Introduction to Naturopathy

                    The natural way of healing Naturopathy shows the way.... God has not given us any disease for which he has not provided a remedy, only we must have the vision to look at it! Naturopathic Medicine, or Naturopathy, is a system of medicine that uses natural substances to treat the patient and recognition that the patient`s mental, emotional, and physical states must all be treated for a lasting effect.

                   Naturopathy is based on the belief that the body is self-healing. The body will repair itself and recover from illness spontaneously if it is in a healthy environment. Naturopaths have many remedies and recommendations for creating a healthy environment so the body can spontaneously heal itself.

Though the term Naturopathy was coined in 1895, this type of medicine had been practiced for hundreds, if not thousands of years prior. The fundamental difference of Nature Care with other systems is that theory and practice are based on holistic view point whereas the latter`s approach is specific. Nature Care does not believe in the specific cause of disease and its specific treatment but takes into account the totality of factors responsible for disease such as one`s unnatural habits in living, thinking, working, sleeping, relaxing, sexual indulging etc.

                 It also considers the environmental factors involved which on the whole disturb the normal functioning of the body and lead it to a morbid, weak and toxic state. The foundation of Naturopathic medicine is the vitalistic philosophy of the healing power of nature. This means that within every human organism there is a healing energy, which includes our immune system in the fuller sense of both the physical and the psyche, which is responsible for our wellness and our ability to heal and maintain health.

Principles of Naturopathy

       Naturopathy is a holistic, natural healing system that focuses on the prevention and treatment of diseases and promotion of the self healing process. This method of treatments includes herbs, massage, fasting, detoxification, acupuncture, hydro therapy etc.

It blends the old, natural, traditional therapies with the current study of health. Naturopathic doctors follow six principles of healing based on the observation of health and diseases with scientific methods.

-The healing power of nature-

It is believed that human body has an inborn ability to heal itself and maintain and restore good health. So, here the Naturopaths teach the patient about the self-healing skills of the body by identifying the cause and eliminating the impediments and establish a healthy internal and external environment.

-Do not harm the body-

The main emphasis is on avoiding any harm to the patient. The Naturopaths develop methods which minimizes the risk of harmful side-effects to the body. The diagnosis, treatment are all measured keeping in mind the individual`s healing process and refer for proper treatment when naturopathic healing therapies are incompatible to the patient`s health.

-Identify and treat the cause-

-Every illness of the body occurs with a cause. The Naturopathic doctors seek to identify the cause and treat the patient rather than just suppress/eliminate the symptoms.

-Heal the whole person-

A broad approach to diagnosis and treatment: Naturopaths take into account the patient`s over all mental, physical, environmental, emotional, social, spiritual factors that affects the health.

-The physician as Teacher-

The Naturopathic doctors teach the patient and instill in mind the self-responsibility for their own good health. With strong encouragement and motivation, the physician maintains a therapeutic potential of a good doctor-patient rapport.

-Prevention is the best cure-

-The most vital health care method is the prevention of disease and can be achieved through education, promotion of healthy lifestyle/healthy living. The Naturopaths evaluate the risk factors and make timely interventions to prevent illness.

