MIND. Natural Medicine Doesn’t Work.

Yes, that’s right. Natural medicine doesn’t work. This is a common notion I hear frequently. As a naturopathic physician, I would be in the wrong profession if I actually thought this. And if you have ever taken Aspirin, you are also utilizing natural medicine - specifically, a constituent of willow bark.

I believe all forms of medicine have their place. I don’t have a natural cure for an open fracture, though I can be of assistance after the surgeon has put you back together for optimal healing. But the predominant American paradigm is that medicine comes from a lab, from a pill or other synthetic substance. That natural medicine does not work.

A value I have always appreciated about European culture is their orientation towards medicine. Yes, they still have cutting edge medical and pharmaceutical companies. But additional and traditional therapies such as homeopathy, botanical medicine and energetic medicine are so much more widely available, used and accepted by the general population. I remember showing up in Italy with a broken arm one year and was handed a bottle of St. John’s Wort oil from a bus driver. Homeopathics are easily found at standard pharmacies throughout Italy. In France, pharmacists are trained in mycology and you can bring in your wild foraged mushroom for identification for free.

Europeans have an open mind to medicine, and how broadly that definition reaches. My notion was corroborated through my experience at Swiss Mountain Clinic as I was working with medical doctors trained in homeopathy, acupuncture, nutritional therapy and more. They had a mind for medical diagnosis, but an openness to how “cure” or “healing” could occur - and usually standard drug therapies were not at the top of their list, though incorporated when necessary.

I am grateful to have seen this time and time again in my own practice. An example from less than a week ago where a patient followed up to report that the disturbed sleep, moodiness, heightened anxiety and panic regularly experienced in the second half of her cycle were eliminated with the suggestion of a few simple herbs. She said, “I cannot believe a reality like that existed” with how diminished her symptoms were. No benzo needed. [Note, meanwhile we were also working on nervous system and vagal toning in the background.]

After all, countless pharmaceuticals are based off of isolated compounds from plants or natural substances. Aspirin, Digoxin, Atorvastatin, Morphine, Metformin, Paclitaxel, to name a few, though it’s estimated about half of all pharmaceuticals are derived from isolated natural compounds. While the drug is targeted to shut down, block or change a certain biochemical pathway, a natural substance casts a wider effect on systems of the body. Herbalist Kyle Denton has said that taking one plant compound out and isolating it is like taking the oboe out of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony. It’s as if you’re saying, it’s the oboe that is making the piece so incredible. But really, a lot is lost when you remove the other instruments the oboe is harmonizing with. In isolating one chemical component, a lot can be amplified, but much can be lost, too.

I certainly don’t have a natural cure to everything. And I humble to the individualized biochemistry and history of each body. Medicine, healing - it’s so nuanced. Which is why I am hopeful for a time when our own medical system and insurance coverage will be more open to medicine beyond a prescription, but also to modalities, herbs and compounds of the natural and even energetic sort, too. It was inspiring to see what European health insurance was willing to cover and I can only hope for a move in that direction for