Naturopathy Naturopathic medicine is founded on the principle of wholistic practice. That is, the practitioner looks at all aspects of the person’s life – diet, lifestyle, emotional and social wellbeing. All these factors are taken into account when assessing the patient and looking to understand what factors have contributed to the person’s state of health. The harmonious functioning of all these aspects in a person’s life are essential to regaining health and vitality. By addressing all these areas your treatment can be based on your individual and specific requirements. As quoted in the ancient texts, health is not just the absence of disease or illness, it is the presence of vitality, a dynamic balance between body, mind and emotions. Wellness is a lifelong process, and devotion to this process brings unbounded rewards of energy, aliveness and peace of mind for our immediate and long term health. The World Health Organisation defines health as: 'A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being'. Naturopathic practice is based on this same principle, an inclusive and all encompassing philosophy of improving health on all levels. Medical practice on the other hand is more focused on the disease process not the health process. Naturopaths provide both acute and chronic health care management, but also seek to provide education for the client so they can improve and maintain their health long term. At the Bunbury Natural Health Centre we follow the TLC programme. That is the Therapeutic Lifestyle Change programme. The changes to your diet and lifestyle create the fundamentals for your improved health and vitality. By providing relevant information the practitioner is allowing the client to develop responsibility for their health. This takes the place of the current medical model where Doctors are seen as the experts of a person’s health. Practitioners, medical or natural should be seen as facilitators on the person’s road to health. The aim of any Naturopathic treatment (diet, lifestyle, herbs and nutritionals) is to support and complement the body’s own attempts to heal. Herbalism Herbal medicine is still the oldest and most practised system of medicine in the world today. Herbal medicine is based on the use of specific plant parts that have medicinal healing properties and these properties allow the practitioner to help the person restore balance, to assist in prevention of disease and to enhance well-being. Herbal medicine follows the principle of working to support the body to encourage its own healing response. Using plants as medicine provides significant advantages for treating many conditions. Herbs are designed to assist the body in the healing process, providing a framework or structure to assist the body in returning to a point of balance. At the Bunbury Natural Health Centre we use a combination of Western herbs and Chinese herbal formulaes. When using traditional Western or Chinese herbal medicine every patient is treated individually, based on the notion that one does not treat the disease or condition but rather the person. In other words two people with the same complaint may be treated entirely differently, if their constitutions and life situations are different. Herbal medicine as mentioned is the oldest form of medicine and is found in all original cultures. Even our modern pharmaceutical industry is based on active ingredients found often in botanical medicines or herbs. For example, (one of) the active ingredient(s) in white willow bark has been chemically manufactured and sold as Asprin. The chemical manufacture is important for Pharmaceutical companies as they can patent the product. Plants and botanical medicines can not be patented and therefore hold no attraction finacially for these multinational companies. Chinese herbal formulaes are based on the principle of Yin and Yang and the dynamic balance between the two. Although Western Medical Herbalism and Chinese Herbal Medicine have 2 very different philosophy's and backgrounds they both serve the purpose of helping the client tor regain balance. All herbal formulae are designed to support and enhance the clients health and wellbeing. The Western medicinal herbs are purchased from Mediherb, the leading manufacturer in Australia. Mediherb products are well sourced and well researched and offer quality second to none. The Chinese formulaes are from the reputable Sun Ten range. Again these herbs are sourced from the highest quality herbs only. NutritionWe all know that it is important to eat the correct balance of foods, but what is the best food for us? Our nutritional programme is based around using a person's blood group as a guiding factor in determining which foods best suit the client's optimum health and wellbeing. Having worked with the Blood Group Diet for over 10 years we have seen remarkable results not just in improved energy, but also with weight loss, reduced inflammatory processes such as gout and arthritis and an improvement in blood sugar levels for those who have diabetes or abnormal blood sugar levels. But the good news doesn't stop there. People with high cholesterol, inflammatory bowel disorders etc have all found some if not 100% relief by following a nutritional programme put together by Victoria West (Naturopath), and based around the Blood Group Diet. Because of Victoria's extensive experience with health and nutrition she is able to tailor an eating programme to achieve positive health outcomes, whether this is managing weight, health, energy, cholesterol or other conditions. The Blood Group Diet is based around the 4 basic blood groups. Type O; A; B and AB. Type O is considered to be the original blood group and so does well on a diet of meat, fish fruit and vegetables. Type A people function at their best when they adopt a mainly vegetarian diet eating only white meats such as free range chicken, fish and turkey. Beans and grains help to maintain energy, weight and wellbeing when combined in a complete nutritional programme. Blood type B people function at their best when they avoid foods such as chicken, buckwheat, rye and corn and Blood Type AB also are best to avoid chicken. Of course there is a lot more to considering health and wellbeing other than your blood type but this remarkable diet has continued to perform well and acts as a framework in the practice. If you are interested in knowing more about this wonderful approach please contact us by email or phone. | 