Many spices and herbs, commonly found around the house, can be used for herbal healing to fight infection, sanitize and heal wounds, improve brain power and detoxify the body.  Be warned that many of these herbs have essential oils in them which are toxic in high doses so should especially be avoided during pregnancy.  Consider the following:

• Rosemary is my favorite for herbal healing. It is called the herb of remembrance (or the herb of chicken) because it increases blood flow to the brain increasing memory, focus, concentration and mental endurance. Take the dried or fresh leaves and steep them like you would tea.  Rosemary is also one of nature’s best antioxidants as it helps prevent cell damage and helps the liver function to detoxify the body.
• Tumeric is another easy way to help detoxify the body.  Also, to decrease inflammation in your joints or muscles or anywhere in the body, put 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder in a couple ounces of warm water and drink it quickly.  If you don’t like the taste, add some cinnamon or chase it with your favorite fruit juice.  This bright yellow powder is used as a clothing dye, so be careful, it will stain your clothes!
• Cayenne is a strong, topical pain neutralizer.  Use this spicy, red powder for pain and inflammation of any kind: joint pain, muscle pain or nerve pain.  Combine 1 part cayenne powder with 5 parts flour, add some water until it becomes a thick paste and spread it on to a piece of fabric.  Fold the fabric so the cayenne paste is in the middle.  Apply this to the sore area for 15 minutes maximum, watching for redness or burning. Also, sprinkle some cayenne in your socks to keep your feet cozy on cold days.
• When you’ve got that sensation in the back of your throat as if you’re about to get sick, chew on some sage leaves.  The essential oils in the leaves are antimicrobial and should prevent the infection.  A pure form of the essential oil can be put in some water and gargled.  Also, crush the leaves with a mortar and pestle then wrap them in sterile gauze and apply to scrapes and cuts to clean the wound.
• Parsley can be used for speedy herbal healing of wounds, bruises, stings and bites.  Crush the leaves of this breath freshening garnish then wrap them in some sterile gauze and apply directly to the skin.

As you can see, herbal healing is possible from your own home – it’s effective and inexpensive!

Naturopathic medicine is a safe, effective and natural approach to you and your family’s health.  Naturopathic doctors can and will empower you to live a healthy lifestyle while treating and preventing disease.  Find more information on the services I offer at Arbour Wellness Centre at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor.

Hello, my name is Dr. Tonia Mitchell and I’m a Naturopathic Physician.  I’m excited to join the team here at healthtopics.ca.  I will be writing articles, on an approximate weekly basis, on different health topics.  I would like to take some time to introduce Naturopathic Medicine, to those who may not be familiar, while I also hope to clear up some common misconceptions.

Naturopathic Medicine is a distinct form of primary health care that can treat and prevent acute and chronic illnesses.  It seeks to find the root cause of a person’s illness, remove the obstacles to health and allow the body to bring itself back into balance so it can heal naturally.   Let’s look at an example of a headache.  Instead of prescribing a painkiller to decrease the sensation of the headache (the symptom) the Naturopathic Physician attempts to figure out why that headache is there in the first place.  Once the root cause is addressed, the headache will disappear.  A descriptive analogy commonly used is the one of the oil light displayed in your car.  There are several things you can do so that the oil light is not on anymore:

• You can rip out the light;
• You can put a piece of tape over the light;
• You can stop the car, perform an oil check and potentially change the oil.

Only the last option treats the root cause of why the light was on in the first place.

Naturopathic Doctors treat the whole person on an individual basis.  Again, looking at the headache, if three people with headaches come in to my office, I will approach each patient differently depending on what they are experiencing and the reason for the headache.  One patient might need support for his blood vessels, the second patient might need support for stress while the third might have food allergies or a toxic metal load.  Naturopathic Doctors treat people, not diseases.

Doctors of Naturopathic Medicine teach the principals of healthy living and prevention to their patients so that they can get well and stay well.  They educate their patients on proper nutrition, hydration, stress management and other aspects to promote healthy living.

Above, I have discussed what Naturopathic Medicine is and what Naturopathic Doctors do.  You may ask; How do they do it?  One of the most exciting things about being a Naturopathic Doctor is the number of ways we are trained to help people.  We are trained in the following:

1. Nutrition;
2. Herbal medicine;
3. Asian medicine (including acupuncture);
4. Counseling;
5. Homeopathy;
6. Orthopedics;
7. Chiropractics;
8. Massage and hydrotherapy.

Every Naturopathic Doctor practices slightly differently while some receive further training in different energetic, intravenous or cosmetic therapies.  Consider a Naturopathic Doctor a general practitioner of the alternative medical world.

Your question may be: Who should see a Naturopathic Doctor?  The answer is: Anyone.  You can consult a Naturopathic Doctor for all of the same reasons that you would consult your family doctor, including but not limited to:

• skin problems;
• infections;
• reproductive problems;
• gastrointestinal problems;
• emotional concerns;
• musculoskeletal injuries;
• hormonal imbalances;
• cardiovascular problems;
• weight loss and detoxification.

Naturopathic Medicine is a safe, effective and natural approach to you and your family’s health.  Naturopathic doctors can and will empower you to live a healthy lifestyle while treating and preventing disease.  Find more information on the services I offer at Arbour Wellness Centre at Nanaimo Naturopathic Doctor.