A sliding scale of natural health

This is something I wrote many years ago - maybe 12 - 15 years. Raw edit just posted as was, as still is relevant...

Throughout my time in natural medicine I have come to realize that there are two common fundamental points of view. I must mention there are as well, two sides to the industry - the professional and the public one. The public are people who do not have formal qualifications in natural medicine and are subject to media interpretation and advertisement. These projected views can often be biased or misleading. I have developed what I call my ‘Sliding scale of natural sanity’ that I use to distinguish these two fundamental viewpoints for my students. They love it so I thought I’d share it here.

On the extreme left we have light workers, energy healers, crystal ball readers, psychics and some natural health professionals. On the extreme right we have scientists, biochemists, pharmacologists and some Doctors. 

Many of the public put Naturopaths on the extreme left and Doctors on the extreme right. In reality, there are varying degrees of how a person approaches their professional practice and so they may be somewhere on the scale but not necessarily on the extreme ends. Ideally a practitioner, whether they are complimentary or orthodox, practices from the balanced perspective in the middle. I know I do and so do many of my colleagues. 

 It is true that some Doctors do not like natural therapies, and visa versa. It is ONLY the practitioners on the extreme right and extreme left who do not like how the other practices. These are the views often given by the media. If it is natural, the hippies do it. If its biochemical, the Doctors do it. You get fundamentalist views from both sides, each unwavering in flying the flag for their cause. I might add the extreme view is always personal, it is never about the greater good of the best medicine for the patient.

Now lets look at the middle. Here we have a balanced combination of whole foods and herbs with scientifically formulated medicine.  This is where Naturopathic Practitioners work alongside Integrative Medical Doctors. We understand the importance of surgery, ultrasound, laboratory tests and specialised diagnosis if the case requires it. We also understand that synthetic drugs and clinical trials are limited in their approach to healthcare. We know there are so many great herbal medicines, that when chosen in their correct form, can give a powerful result.

Practitioners who are balanced know that the herbs you grow in your garden are not the same as the fluid extracts you are prescribed. Each herbal remedy is carefully prepared with quality ingredients that have been tested in a laboratory. It is the perfect mix of tradition and modern medicine. The active ingredients of traditional herbal preparations are being validated through laboratory methods such as high performance liquid chromatography. Which is another rant.

When someone is giving you health advice or treatments, first have a look to see if they are trained to do so. Then have a think about where on this scale they are coming from. I tell you, the people who get the best results, the ones who care for your health above any righteous cause, are the practitioners who come from a balanced view in the middle.

You can have spirituality with science. You can appreciate the advancements of modern medicine while sipping on your herbal infusion. We are all chemistry, and the first lesson of chemistry is that we are all energy. Energy gives an atom, which make up molecules, which make up matter, which are us. You cannot have one without the other, so why as humans do we think we know better? The practitioners in the middle do not work on belief alone, they seek the best remedy for you out of all the top remedies available.

When people ask me if I believe in Natural medicine I say No. Its not a religion it’s a science. Do you believe in science? No it just works. People on each extreme end of the scale are suspended in their beliefs. People who are in the middle know that a belief only gets you so far.  I am a firm believer in seeing a Doctor if you are really sick. Find out what it is, but don’t get stuck if they tell you there is nothing they can do.

See a Natural healthcare professional who is balanced in their approach and you will find your true health.