Early Criticisms of Naturopathic Health Practitioners

When science got to the point where it could explicitly demonstrate how and why the medicine it offered would work (and was working) the public began to understandably adopt a cynical view towards anyone claiming to have any cure which did not fit within the accepted testimony of the scientific enterprise.

Many of these herbal remedies were more than effective, but the research simply wasn’t there to back it up.

At least not back then.

Nowadays, the side effects experienced from pharmaceutical-grade pills have people searching for organic alternatives for both them and their pets.

In some cases, the side effects of one drug requires, itself, another prescription drug, leading humans and animals further and further from a state anywhere close to natural. People have begun to (once again) recognize that in some instances supplementing the body’s healing capacities is a much better decision than introducing a foreign element in the form of a pill.

The Science of Nature

More and more research has come out revealing the potency of naturally treating different ailments. Anecdotal testimony has given way to proper scientific testing, and the best of both worlds (Rx and Holistic) is now beginning to show itself in our modern veterinary medicine.

One can go to school to learn the intricacies of traditional medicine, or one can go to school to learn the intricacies of naturopathic medicine.

Both are seen as two legitimate sides to the same body of wellness.

People and their pets are beginning to look at heath and healing in terms of more than just the observable processes in the body. Things like exercise, proper sleep, and social interaction are now all considered vital components to proper health in addition to appropriate nutrition.

The workable elements of traditional medicine have now combined with those of the naturopathic for many people.

In other words, the two perspectives are no longer mutually exclusive; they are mutually advantageous.

In the next blog we’ll take an in-depth look at our personal philosophy of natural pet health and how you can use it to achieve the utmost vitality for your animal companion.

Stay tuned for part 3, Natural Cures for Pets.

Dr. Loridawn Gordon

At First Pet Naturals we take the ‘naturals’ part seriously.

In fact, we’re in love with nature and all it has to offer.

Living in an increasingly artificial world, we feel your pet’s health is best served by a philosophy of minimal medicine and preventive care. The body has the innate power to fight its own battles without relying on a pill.

In the following 3-part blog series we’re going to take a careful look at the Naturopathic vs. Rx perspectives—the theories themselves, the history, and finally, our recommendations on how to achieve a happy, healthy life for your pet.

A Traditional Medicine Definition

Sometimes we tend to look at medicine in a logical, left-brain manner that quantifies and isolates environmental factors down to constituent details.

If our pet gets sick we tend to focus on the microbe, bacteria, virus, or likewise individual variables as the sole cause of the issue. Obviously in doing so, we’ve latched onto what is a verifiable truth: those things do cause illness.

At least in part.

Scientists analyze and repeatedly study the theory in the sense that there should be an objective formula for success that can be applied to everyone, every time—in short, a drug.

What is Holistic Health?

Alternative medicine looks at things differently: microbes, bacteria, virus, and other variables concerning disease are seen to exist amongst many others variables, unrecognized by pharmaceutical medicine in a larger bodily equation.

Hippocrates, a Greek physician who lived over 2,400 years ago, first formulated the ‘naturopathic’ theory of using nature to heal the body. It has remained the core of the philosophy to this day.

After all, many toxins are arguably ever-present in our living spaces. When functioning properly with the appropriate nutrients, the body has the resources to block infection, and to expel built-up unwanted materials from the body.

Likewise with different diseases like cancer, the conditions arise from an imbalance of some sort.

This is where the term “holistic medicine” comes from: the approach that seeks to find the underlying factor which is responsible for affecting the system as a whole; not just the symptom(s.)

Treating Causes vs Treating Symptoms

To understand the fundamental difference between drugs and supplements, let’s look at an easy example: someone who has a headache.

The pain of the headache is the symptom. The Rx approach would be to target that variable head-on: if you’re feeling pain, take something that blocks pain. Say, aspirin.

The holistic approach might be to look at what the cause of the pain must/might be. Say, dehydration. In this case the alternative approach might be to simply supplement the issue with some water.

If one chooses the aspirin option they might receive relief from pain faster than waiting for their body to rehydrate through drinking some water; however, the main difference between the two treatments is that with aspirin something foreign has been introduced into the body that will itself cause a chain of effects side effects.

That is, the aspirin stresses the liver, and harder drugs have much harder side effects. Sometimes to the point where the treatment is even more invasive than the actual issue at hand. For instance, getting a tonsillectomy (removal of the tonsils) is quite drastic in comparison to simply avoiding certain foods and getting the proper rest.

In this sense, we’re talking about immediacy as opposed to the long-term outlook.

In part 2 we’ll take a close look at the Naturopathic vs. Traditional ‘pill-based’ approaches to medicine, and how what were once opposites have come to exist as complementary components of one and other.

Dr. Loridawn Gordon