Q & A Part 1

You asked, and I answered!  Here are some of the questions that were sent in to me:





Q: Why is it so expensive to see a Naturopathic Doctor?

A: I can completely understand this question - seeing an ND, especially for the first time is not cheap.  It's definitely an investment in one's health.  A lot of how we view expenses, however, are based on our perceptions and how we compare them to each other.  In Canada, we receive 'free' healthcare (technically not free as funded by our taxes, but it feels that way - we see an MD and don't have to pay anything to them upfront).  What could be cheaper than free?

So, compared to conventional care, the price tag on naturopathic care seems pretty steep.  There are several things that can put this into perspective, however.  How much do you pay your hairstylist, mechanic, plumber?  How much do you spend on your car per year?  What about that morning coffee - it adds up!  Comparatively, naturopathic care is quite similar in terms of cost when comparing to these other services.  Don't you think you should invest a little more in your health?  By placing an importance on it now, you may be able to avoid sickness, chronic disease, and expensive prescription medication (that many people have to pay for on their own) and instead be strong, vital, and full of energy into your elder years.  It will pay off in the long run!





Q: Why do I get sick again soon after I've been on antibiotics?

A: The answer to this question has to do with all of the friendly bacteria that the antibiotics are killing off.  Many of us don't really realize it, but a huge percentage of our immune system actually resides in our gut and the friendly bacteria play an important role in keeping us healthy and our immune systems functioning well.  When they are killed off, we become vulnerable to other viruses and bacteria.  This is why taking probiotics both during an antibiotic treatment and afterwards is so important.  Discuss with your ND what an effective dose will be for you.

Furthermore, antibiotics are great in some instances and can and have saved lives, but they don't really fix the problem of why you got sick in the first place - why is your immune system not functioning as it should be?  Are you eating something (or lots of things) that are bogging you down and may not be agreeing with you?  Are you overly stressed?  Are you toxic?  Are you simply burned out?  All of these things can influence how often we get sick, and as antibiotics don't address any of these factors, you're going to continue to get sick until you do something that does address them.




Q: Why are NDs so 'gaga' over probiotics?  What's wrong with yogurt?

A: This is a great question, and one that I get all the time in practice.  Although yogurt has some probiotics in it, it doesn't have many, and what it had at the time of processing and production is probably mostly gone by the time it finds itself on your spoon.  CFU - colony-forming units is the standard unit used to measure the amount of bacteria present in a given food or product.  Yogurts won't give you this value, but it's low - in the millions.  Most probiotic supplements, however, are in the billions - I regularly prescribe probiotics from 8 billion CFU up to around 100 billion CFU and they are quite effective.  Some people can obtain some benefits from yogurt, but often the amount of bacteria is so small that the effects won't be huge, lasting, or be seen at all for someone who is in need of a larger dose.

Also, it should be pointed out that many many yogurts out there are not foods that you regularly want to consume.  Artificially sweetened - avoid at all costs.  Regularly sweetened - not as bad, but have you read how many GRAMS of sugar you're actually consuming, per one of those little yogurt cups?  It's not low!  The best yogurt to eat is a plain, unsweetened yogurt - not many people have actually tried this kind, being so accustomed to the sweetened types (even vanilla without any fruit is very sweetened).




Q: I've heard that NDs hate prescription medications and take their patients off of them.  Is this true?

A: Not true (at least for me, I can't speak for every ND).  It is true that we're not the biggest fans of prescription medications.  Often, they're not treating the cause of the health concern and can sometimes make things worse in the long run.  They can 'bog down' the body and stress the liver, and not many people want to be on a medication (or many medications) for life.  Having said that, there are times that they are needed and effective.  I would never suggest that someone stop a medication that is serving them well - first of all, that's not something that I can do as an ND (altering of a prescription should be done by the doctor who prescribed it), and secondly, that would just be bad health advice.

What I do see, and what more commonly happens in my office is that people become healthier, their bodies work better on their own, more optimally doing the function that the medication is helping them out with.  This can often be seen subjectively as well as objectively in lab or other diagnostic and radiological tests.  If I see this happening, I refer them back to their MD so that he/she can reassess whether the patient needs to be on that medication or not.  Often, the MD will decide to take the patient off of the medication if it's no longer needed (with continued monitoring, of course).

So, yes, people who see NDs do often end up stopping some medications eventually, but this is entirely up to the patient's MD and the patient - NDs are just catalysts in these instances, propelling the patients towards better health.  They're not the decision makers.




Q: It seems like natural treatments take a long time to see any effects whereas medical treatments have effects right away.  I can't deal with my symptoms anymore and can't wait that long for them to get better.  Why should I go the natural route instead of the conventional route?

A: Thank you for your question - this is one that I'm sure most everyone is thinking but not typically asked.  It's true, the conventional route may give you symptom relief - it's a quick fix.  It doesn't always work though - how often do you hear of people (or maybe have experienced this yourself) going back again and again to their doctor to get their prescription adjusted, or get new medications added to their current ones to address unwanted side effects of their first medication, or to get new medications when they need something stronger because their body isn't responding anymore.  This is all too common, and eventually, there are no more medications to add and conventional medicine literally runs out of options.  What do you do at that point?

Many people turn to alternative options.  What I recommend is for people to not wait until they get to that point.  Instead, seek out the alternatives first.  Yes, natural medicines take longer to work, but that's because they are treating the cause.  They're not a band-aid, quick-fix treatment.  They're working to re-balance and heal your body.  You have to remember, you didn't get this way overnight - it probably took years and years to develop whatever symptoms or health conditions you are currently experiencing.  You can't expect it all to go away in the blink of an eye.  If our bodies sucked, it would probably take just as many years of healing as you've had of disease to get you back to good health.  Luckily, our bodies are pretty awesome and are quite adept at self-healing as long as they're given the right tools and kept away from those things that are detrimental to them.  This is what naturopathic medicine is all about.  It aims to have lasting effects - a true cure!  It is harder work, but doesn't everything that's really worth it in life take hard work and determination?


That's it for now!  If you didn't see your question in this blog entry, look for it in Q & A Part 2.

Thanks again for sending in your questions.  I'd be happy to answer more - please send any others to corenaturopathics@gmail.com