10 Basic Principles of Naturopathy

The core basic principles of Naturopathy are listed below which governs the entire working of Naturopathy pertaining to the Human Body:

1. Body heals itself.
2. Main cause of disease is enervation.
3. Deposit of metabolic end-products in the body is disease.
4. Acute disease is a remedial process-itself a cure.
5. Food is a building material, does not increase vitality.
6. Fasting provides an opportunity to the body to heal itself.
7. Germs do no cause the disease but are found in the diseased conditions.
8. Exercise or physical activity keeps the balance between nutrition and drainage.
9. External treatments whether natural, allopathic, ayurvedic or homeopathic- give only relief, do not cure.
10. Patient’s own will to get well, determination and faith are necessary things for nature cure treatment

Now let us understand them one by one.

1. Body Heals itself

• Healing means restoration to a normal condition or make a sick body whole and healthy.
• When illness or imbalance occurs the body naturally wants to correct this in an effort to be healthy and well.
• As naturopaths we believe that symptoms are a manifestation of the body’s attempt to rehabilitate.

Examples of body’s ability to heal itself include:

• A cut to your finger that generally heals on its own.
• When your skin is cut, platelets in your blood clot to stop the bleeding, white blood cells remove the dead, injured cells and new healthy cells repair the damaged tissue
• A fever is a natural response initiated by the body to reduce a viral or pathogenic load.
• If you break a bone, your body immediately begins producing new cells to heal the damage.
• Daily wear and tear are also promptly dealt with. In fact, our bodies are in a constant state of removing damage and producing new, healthy tissue.
• Naturopathic practitioners understand the body’s desire to maintain balance and homeostasis.  Our role therefore is to support the body and encourage this intrinsic healing process to work efficiently.
  • Consuming an abundance of fruits, vegetables and unrefined foods.
  • Getting adequate exercise and rest.
  • Connecting with others socially, and to yourself spiritually.
  • Avoiding toxins and polluted environments.
  • Maintaining effective elimination

2. Main cause of disease is enervation

• Fatigue of the nervous system-ENERVATION.
• Also known as neurasthenia, nerve weakness, nervous breakdown, depression or mental illness.
• Causes of enervation- lack of exercise, lack of rest and sleep, bottled drinks, excess and abuse diets.
• This may leads to many diseased conditions such as toxemia, bronchial diseases, nephritis etc.

Causes of Enervation

• Mental and psychological causes.
• Sensory excesses sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.
• Excess and abuses of diet
• Poisonous habits
• Bottled brinks
• Lack of exercise
• Social and financial causes
• Lack of rest and sleep

3. Deposit of Metabolic end products in the system, is disease

• If harmful metabolic end products are not properly excreted from human body, they gets accumulated in the body and disturb the functions of body. Moreover these increase the growth of germs & finally lead to disease.
• Such byproducts of metabolism create abnormal composition of fluids such as blood and lymph resulting into lowered vitality, which then leads to disease.

Types of waste matter that need to be eliminated

• Catabolic waste matter
• Waste matter of undigested and unassimilated food.
• Waste matter due to infective live foreign bodies like germs and parasites.
• Waste matter due to foreign substances which are dead.
• Medicinal waste matter if any

4. Acute Disease is a remedial process, it is itself a cure

Acute disease

• Acute disease is the body’s natural and normal way of rapidly eliminating accumulated toxins and is a natural function of the body expressed as fever, mucus flow, coughing, diarrhea, inflammation, headache, lose of appetite, weakness, heaviness, desire to sleep, sore throat, muscular aches etc.
• It is a warning for body to alert one about his own health status and if it suppressed, further it leads to chronic disease.
• It is an effort of body to eliminate toxins that has been accumulated inside the body

5. Food is a building material but does not increase vitality

• Food is powerless substance to build fresh blood, bones and nerves, only a living organism can convert it into a living tissue.
• Well balanced and good food is taken when hungry, not in large quantities in order to increase the vitality that becomes a cause for loss or dissipation of power.
• Food does not increase the vital powers but it is the vital power that digests the food and derives its benefits.
• Body has to utilize the food which is taken and then only it can increase the vitality.
• So even if we take wholesome and balance diet but body is not in position to digest it so the body will not be possible to derive the benefit of the food.
• So food is used in physiological state i.e healthy and for functioning of body and in sickness if food is given it is not useful and acts as burden on the vitality.

