Diabetes Patients Benefit From Naturopathic Care

When I read this study, I knew my inbox was going to be full of emails about “see naturopathic care works.” Some were polite and just asked me to read this and a few were proclaiming their wares and few were not so pleasant in their language. If this study was not so small, and an obvious attempt to get more funding, it could have been more interesting.

The other part that I must point out is that conventional medicine was part of the study and patients continued to take their medications. There was not any control groups so that comparisons could be made. For those that still believe that their naturopathic ways cure diabetes, I think you need to reread this study and understand that the two disciplines, conventional medicine and naturopathic practices, worked together to achieve the results. The largest flaw in the study is that it was an observational study, which could distort the figures any way desired.

If there was true collaboration between conventional medicine and naturopathic medicine, I say this could become valuable when the correct types of studies are done using this method. I will continue to denounce situations as I did in this blog, when patients throw conventional medicine out because they believe there is a cure. Seeking only alternative medicine is not the answer.

The other sticking point is when patients do not list the alternative medicines and supplements because they are “natural”, and their doctor has no need to know. Many patients may not have problems with this until they need certain prescription medications that conflict with these supplements and several can cause severe health problems and even death. Some supplements may even mask certain health conditions and prevent the proper treatment.

At the same time, I will denounce doctors that are so full of themselves that they will not recognize supplements, herbal medicines, and naturopathic medicines. These doctors often belittle a patient for mentioning these, and some doctors even bully their patients to stop taking them. When this happens, patients should do themselves and their health a favor and seek out another doctor. It is sad that these doctors cut off lines of communication that affect the health of their patients.

There can be advantages when doctors of all types of medicine work together, but too often each type of medicine thinks they have the only solution. When the whole patient is treated, and not just the disease, more patients will have greater health benefits. Many doctors of all medicine types do not treat the mind-body-soul part of the patient.