naturopathydigest.com -- Naturopathic Medicine: The Time Is Now

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Naturopathic Medicine: The Time Is Now

By William J. Keppler, PhD, president, National College of Naturopathic Medicine

I am very pleased to be invited to author this article. I have given my forthcoming comments careful consideration. However, I respectfully wish to admit I am not a naturopathic doctor, but rather a public health epidemiologist.

My expertise and experience is in higher education, earning a PhD in genetics and embryology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and public health certification and training in biostatistics and epidemiology from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.
I have gained considerable knowledge and education in naturopathic medicine as a senior evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, as a public member on the Council for Naturopathic Medicine, and as president of National College of Naturopathic Medicine for the past three years.
Naturopathic medicine traces its origins back many thousands of years, drawing on the efficacy of healing from many different cultures. Among those most noteworthy are the Ayurvedic tradition from India, Taoist from China, and monastic medicine from Arabian, Egyptian and European traditions. The time-tested healing techniques of these cultures comprise the corpus of naturopathic medicine.
Perhaps the element of naturopathic medicine that is most attractive is prevention: in Latin, principiis obsta: sero medicina curator. This is accomplished in two ways: promoting lifestyle habits that foster good health and educating patients to take care of themselves. The ND assesses hereditary susceptibility to disease, takes account of risk factors and makes the necessary interventions to avoid further harm to the patient. The bottom line is health promotion and disease prevention. In the 21st century, this is translated into the philosophy of wellness. Wellness is not the absence of illness, just as peace is not the absence of war. Rather, wellness is a philosophy for a well-balanced life. It's maintaining that wonderful balance among the physical, mental and spiritual components of our being.
We have several movements to foster and facilitate naturopathic medicine. The globalization that is occurring is promoting the sharing of cultures, especially natural healing techniques that have been time tested. We are finding out that post-World War II methods of surgery and drugs, which might be necessary, are not the answer to all-around good health.
Demography is an important component of public health. We are seeing a rapidly changing planet with large population shifts, especially south of the Sahara and in Southeast Asia. With a world population of approximately 6.4 billion, according to the World Health Organization, we continue to have a net gain of three people per second! And that's the fatality rate minus the mortality rate! No one can imagine billions of people or billons of anything. For example, a million seconds is 12 days, but a billion seconds is 32 years! Think about the order of magnitudes.
Most of us can visualize a hundred people if we think about it. Four groups of 25, 10 groups of 10, or even two groups of 50 are imaginable. If we take the world's population in 2005 at 6.4 billion and break that number down to a global village of precisely 100 people, keeping all existing ratios, the village would look like this: There would be 57 Asians, 20 Europeans, 10 Africans, seven South Americans, and nine North Americans; 70 would be people of color and 30 would be Caucasian; 65 would be unable to read; 50 would suffer from malnutrition; 80 would live in substandard housing; and only one would have a computer and a college education! Furthermore, 50 percent of the entire world's wealth would be in the hands of six people; three would be citizens of the United States, two from Europe and one each from China and Japan. This clearly places the world population in a perspective that is comprehensible.
We can trace the decline of naturopathic medicine to the post-World War II era, with the advent and promises of "wonder drugs." During this time, all naturopathic colleges but one closed their doors due to lack of public demand and students. The sad fact is that many time-tested healing and health-maintenance methods were discarded at a rapid rate as medical doctors began treating disease solely with surgery and drugs. Unfortunately, that's what we see too often today in the media, especially advertisements on television for prescription drugs that relieve chronic disease symptoms, but never promise a cure.
On the contrary, naturopathic medicine emphasizes that illness does not occur without cause. The underlying cause of disease must be identified and removed before an individual can recover completely. Further, cause might occur on many different levels, including emotional, mental, physical and spiritual. The naturopathic doctor addresses the underlying cause at all levels, directing holistic treatment at the root cause, as well as seeking the relief of symptoms.
Naturopathic medicine is the medicine of the future, not only for our country, but also for the entire world. The contributions to natural medicine derive from many different cultures. They are time tested and their effectiveness is being substantiated in scientific clinical studies every day. The philosophy of taking care of our mind, body and spirit contributes to a vigorous and healthy life. Prevention is the key. Naturopathic medicine is here to stay. We are optimistic for the future. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

About the Author: William (Bill) J. Keppler, PhD, holds a doctorate in genetics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He completed 15 years at Florida International University in Miami as dean of the college of health and professor of public health, teaching graduate students in genetics, ethics, and biostatistics. Dr. Keppler has served as a public member of the Council on Naturopathic Medical Education (CNME) and as a longtime senior evaluator for the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU). Dr. Keppler also is an emeritus civilian aide to the Secretary of the Army and is involved as a volunteer in the Department of Homeland Security for the state of Oregon.