitioners live and work by a set of principles designed to maintain the integrity of the profession, while protecting the client and offering the best level of service possible.

Do No Harm: the naturopath’s version of the Hippocratic Oath. Naturopathic doctors work with the principle that there is a hierarchy of possible treatment routes for each patient. If the treatment option has the potential to harm the client in any way, the naturopath will discard this potential route and move on to the next. Possible safety concerns may be drug interactions, allergies, and potential for treatment to cause injury. Naturopaths must be aware of these to ensure the client’s safety throughout their journey.
Nature’s Healing Power: Naturopaths accept that the body has its own innate healing power and that treatment options are provided to support the body’s natural processes. The naturopath’s role is to identify the best course of treatment for each patient, determined by that patient’s unique bodily system which exists alongside universal functions.
Treat The Cause: Finding the root cause of a health issue is a priority for naturopaths. That’s because it is widely accepted that disease and health follow the rules of logic: there must be a reason why you are experiencing these particular symptoms (rather than others). To do this, naturopaths need extensive information about your health (possibly including familial health history to establish genetic links), diet, lifestyle, and any previous and existing conventional medical care received. This information will directly inform your tailored health plan.
Treat The Whole Person: The holistic (whole body) approach to healthcare has long been associated with naturopathy. At its base, this means that – rather than treating your symptoms as distinct and solitary – the positive and negative aspects of your health will be considered as interconnected. Nature is harmonious – and our bodies should work in harmony too. While urban living often interrupts this natural balance, naturopathy can help you realign.
Doctor As a Teacher: Naturopaths, as a rule, don’t gatekeep your health from you. Rather, it’s our duty to help you understand your health and the steps you can take to make a lasting positive impact on your quality of life. By speaking in a jargon-free manner, and explaining any complicated messages in an accessible way, helps you stay in control of your healthcare.

Education is fundamental for making an informed choice, so if there’s ever anything you don’t understand, please don’t hesitate to ask questions.

Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: By taking a holistic approach, your naturopath will identify environmental stressors, lifestyle implications, and genetic predispositions to discover the best way to help you proactively manage your current and future health.
Wellness and Wellbeing: wellness and wellbeing combines best health practices while understanding that a long-term good health experience must consider the physical, psychological, and spiritual aspects.

What Is Naturopathy Treatment Good For?

Naturopathy treatment is good for a wide range of health conditions, using the healing power of nature to promote better health. Some have found great results in choosing a natural approach to respiratory conditions, menopause, PMS pains, fertility concerns, stress, muscle aches, weight loss, headaches, nausea, and many more. Depending on your symptoms, there may be a range of treatments available to discuss.

So, how does naturopathy promote good health? By prioritising natural resources and non-pharmaceutical intervention, naturopathy supports your body and its own natural healing power. Naturopathy takes stock of your health and habits to guide you towards healthier practices, offering empathetic support throughout your journey to wellness and wellbeing.

If you would like to discuss how an experienced, professional naturopath can help you, Naturopathic Wellness is ready to help you take the first step towards taking control of your health.