WHAT IT IS, AND WHY IT COULD CHANGE YOUR LIFE!
"The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest his patient in the care of the human frame, in diet and in the cause and prevention of disease."
Thomas Edison
A revolution is presently taking place in health care. Science and medicine now have in their possession the technology and the understanding necessary to appreciate the full value of natural therapies. Edison's words are prophetic. And right at the forefront of this revolution is naturopathic medicine.
Although the term naturopathy is a relatively new one (late 19th century), its philosophical roots can be traced back to Hippocrates. It is a system of health-oriented medicine which stresses maintenance of health and prevention of disease. It contrasts directly with the current conventional disease-oriented medical system.
For example, doctors often tell their patients "Your blood pressure is a little high. We'll need you to take these drugs, and come in every few months or so to check on it"; or "Your pap smear came back a class III. We'll need a repeat in two months to see if it changes" (meaning hopefully it will get better on its own, but if doesn't we'll do a cone biopsy -i.e. surgically remove the inner part of the cervix) or "Sure you're tired. You're getting older now. It's normal."
Each of these is an example of an easily treatable condition which frequently progresses to the disease state because appropriate preventive measures are not employed.
This is exactly what happens in our complex health (or shouldn't we more accurately say Disease!) system. The average Aussie has an unhealthy disease - promoting lifestyle, but the tools available to the local GP (drugs and surgery) never address this underlying reality.
Although often effective when appropriately applied (eg surgery for appendicitis is life saving), drugs and surgery often have too many side or adverse effects to be usefully employed in the treatment of many early, common, or recurring problems people may have.
By way of contrast, naturopathic Physicians are trained in finding the underlying cause rather than treating or suppressing the symptoms. Naturopathic physicians don't wait for disease to progress before they institute appropriate preventive measures. We work on the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! The following examples are typical of easily preventable diseases in the making:
Good reasons to consult a qualified naturopath...
- Cervical cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed malignancy found in Australian women aged 15-34, but what some doctors don't know is that 67% of patients with cervical cancer are deficient in one or more nutrients, and as a group have a level of serum beta-carotene (critical for the prevention of cancer of cells like those in the cervix) only one half that of normal women. Preventable? You bet!
- Over 90% of people with high blood pressure have "essential" or "idiopathic" hypertension, meaning the doctor does not know what is causing the elevation. The naturopathic physician does in fact know and can track the cause back to lifestyle and dietary factors. Treatable naturally? You bet!
- When properly diagnosed, elderly patients are often found to have easily treatable problems which are causing debility. For example, over half of those over 60 that we treat have been found to have hypochlorhydria (low levels of hydrochloric acid in the stomach) which leads to malnutrition, and other problems such as osteoporosis.
The more one studies the health problems of Australians today the more apparent it becomes that naturopathic medicine has much to offer. Thomas Edison's "Doctor of the Future" is alive and well and with us today!
If you would like more information about any of the above please contact us .
What is Homeopathy?
DRUG FREE MEDICINE!
Homoepathy is a pharmaceutical-drug free form of medical treatment in which remedies are used in minute concentrations. These substances come from plant, animal and mineral sources.
The best way of explaining how it works is to think of homoeopathic remedies a little like a silicon chip. Today's communications have taken minaturisation to dizzying heights. One generation ago, computers filled whole floors in office buildings. Today's personal computers are hundreds of times more powerful and can sit on your lap! At the end of the day it is the SIGNAL that matters. And that is precisely the principle on which homoeopathy is based.
SIMILIA SIMILIBUS CURRENTUR
Or in plain English - “like cures like”. This is the basis on which homoeopathic medicines send signals to the body.
For example, coffee normally has a stimulating effect and can cause palpitations, insomnia, etc. In homoeopathic doses however coffee has the opposite effect. It calms! And can be used for treating tension and sleeplessness.
WHERE DID IT COME FROM?
Homoeopathy was originated in “modern” times by a German doctor - Samuel Hahnemann - who was born in 1755. There is evidence to suggest that its true origins go back many thousands of years, and in reality it was probably rediscovered by Hahnemann.
Hahnemann became very disillusioned with the medicine of his day. Like today, the drugs that he used caused very severe and debilitating side effects. As a brilliant scholar, Hahnemann believed that there had to be a better way, and he began to research the use of drugs - using himself and his family and friends to test their effects on healthy people.
Using cinchona bark - a remedy for malaria - he found that the symptoms produced by the drug in healthy people mimicked the symptoms of the disease itself. Hahnemann was fascinated and became obsessed by his research which led to his theory that like cures like (or in Latin, Similia Similibus Currentur).
Hahnemann went on to scientifically establish that by using smaller doses for treating illness, he could produce the same effect without causing toxic effects. Ironically, the more dilute the dose, the more potent the homoeopathic drug became.
Together with a group of loyal followers, Hahnemann set about testing a whole range of drugs and noting in great detail the effects they produced. These “provings” became the basis of the practice of Homoeopathy. Today there are more than 4000 known remedies.
Homoeopathy spread to the rest of Europe from Germany, as well as to America, Canada, Australia, and India. By 1890, fully 25% of the medical profession in America practised homoeopathy. A number of homoeopathic hospitals were opened in Australia including Prince Henry's (a teaching hospital at Monash University).
Homoeopathy became unfashionable in Australia with the upsurge in pharmaceutical drugs and the (unfulfilled!) promise of wonder cures for all sorts of ailments.
Overseas, Homoeopathy continued to be practised by a constant stream of enthusiastic followers, and in Britain has been the treatment of choice for the British Royal Family for several generations. Homoeopathy is taught in German medical courses.
No-one can say for sure what precise mechanism is involved with Homoeopathy. It appears most likely that it plays a role in regulating the body's bio-electric energy in a way that complements and has similarities to acupuncture.
Energy fields in the body were not considered to exist by medical scientists until after the Second World War when pioneering Japanese research provided conclusive proof that acupuncture points all represent specific and precise points of lowered electrical resistance at skin level.
This research was vividly confirmed by the Russian scientists Kirlian and Kirlian. They showed that by placing living objects in a high frequency electrical field, a moving halo formed which they could photograph with very high speed film. The halo is thought to be an interaction between the magnetic field and the bio-electric energy of the living person, animal or plant.
Homoeopathic remedies are prescribed in the same manner as conventional medicines, fitting the remedy to the symptoms that are present. They may be taken in the form of drops or pills. They lose their efficacy if exposed to strong sunlight, heat or ultra-sound. They should ideally be kept in a cool, dark place away from strongly smelling foods.
For maximum effect, homoeopathic remedies should be taken away from food and you should not drink coffee, tea or alcohol, or smoke within half an hour of taking the remedy.
Homoeopathy works. It is a powerful natural form of treatment which uses very dilute substances. Your body responds to this microscopic signal and stimulates the responses necessary to heal the symptoms mimicked by the remedy. It is especially beneficial when used with acupuncture or laser treatment which seems to produce a synergistic effect.
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