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Treatments
What to expect during a Naturopathic Consult
The goal of the naturopathic doctor
is to understand the patient and all the factors that impact on his/her health. The ND will take an in-depth patient history.
In addition, information from a physical exam and laboratory tests may assist in making an assessment and diagnosis. A
personal treatment plan will then be proposed to help facilitate the patient's healing process. It is not unusual for
the initial naturopathic consult to take 75-90 minutes, with subsequent consults lasting from 30-45 minutes.
Treatment Modalities Naturopathic doctors are trained as primary health care providers. Their
scope of practice includes:
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Clinical Nutrition: This involves the diagnostic evaluation of your nutritional
status and the use of therapeutic diets and nutritional supplementation.
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Botanical (Herbal) Medicine: This is the use of plants for their powerful yet gentle
healing properties.
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Homeopathic Medicine: Based on the principle of "like cures like" homeopathic
medicine was developed in the 1695s. Minute amounts of natural substances are used to stimulate the body's self-healing
abilities.
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Physical Medicine: This includes a variety of hands-on techniques for the spine, joints
and soft tissues. Physical treatment such as hydrotherapy, ultrasound, naturopathic bodywork and manipulation are used.
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Acupuncture and Asian Medicine: Based on balancing the flow of Chi (energy) through
meridian pathways, Asian medicine includes the use of acupuncture and herbs.
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Lifestyle Counseling: Physical, emotional, nutritional and environmental factors affect
health. NDs help patients to make effective lifestyle choices in accordance with the principles of prevention and treating
the patient on all levels.
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Advanced Diagnostic Testing There are numerous diagnostic tests available
through our clinic. These often go well beyond those tests that are traditionally covered by Medicare and available through
a conventional Medical Doctor. We do not have a lab on-site, but we can collect hair, urine, and stool samples and send them
off for analysis to various labs in Canada and the United States. Some of these advanced tests include:
- Food Allergy Tests: Using a small drop of blood from a
finger prick, the presence IgG antibodies to various foods, herbs, and spices can be identified. This approach combines accurate
identification of food allergies with in-office convenience.
- Male and Female Salivary Hormone Tests:
These tests measure the availability of active hormones in your body. As a result you are provided with information of hormonal
function, not just the total levels of hormones present in your body at a given time.
- Gastrointestinal
Tract Tests: A Comprehensive Digestive Stool Analysis (CDSA) can provide information on a patient's ability
to digest, metabolize, and absorb nutrients as well as report on all bacterial flora, all yeasts, and all intestinal parasites.
- Heavy
Metal Hair Analysis: Toxic (heavy) metals may be found in our deodorant, canned foods, baked goods, drinking
water and other commonly consumed products. They may build up in the body and may be linked Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis,
kidney damage, osteoporosis, heart disease and autism. These toxic elements may be up to several hundred times more highly
concentrated in hair than in blood or urine. Therefore, hair is the tissue of choice for detection of body burden and past
exposure to elements such as arsenic, aluminum, cadmium, lead, and mercury.
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