How to Evaluate a Naturopathic Treatment?

Answer 1

Over the last decade, the prevalence of naturopathic treatments has increased exponentially. One of the main criticisms of these types of treatments, though, is that there is really no set way of evaluating naturopathic medicine’s claims regarding cures. This makes the prescribed treatments and their effects highly subjective in nature, so knowing if they work or not becomes a great concern for the consumer. One’s health is in the balance and, to a lesser extent, treatments cost money – and there are many charlatans out there who will take your money and leave you to imagine that a cure has taken place. What one needs is a way to determine whether the cure is really happening, and this article will give you some basics criteria to use in your evaluation.

Step 1: Be honest with yourself. If you are being treated with both traditional medicine and naturopathic medicine, it is possible that the cure is in the traditional medicine, with the naturopathic medicine merely being used to help you “feel better.” There is nothing wrong with this, but place it in its proper perspective when comparing and evaluating the effectiveness of your medicines.

Step 2: If you are solely relying on naturopathic medicine, then the best evaluation is to stop treatment for a couple of days and see if the symptoms return. If they do, then that is an indication that the treatment is working and should be continued.

Step 3: The idea of naturopathic medicine is that the disease in the body is treated holistically, and therefore one is merely training the body to take care of itself. If your naturopathic physician is telling you that you will be on a certain medicine “for years to come” and he “just happens to have the correct medicine” (for a large amount of money), then this should be some indication that there is a problem with the physician. They are clearly not following the basic principles of naturopathic medicine.

In conclusion, even in the case of your health, “let the buyer beware” is a fundamental principle one should follow. On the other hand, it is equally right to say that if the cure is working, you should follow it to its conclusions.