This Articles ather Rathiloganathan Selvraj EXPERIENCES WITH NATURAL FOOD

     My name is Rathiloganathan and I am 33. I am living in India, married and have two daughters of age 10 and 5. I was a non-vegetarian before and I also used to take lot of milk and milk products like milk, curd, butter, ghee, buttermilk, cheese etc. I was having wheezing problem, pain in the body, continuous sneezing in the morning,  sweating in the body etc. I use to give 3 glasses of milk everyday to my elder daughter when she was 5 years old  thinking that milk is very nutritious with calcium and protein. She used to suffer from cold and cough very often. I was under the impression that I was providing the most nutritious combination of food - egg and milk. Yet something was wrong with her immunity that she fell sick often. Visit to the physician became a regular affair, atleast once in a month. When my second daughter was born I consumed lots of egg in my diet thinking that it will help in lactation. I became so fat and I weighed 75 kgs (My height is only 150 cms) and it also resulted in lots of complications to the body. My husband suffered from migraine, kidney stone and rheumatism. My search of health books for the correct diet ended with the book IYARKAI UNAVE NOI THEERKUM MARUNTHU written by Shri. M.A.Appan  in Tamil. The topic of the book means that NATURAL FOOD IS THE MEDICINE FOR ALL DISEASES. Reading the book I was totally amazed to know that the author himself who was a leprosy patient in his younger days got rid of leprosy and is leading a healthy life. Though he tried all types of treatments, he did not get cured. On the advice of his brother Shri. Ramakrishnan he stopped all medicines and ate natural food only and got rid of leprosy. He is now living in kulasekarapattinam of Tamilnadu. He is 70 now and takes care of  3 acre land all by himself. Many persons had told their experiences regarding natural food  in that book. I was more and more amazed to read that many coma, epilepsy, asthma, cancer patients who were left hopeless by the allopathy doctors have got cured by natural food. So I stopped non-veg and reduced milk and milk products in my diet. Before that I used to buy 2 litres of milk every day for my family. Now at present I have completely stopped milk and milk products after 4 years. At the same time I started to include natural food (raw and uncooked food) in my diet. Gradually I got rid of all my diseases without any medicines. My daughters and my husband are also healthy now. My weight came to 51 Kgs without any exercise. I feel very active and enthusiastic now. It has brought positive changes in my character too. Now I am tolerant, smiling, cheerful and relaxed with  sound mind. I am a working mom. I am able to balance both home and office at ease. I don't get stressed up or get exhausted at the end of the day. I work on computers and still have healthy eyes/vision. I don't have eye irritation, watering of eyes etc even if I work for long hours (12 hrs) in the system. I wish the readers to follow this diet and be healthy.

BLOOD AND NATURAL FOOD

     Blood is alkaline. Raw food is also alkaline. Raw food maintains the alkaline nature of the blood easily. When food is cooked it becomes acidic. Cooked food taken turns the blood to acidic nature.  Hence the body fights to turn the blood into alkaline to maintain the health. When it fails to do so we become a prey to
diseases.

HOW TO FAST?

              Only water should be taken when thirsty.  Those who can't can take juices. After the sickness has reduced juicy fruits and fleshy fruits can be included little by little for a few days.  Then after recovery nuts can be included.  During fasting taking rest is a must.  If airy places are available rest can be taken there.  Energy losing activities such as watching TV, talking more, listening to music, walking long distances should be avoided.  The body should be helped to divert all its energy to cure the body.  Due to fasting the toxin level in the body gets reduced. Since the toxin level is reduced the diseases also gets reduced.

TO INCREASE DIGESTIVE POWER

             2 spoons of ginger juice daily will help those with weak digestion.  The white colour sediment which settles after the juice is taken should not be eaten. Juice taken should be kept for 15 minutes for the sediment to settle and then taken with a spoonful of honey.  Not advisable for ulcer patients.  They can chew cumin
instead.  Drink warm water made by boiling cumin and pepper in it.

CAN KIDNEY FAILURE PATIENTS DRINK WATER

       Kidney failure patients can drink water when they are thirsty provided they are on complete natural diet (mainly on juicy fruits).  If more juicy fruits are included in the diet the less thirsty he will be.  Acupressure can also be given to the kidney point in hands and legs. Salt and sugar should be avoided completely.

               Kidney stone patients should drink lots and lots of water to dissolve the stone formed.  They are formed because of the lack of body's capacity to absorb the calcium.  Hence they tend to crystallize in the form of stone.  This arises due to the non-functioning of thyroid gland and it can be cured easily by giving
acupressure on kidney and thyroid gland point. (More details in the book Health in your hands Vol I By Devendra Vora ). Following juice diet will give faster results. (Banana stem juice will be helpful).

HOW MUCH WATER TO DRINK?

               There is no minimum and maximum limitation for drinking water in natural food.  One can drink water whenever he feels thirsty.  The concept of drinking 3-5 litres of water daily to purify the body  applies only to those on cooked food.