“Naturopathic medicine is a distinct primary health care profession, emphasizing prevention, treatment, and optimal health through the use of therapeutic methods and substances that encourage individuals’ inherent self-healing process. The practice of naturopathic medicine includes modern and traditional, scientific, and empirical methods.” (naturopathic.org)
In the state of Indiana, doctors of Naturopathy are not permitted to be licensed. Therefore, Naturopathic doctors are not covered by insurance. We also do not treat, diagnose or cure disease. Our mission is to educate and empower you in the area of health and healing. If you are new to Naturopathy or unclear of the difference between Allopathy and Naturopathy, it may be difficult to justify the out-of-pocket expenditure.
However, I encourage you to view Naturopathy as an investment in your health, your life. Most of us allocate monies for vacations, new vehicles, and the latest technology, but how many of us consider setting monies aside for our health or rather the true healing of our bodies?
I can’t put a dollar amount on Naturopathy, but I know it has saved my family’s budget thousands of dollars in medical expenses, copays, and prescriptions. Naturopathic doctors educate and empower people in the art of healing naturally. Consequently, this may allow people to avoid or reduce purchasing prescription medications, the same medications that create side effects and cause a vicious cycle of needing additional medications to counter the side effects.
5 Simple Ways to Afford Naturopathy:
- Set monies aside each week. Being a Dave Ramsey graduate, I believe in a $1000 or more emergency fund. How about doing the same for your health?
- Find non-essential areas to trim the budget, such as the cable, phone, or internet bill. Once you have reduced these bills, set aside the saved money for visits to your Naturopathic doctor.
- Add up your prescription medication and copay costs currently. Imagine not having the burden of these expenses. How much money would you save if you learned how to balance your body without prescription medicine? Become empowered by the healing practices of naturopathy.
- Dine out one less day per week and set aside the money you would spend on that one meal into your emergency fund.
- Ask for gift certificates for birthdays and holidays from your friends and family.
Besides saving money, consider the overall health benefits of natural solutions. For example, traditional medicine, or Allopathy, encourages people to get a flu shot. Sadly, that flu shot may weaken your immune system instead of strengthening it, possibly causing more susceptibility to viruses. In the past 15 years, I’ve only had one or two ugly bouts of the flu, and my husband and children share in this experience.
Furthermore, neither my husband nor I have needed to use prescription medications for the past 15 years! How much money do you think that we have we saved collectively? Learning to use whole, clean food as our medicine is what started me on the path to learn how to educate others.
As a Naturopathic doctor, I see clients experiencing everything from rashes to various forms of chronic disease. This is no different than the patients of an allopathic doctor. The main difference, though, between these two practices is the mindset:
- Most Naturopathic doctors believe God gave our bodies the ability to heal.
- Naturopathic doctors refuse to pollute the body with toxins.
- Naturopathic doctors value their health and feel conventional medicine may not always be the best solution for the body.
In closing, I encourage you to consider naturopathy in order to experience a natural, long-term healing and balance of the body which in turn creates a renewal of mind, body and spirt.
Currently, only sixteen states provide licensing laws for naturopathic physicians:
- Alaska
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- District of Columbia
- Hawaii
- Kansas
- Maine
- Maryland
- Minnesota
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- North Dakota
- Oregon
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington
