Being a #realfuckingnatural body care company, we frequently get asked at our booth about all things health. The last few weeks have been full of questions about homeopathy, naturopathy and more. Here’s a quick run down of some natural health alternatives and how they work.

Naturopathy

Naturopaths are Doctors of Natural Medicine. To become a certified Naturopath in Canada, you need to hold an Undergraduate Science Degree from and accredited University and then attend 4 years of Naturopathic Medicine School, if accepted. There are only 2 Universities in Canada with a Naturopathic program and the degree is just as intense as medical school. Once Naturopaths have finished their degrees and written their exams, they typically open their own private practice. Naturopaths believe that the body can do an amazing job healing itself when given the support it needs. They treat with homeopathics, herbal tinctures and teas, natural health supplements, a healthy diet, stress modification and lifestyle modification. Naturopaths also have the ability to order and interpret blood tests, saliva tests, stool analysis and more. Naturopaths do believe in working with “western medicine” and recommendations or prescriptions from “regular” doctors to get you to your own individualized healing plan. Your first appointment with a naturopath is generally 1.5hrs and runs through an entire health history of you from childhood to present! Follow up appointments generally range between 30m and 45m depending on your needs.

Homeopathy

Many people get homeopathy and naturopathy confused with one another. Homeopathy is just a small portion of what naturopaths may use to treat a certain condition. Homeopathic medicine was developed in 1976. It is a form of healing that is based on the principle of like cures like. Homeopathy deals with every individual as a unique person with it’s own expressions of symptoms to an illness. This means the same two people can have the same disease but if their symptoms are just a little bit different, they may need a totally different homeopathic protocol to treat it. The system also works on a minimal dose principle. You give you body the absolute minimum dose (so minimal that in many cases there is no particulate matter in the medicine) to initiate the body’s own healing processes. Homeopathic are very safe because of this and have been used on newborns and the elderly with great positive outcomes and little risk. Homeopathy is becoming more and more popular because of this. You can now buy homeopathic preparations for common illness like colds, flus, teething, ear aches, sleep, arthritis and more in the natural sections of London Drugs, Rexall, Superstore and other mainstream drug and grocery stores.

Supplements

This is a pretty big category in the natural health community that has become and even bigger category in the last 5 years. Before supplements used to mainly refer to daily vitamins that people took for better health. Now, the term supplement can explain a variety consumables that are taken to improve your health and longevity. Things like cod liver oil, collagen, colostrum, chlorella, chlorophyll, chaste berry, camu camu powder, and cannabis oil can all be considered supplements and this is just a tiny sliver of supplements that all begin with the letter “c”! There are regulations around supplements making them generally safe, however, if you do have a pre-existing medical condition or are on prescription medications, it is always wise to talk to a naturopath before taking supplements as many can interfere with the way that the prescriptions work. Supplements are great to use as preventative medicine or to support the body while undergoing a stressor and to support healing. Pregnancy is a great time to be using supplements for health, but once again, if you are unsure of any herbal, always read the label and consult a physician when it’s not clear whether or not it’s safe.

Essential Oils

These are great to use for stress modification. The less stressed we are, the better job our body does at keeping us healthy. When our body is free of excess stress, our body is primed for proper detoxification, circulation, inflammation, weight management, hormone control, fertility, sleep and more. Essential oils can be used for stress reducing in two ways, through inhalation or topical application. Our sense of smell by passes our higher level thinking and goes straight to our more “primal” brain. That means that sniffing an essential oil bottle or diffusing and oil around you can have an immediate effect on your whole body without you having to process any information. The chemical properties of essential oils can also be absorbed through the skin. You always want to dilute essential oils in a carrier oil (like coconut oil, olive oil, jojoba oil) to less than 3% for adults. Pets and kids need even lower dilution rates for safe application. When the oil pulls through the skin and into the blood stream, the therapeutic natural chemicals of the essential oil can effect the way our body deals with stress. This being said, there are some oils that shouldn’t be used on the skin as they can be an irritant. When dealing with essential oils for specific conditions and illness, you want to work with a certified aromatherapist who has taken a minimum of a 200hr certification. There are many people out there who hold “weekend certifications” or have been trained by essential oil companies. Although these people may hold a lot of information, it is often biased or not in enough detail to specifically treat conditions. Generally speaking, inhalation of oils is safe and can be very beneficial to almost everyone. The NAHA is a great resource to look through if you are wondering how to find a certified aromatherapist or what oils to avoid for select portions of the population (ex. expectant mothers)

As you can tell, I love natural health alternatives and am always researching new oils, botanicals, homeopathic, tinctures and more. Please write us an email if you have any questions and we’d be happy to help you along your journey for better health.

Jayleen