What does Integrative mean?
It means using all of the tools at your disposal to get you to feel better. Sure, DMARDs, biologics, steroids, antimetabolites and other medications are often necessary at times, but there’s so much more that can be done.
Conventional rheumatology practice, although incredibly important and indispensible in combatting these diseases, stops at the immune system as the cause of your health maladies. Consequently, all interventions provided in rheumatology simply suppress or modulate the immune system.
But there’s a layer deeper than that – what is the cause of the immune system dysregulation.
Enter Naturopathic medicine!
What is Naturopathic Medicine?
Naturopathic Medicine is centered on the idea that your body has the capability of healing itself, with a little help of course. That help is not limited to judicious use of medication, but based on two core principles.
Those principles are giving your body what it needs and removing obstacles to health.
Giving your body what it needs
Naturopathic Physicians are masters in helping you live a healthy lifestyle ensuring you’re helping your body along in this way. This includes strategies such as:
- Nutritional programs fine-tuned to your specific needs
- Directions for optimizing your sleep quality
- Targeted use of herbs and supplements
- Minimizing your stress response
Removing obstacles to health
Additionally, Naturopathic Physicians do the neccessary detective work to identify deep rooted problems that prevent you from healing. These investigative measures include testing for:
- Disrupted Digestive System Ecology/SIBO
- Chronic infections
- Heavy Metals, mold exposure and other toxicants
- Thyroid, Adrenal and Sex Hormone Imbalances
- Food Hypersensitivities
- Micronutrient Deficiency
The presence of these issues is common in individuals like yourself or your family members who may be struggling with a chronic inflammatory disease.
Removal of these obstacles can improve your health and wellbeing tremendously and get to the actual cause of your immune system dysregulation.
Optimizing your health care
Figuring out the “what” is certainly important. But we cannot leave out the “why.” Why do you have lupus? Why do you have rheumatoid arthritis? Why do you have thyroid disease, psoriasis, inflammatory bowel disease or any other autoimmune disease?
There are several factors, some described above that lead to the dysregulation of your immune system and the perpetuation of the disease process. Answering this question of “why” is essential in overcoming chronic disease.