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Western medicine is often seen as invasive, reactionary and only focused on the acute symptoms of an individual when compared to the more holistic approaches of eastern medicine. Naturopathy, an alternative medicine practice associated with holistic medicine, is in fact a European movement that was started in the late 19th century and has been widely accepted in the United States. Naturopathy’s insistence on allowing the body to heal itself has been steadily climbing in popularity in the United States and Canada and is increasingly seen as a positive alternative to medical practices that involve harsh drugs with side-effects and treatments that often make people as sick as the illness itself.
The modern form of Naturopathy as we know it begun in 1895 by Benedict Lust in New York. Based on his teachings a manifesto outlining Naturopathy’s principles has been put forth. It states Naturopathy’s goals are to:
1) provide health care that does no harm and presents the least risk to a patient.
2) Realize that the most potent healing power comes from within the body.
3) Treat the root causes of illness instead of the symptom
4) promote awareness about the powerful potential of the human body for healing
5) Take into consideration all of the factors that may be involved in an individual’s health
With its focus on the individual rather than on the symptom, Naturopathy advocates nutrition (whole foods diet, vegetarianism), lifestyle change (nature retreats), and other forms of alternative medicine such as acupuncture instead of invasive surgery or synthetic drugs. As a holistic medicine Naturopathy has been widely accepted in the United States. Various schools and programs exist to teach Naturopathy as a science and various licensed practitioners have set up practices all over the United States.
With its storied past, high rate of success and famous followers of the philosophy, Naturopathy has been one of the most successful forms of holistic medicine practiced in the United States.