6. Fasting does not cure any disease but provides an opportunity to body to heal itself

ACCORDING TO HERBERT M. SHELDON

• Fasting is defined as voluntary abstinence from taking any king of food for definite period of time with the view of giving rest to different organs of the body and their processes, thereby helping them to get cleansed.
• Fasting means a kind of rest- physical, mental, psychological and sensory.
• Fasting does not remove the toxins. This removal of toxins is done by the excretory functions of the body. Fasting only efforts them the opportunity to perfect there work.
• Fasting is not starvation. It provides rest for the stomach thus giving it a chance to repair itself.
• Every person cannot go for fasting easily, so in starting stages one can go for intermittent fasting, means a irregular fasting and then slowly person can move to proper fasting

Benefits of fasting

• It gives complete rest to vital organs.
• It wipes the negative thoughts and strengthens the mind.
• It accelerate the healing process.
• It tends to reduce the weight.
• It rejuvenates all the parts of the body.
• It increase the power of digestion and assimilation.

7. Germs do not cause disease but they are found in diseased condition

• When body is enervated (fatigued) excretions and secretions are disturbed. Toxins get retained in the body, toxemia provides the ground for the multiplication of germs in the body.
• Infection occurs in weakened, damaged or overworked parts of the body, so germs that are said to cause disease do so only when body’s resistances is broken down
• Germs are not causative factor of disease, body has its own defence mechanism so in healthy body even if the germs get entry are immediately killed or made ineffective.
• It is said that soil is everything and seed is nothing.
• It is the dirt or morbidity or soil which comes first and then the germs.
• Germs do not create dirt but it is the dirt which attract germs and soil is responsible for their multiplication.
• Louis Pasteur told that germs can not grow and multiply in a healthy blood stream.
• Some bacteria and viruses are non pathogenic to men and are present in the body but when the bodies immunity goes down it becomes pathogenic. So these points out that it is the weakness or diseased condition of the individual when these microbes can attack and multiply and cause disease.

8. Exercise or physical activity keeps the balance between Nutrition and Drainage

• Exercise is essential for development and maintenance of vital structures .It improves physical fitness.
• Exercise is for restoration of health and it is truly considered most important vital tonic of the body.
• It does not merely improves the tone and quality of the voluntary muscles but also improves tone and quality of every tissue of body. Exercise promotes growth by increasing the process of assimilation and causing a more rapid excretion of old tissue

Benefits of exercise

• Built strength and endurance.
• Increase functional power of involuntary muscles.
• Improves metabolism.
• Develops coordination and increase the joint flexibility or mobility.
• Increase nervous efficiency.
• Promote growth by increasing the process of assimilation and causing a more rapid excretion of dead tissues.

9. External treatments whether Natural, allopathy, ayurveda, ayurveda, homeopathy gives only relief, Do not cure

• The great treatment is the education or advice which makes the mind peaceful and quite. Peacefulness and quietness of the mind play an important part in recovery.
• Mental satisfaction is much more important than external treatment or activity

10. Patient’s own will to get well, determination and faith are necessary things for nature cure treatments

• Disease is a result of false living.
• Nature cure tells about the healthy way of living so that patient should have faith over the system. He should be properly told about fasting, rest, relaxation, sleep, wholesome diet and treatments.
• Confidence and determination is half of victory.
• First make up your mind, that health will come by healthy living style not by medicines
• The will and determination of patient is considered as most important factor in nature cure treatment.

These Principles forms the basis of the entire Naturopathy system