Category: Naturopathic Medicine

At NatureMed, we believe every patient should receive evidence-based medicine. Evidence-based medicine is not meant to be a cookbook, but rather a bottom-up decision system that integrates the best available scientific evidence with the doctor’s clinical experience according to the patient's circumstances and preferences. Patients in my practice receive evidence-based natural medicine. I am resistant to implementing treatments that do not have a reasonable amount of human data supporting them. Too often, conventional doctors use the term evidence-based medicine to describe what they have been taught to do. The assumption is that if there was good scientific evidence, they would have been taught about it. In other words, if they were not taught about it there is no evidence. Medicine has become more systematic and industrialized with prescribed standards of care which do not allow for lateral thinking. What is Evidence-based Medicine? According to the National Cancer Institute, the definition of evidence-based medicine is: “A systematic approach to medicine in which doctors and other health care professionals use the best available scientific evidence from clinical research to help make decisions about the care of individual patients. A physician’s clinical experience and the patient’s values and preferences are also important in...

The best part of human nature is the pursuit of improvement and curiosity. The invention of the world wide web in 1991 has not only enhanced but initiated this quality in humans. Just as patients have become disenchanted with the healthcare options offered by their primary care physician, doctors are also disenchanted with the limitations outlined by insurance companies and employers. This has led to a growing demand from both parties for alternative solutions. The first time in medical history that doctors attempted to seek alternative solutions to the conventional wisdom in medical practice dates back to early 19th century Europe. The nature cure movement was spawned by physicians in search of an alternative approach to healing which was truly health giving. This was a new approach as the medical practices at the time included purging, bleeding, and increased urination, often induced with such toxins as mercury and arsenic.  Today, some medical doctors are again seeking to move from a disease-centered model of practicing to a patient-centered model. They are seeking to utilize other forms of treatment for prevention, and not just relying on drugs and surgery. Although naturopathic medicine has been around for over 100 years, modernized terms such...

The Epstein-Barr virus causes a very common infection known as mononucleosis. Symptoms of mono include extreme fatigue, sore throat, fever, swollen lymph nodes, swollen tonsils, headache, rash, and sometimes a swollen spleen. However, some individuals develop a chronic reactivated Epstein-Barr (EBV) problem. [1],[2]  I have noticed this is common in people with chronic fatigue and have seen it quite a bit in competitive athletes. Detecting Reactivated Epstein-Barr In a study [3] on elite athletes with persistent fatigue, 27% were found to have chronic viral infections. Viral illness as a cause of long-term fatigue often goes undetected unless specific blood work is requested. In this study, eight of 37 athletes tested (22%) were actively secreting EBV into their saliva at the time of testing. The detection of EBV shedding suggests immune dysregulation and may contribute to the symptoms experienced by these athletes. EBV reactivation has recently been established in swimmers engaged in intensive training and is thought to result from exercise induced alterations in the immune mechanisms responsible for controlling viral reactivation. Evidence of infection was also found for cytomegalovirus (five cases), EBV (three cases), Ross River virus (one case), toxoplasmosis (one case), and mycoplasma (one case). Eight of the 37...

Functional medicine is very similar to naturopathic training. Emphasis is placed on the cause of disease rather than ways of masking symptoms. Functional medicine is also very personalized and aims to examine the underlying biochemical and physiologic terrain. Laboratory testing is a primary feature of this type of medicine. Functional medicine is really the same thing is naturopathic medicine, and it’s known that functional medicine tests are extremely helpful in giving the provider facts in lieu of guesswork. What's the Difference Between Integrative and Functional Medicine? Functional medicine does not typically diagnose diseases but instead will diagnose many underlying factors that contribute to disease. Common diagnoses through functional medicine are nutritional deficiencies, food allergies, or an intestinal parasite, to name a few. For instance, irritable bowel syndrome may actually be caused by an intestinal microbial imbalance, imbalanced nervous system, or food allergies. This would be an example of treating the cause. Often, standard conventional medicine tests do not look deep enough. Functional medicine testing is a good fit for conditions that are not improving with conventional treatment, or for conditions that defy a diagnosis. The term functional applies to how the body functions. What Health Issues Can Functional Medicine Treat?...

A common question that integrative and holistically minded practices are often asked is whether or not functional medicine is covered by insurance. Functional medicine is a style of practice that typically includes extensive testing. See our post about the difference between integrative and functional medicine for an in-depth explanation. The business model of a functional medicine practice does not integrate well with the conventional insurance model. Functional medicine describes a way of treating dysfunction in the body and finding the underlying cause of disease. Emphasis is placed on knowing the patient and a highly personalized approach. It’s the opposite of the one size fits all, cookie-cutter medicine that is unfortunately very prevalent today in primary care. By treating the cause of disease, expensive procedures and prescriptions can sometimes be avoided.  Functional medicine is a more in-depth look into what is going on with the patient. Visits can be an hour or more and insurance will not cover this type of visit. What Health Issues Can Functional Medicine Treat?   The Divide Between the Functional Medicine Approach and Conventional Insurance Model Occasionally you may find a medical doctor who takes insurance and agrees to run a few tests through some of...