Naturopathic Medicine and Preventative Care

According to Health for Life ND, “The right preventive care at every stage of life helps all Americans stay healthy, avoid or delay the onset of disease, keep diseases they already have from becoming worse or debilitating, lead productive lives, and reduce costs. Preventing disease before it starts is critical to helping people live longer, healthier lives and keeping health care costs down. Preventive services can also help those with early stages of disease keep from getting sicker.”

Naturopathic medicine provides a focus on health rather than disease, you proactively approach optimal health rather than reacting to health problems. Naturopathic medicine is an ideal tool in chronic disease prevention, pain reduction and treatment, control disease progression, and enhance overall health. Naturopathic medicine in its organic treatment of the whole person/whole body, enables patients to practice preventative care at its core.

According to Green Mountain Natural Health, “Many serious health problems don’t have symptoms, which is why an annual preventive exam, also called a checkup, is so important. High blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol, for example, are major risk factors for the number one cause of death in the United States—cardiovascular disease (which includes heart attack and stroke). These conditions are silent, meaning that they generally don’t produce any symptoms until the disease is advanced. Screening for these and other conditions, however, are quick and easy at a preventive visit. Detecting these conditions early allows for effective treatment before advanced disease can develop.”

Therefore, it is imperative to get yearly preventative exams. In addition to a physical exam, here are some of the most common things done during a preventive exam:

Green Mountain Health also encourages online risk calculators to determine the likelihood of getting certain diseases. “In addition to screening for the actual presence of disease, a variety of online risk calculators are now available to determine your current and future risk of getting diseases, including heart attack, diabetes, osteoporosis, and breast cancer. While they don’t tell you whether you have the disease, knowing your risk can help you to determine how important it is to make dietary and lifestyle changes to reduce your risk. Your risk results can also help identify the importance of further testing to determine whether you actually have the disease.”

Naturopathic Medicine promotes practicing whole-body care and advocates for simple healthy living that can prevent many diseases. In practicing this lifestyle and getting preventative exams, naturopathic medicine can provide optimal health for patients.

10 Steps to Optimal Health

  1. Be physically active (at least 45-60 minutes, 6 days per week)
  2. Don’t eat sugar or white flour 
  3. Eat a rainbow each day (at least 8-10 servings of fruits or vegetables in a variety of colors)
  4. Don’t smoke
  5. Avoid your food allergens
  6. Consume omega 3 oils daily (fish, fish oil, flax oil)
  7. Take vitamin D daily (2000-4000 IU)
  8. Avoid excessive alcohol 
  9. Watch your stress
  10. Engage (with other people) when social distancing is not in effect

Reach out to naturopathic practitioner, Dr. Michael Robinson, at The Ayre Clinic for Contemporary Medicine to practice preventative care.

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