ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Side Effects of Naturopathic Remedies

Updated on March 5, 2010

Natural Medicine

Naturopathy is a form of medicine and treatment that uses all-natural treatments. There are different methods of treatment, and each uses the power of nature to heal the entire body. The practice focuses on healing the physical body, mental awareness, emotions, genetic problems, environment caused issues, and social concerns.

Basic methods of natural medicine include:

  • Acupuncture
  • Color therapy
  • Herbal medicine
  • Homeopathy
  • Hydrotherapy
  • Meditation
  • Reflexology

There are many natural remedies that have been studied to help relaxation and stress relief, which in general relieving stress has been proven to help aid and strengthen the immune system. Natural medicine is not 100 percent proven effective on all illnesses and conditions, but there are many practitioners who swear by natural treatment.

If you have a severe illness or you think that you have a more advanced case, it is always advised that you seek medical treatment from a conventional doctor. Naturopathic practitioners will advise you to do the same, as they believe that one should do no harm, which includes aiding symptoms that they can suppress but also referring a chronic patient to other forms of treatment to help the body and patient.

Natural treatments are, in general, safer and healthier for the body, but sometimes you may need to explore other forms of treatment, depending on your case.

Side Effects of Natural Medicine

Naturpathic medicine is an alternative form of medicine and treatment that is best when used in conjunction with other conventional medicines, versus as a sole substitute treatment. With this in mind, you will find that there are fewer side effects with natural medicine than with conventional medicine, but there are risks of drug interaction and improper knowledge and training of your practitioner.

Because most naturopathic medicines involve some use of an herbal supplement, you need to watch out for what other medications you are using, as some herbs will interact with prescription and over-the-counter medications. If you decide to try herbal treatments in conjunction with any prescription medications, you want to make sure that your natural practitioner and your conventional doctor both know what your plans are. You want to make sure that there aren't going to be any complications from drug interactions.

Make sure that you check ingredients and verify dosages, as not all brands and bottles will have the same concentration of the active ingredient.

Some of the natural diets that involve restrictive guidelines, may not be ideal for your body or illness, which is why if you've decided that a complete diet change is what you want to try, you need to consult your conventional doctor first. The last thing that you want to do is to worsen your health.

Natural medicines can benefit some illnesses like arthritis, asthma, skin problems, high blood pressure, infections, fatigue, and depression, but you want to make sure that whatever form of treatment that you opt to try is going to be safe for you and not anyone else. You and your body is your main concern.

Typically, those people who try natural medicines have already tried most conventional treatments, and want to try everything, but the treatment is not the only thing that should be researched. You really need to keep in mind that not all practitioners have proper knowledge or experience, and you should do your research before choosing a naturopathic practitioner because all-natural treatments and medications are not subject to the same regulations as conventional medicine.

Disclaimer: Please be aware that the advice in this article should in no way replace that of a licensed physician. If you have any questions, you want to consult your doctor so that you can get treatment options.

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)