The Naturopathic Co.
Hands up if you’ve taken a single gym class and expected to see a flat stomach? Or maybe you’ve expected beautiful, glowing skin after just one facial treatment. Natural medicine can be a little bit the same. It can take a little bit of patience in order to see the results, but when you do, they tend to be long lasting.
We know that western pharmaceutical medicine can be good at masking symptoms, but how often does the masking of one symptom contribute to the occurrence of another “side effect”.
Natural medicine looks to the underlying cause of a health issue. Although natural medicine can also be effective at treating symptoms, real lasting progress is in finding the cause of the problem and treating that.
Generally if a treatment plan is working, we should notice some positive change within the first two weeks. This shows that we are on the right track. After we have established some signs of better health, we can slowly add in other changes to optimise health, incorporating the holistic approach that we love in naturopathy.
“Ordinary things done daily are more powerful than extraordinary things done once”
It’s important to remember that there is no reason to complicate our approach to health. Consistency is key.
Although dietary changes are a really important component of treatment, radical diets or severely restrictive eating is not the way, but consistent healthy choices get us far. We should look to return to a balanced state by eating as close to nature as possible.
Eat real food.
Good examples of this are seen in the Mediterranean diet, or anti-inflammatory diets. Eating real produce (not processed food) is one of the most empowering (and successful) ways to return to great health. Often times we don’t even realise how much junk we are consuming until we stop and think and become more conscious of what we eat each and every day.
Indulging is okay, but it’s important to remember to start fresh again the next day, and fill your plate with coloured fruits and vegetables, packed full of antioxidants. Eat with intuition, eat seasonal, eat fresh, and enjoy variety.
We know what nourishes us and what depletes us, but it’s important to have the motivation and awareness to follow that instinct, and know that it may take a little bit of time to get exactly where we want to be.
Yvette is a qualified Melbourne-based Naturopath and Nutritionist, MINDD Practitioner, member of the Naturopaths and Herbalists Association of Australia, and Complementary Medicine Association. Yvette specialises in the treatment of conditions commonly affecting women and children, with a key interest in children’s digestive and neurological conditions, as well as women’s hormonal concerns, digestive issues, fatigue, anxiety, and skin concerns. Yvette consults in South Yarra, Melbourne, as well as Australia-wide via skype/zoom/phone. Book here.