Naturopathic medicine is based on the idea that your body possesses the innate ability to heal itself, according to the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Licensed naturopathic physicians use many modalities, including diet, exercise, lifestyle modification and natural therapies--such as botanical medicine, homeopathy and hydrotherapy--to bolster your body's ability to fight disease and realize optimal health. Naturopathic dietary recommendations vary from practitioner to practitioner, and they draw from the wisdom of various traditions and fields of study.
Anti-Inflammatory Diet
A diet adopted and espoused by many naturopathic physicians is the anti-inflammatory diet. According to Dr. Andrew Weil, integrative medicine specialist, the anti-inflammatory diet is not a diet in the conventional sense, but rather, a method of choosing and preparing foods based on the scientific understanding of how they can best promote optimal health.
Dr. Jessica K. Black, a naturopathic physician and author of "The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book," states that the anti-inflammatory diet is labeled as such because it eliminates many common allergenic foods that may promote inflammation--the suspected cause or contributor to many ills--in your body. It also reduces your consumption of pesticides, hormones and antibiotic residues and provides you with a steady supply of energy and sufficient vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and dietary fiber.
A typical anti-inflammatory diet incorporates a well-rounded, varied diet that's high in vegetables and low in refined carbohydrates, processed foods and undesirable fats, such as trans fats.
Weston A. Price Foundation Diet
Founded in 1999 by Sally Fallon and nutritionist Mary G Enig, Ph.D., the Weston A. Price Foundation was created to help disseminate the pioneering dietary work of Dr. Price, a dentist, nutritionist and author of "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration." Price's book, first published in 1939, discusses a series of ethnographic nutritional studies he conducted across diverse cultures, and it focuses on the structural changes that occur in the human body, especially the face, with the consumption of refined, processed and polished foods commonly eaten in the western diet.
Many naturopathic physicians draw from Price's work and counsel their patients to eat a more traditional diet of unprocessed or minimally processed foods, such as traditional fats (fats from animals, dairy products, olive oil and fish oil), organic produce, raw dairy products, whole grains, bone stocks, and lacto-fermented dairy products and vegetables. This diet challenges the notion that the consumption of saturated fat and cholesterol contributes to the health issues so often ascribed to them by the medical community.
Ayurvedic Diet
When making dietary recommendations for their patients, naturopathic physicians may draw from the ancient East Indian system of traditional medicine called Ayurveda. The purpose of Ayurvedic medicine, a form of complementary alternative medicine in the West, is to integrate and balance your body, mind and spirit, according to National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health. Achieving this balance is believed to help ward off illness and promote optimal health.
Ayurvedic dietary recommendations consider your age, constitutional type or dosha (vata, pitta or kapha), gender and your level of body toxicity. An ayurvedic practitioner, or a naturopathic physician utilizing Ayurvedic dietary principles, will counsel you on what, when and how much you should eat, how to incorporate the six fundamental tastes (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent and astringent) into your daily diet, and will suggest helpful herbs or spices you can use to supplement your diet.
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