The Alberta government has announced the creation of a College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta to self-govern their profession, in light of increased interest in alternative medicine and the necessity of ensuring patient safety. There are currently an estimated 144 naturopathic doctors practicing in Alberta.
Is this a good step?
Naturopathy is a form of alternative medicine that discourages the use of surgery and drugs, while promoting a wide range of other treatments. Such treatments include acupuncture, colour therapy, homeopathy, reiki, and botanical medicine.
Regulation of naturopathy is, by itself, a good step. Practitioners should be held accountable to a professional standard, and follow guidelines on treatment safety.
But is that even possible under the College of Naturopathic Doctors of Alberta? Naturopathy covers an incredibly wide range of alternative medicines. There is no way in hell that anyone could draft regulations for all the practices that fall under the umbrella of naturopathy. Nor could any limitations on what does and does not constitute naturopathy be constructed. I can’t imagine an organization that could effectively govern aura therapy, colour therapy, and veganism. The best they could do is enact some wishy-washy best practices guidelines.
The harm posed by legitimizing naturopathy outweighs the potential good.
It should be recognized that naturopaths generally shun modern drugs. That includes vaccinations, surgery, modern cancer therapy, and the like. A patient who seeks the help of a naturopath is less likely to consult an actual doctor of modern medicine. Legitimizing naturopathic doctors endangers patients by suggesting that naturopathy is an acceptably effective substitute for conventional medicine.
Speaking of the term doctor – what are they doctors of? Philosophy? Deep medicinal thinking? I don’t think any self-respecting educational institution would grant anyone the title of “Doctor of Acupuncture.”
This isn’t to say that all naturopathic treatments are bahooey. Vegetarianism is known to prolong lives. Some massage therapies are helpful for chronic pain. But giving up meat isn’t gonna cure cancer or vaccinate you against Hepatitis.
All in all, recognizing and legitimizing naturopaths is not dangerous in itself, but putting proponents of iris analysis and ozone therapy on the same level as other healthcare professionals is dangerous and suggests to the general public that naturopathy is an effective substitute to seeing a conventional doctor.
Leave a Reply