It's no surprise that what we eat has a profound impact on our health. A poor diet can lead to many of the lifestyle diseases prevalent today or can cause many digestive, skin or hormonal issues. Naturopathic doctors provide nutritional counseling to their patients. By using food as medicine, they can help patients feel better physically and mentally, as well as prevent future chronic diseases.

While eating whole foods is the ideal way to nourish our bodies, some conditions may require nutritional supplementation in the form of capsules, liquids or powders to bring a person to and/or maintain optimal health. This includes many of the common supplements you'll see at your local pharmacy or health foods store like vitamins, minerals, amino acids, enzymes and antioxidants. Naturopathic doctors are educated on the proper therapeutic dosage, supplement forms and indications for these natural health products.

A person's lifestyle must be considered when it comes to treating and preventing disease. Exercise, sleep, managing stress and a person’s health habits all have an impact on one's health. Naturopathic doctors provide recommendations to encourage patients to move their body on a regular basis. They address factors that may be preventing patients from getting a good night's rest. Naturopathic doctors also counsel patients on how to manage stress and analyze any health habits and occupational or environmental hazards that may be affecting their health.

Botanical medicine uses part of or the entire plant to treat or prevent disease. The use of plants for their medicinal properties began thousands of years ago and led to the discovery of many medications we currently use today like aspirin. Naturopathic doctors receive extensive training on how to effectively and safely use botanicals to help manage a variety of conditions. Botanical products come in different forms, such as teas, tinctures, capsules, essential oils, salves, creams and poultices. They may contain an individual whole plant, a standardized extract or a combination of multiple herbs blended together.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, "qi" is the energy that flows throughout the body when a person is in a state of good health. When a person is unwell, "qi" becomes stuck and things in the body become imbalanced. The goal of any treatment in Traditional Chinese Medicine is to restore balance and the proper flow of "qi". Naturopathic doctors achieve this through the use of Chinese herbs, dietary recommendations and acupuncture. Acupuncture is the insertion of sterile needles into specific points on the body. This causes the release of different chemicals by the nervous system, which can help to lower pain and stimulate the body's natural ability to heal itself. Acupuncture can help address many health issues such as headaches, muscle or joint pain, digestive issues, irregular periods, period cramps, infertility, stress, insomnia and more.

Naturopathic doctors are trained in a variety of physical therapies such as cupping, cold laser therapy, basic massage techniques, muscle stretching, strengthening exercises and hydrotherapy. Cupping involves placing cups on the skin to create suction and this helps to promote the flow of "qi", reduces muscle tension and brings necessary nutrients to an area of injury. Cold laser therapy uses light to stimulate tissue repair. It increases blood flow to the affected area and helps to reduce pain and inflammation. Hydrotherapy is the usage of water to treat symptoms. This includes the use of hot and cold applications (e.g. ice packs, heat packs), wet socks to manage fevers, contrast showers, dry skin brushing and castor oil packs. These can help address muscle and joint pain, boost one's immune system, improve fatigue and ensure detoxification and elimination pathways are working optimally.