Health care or healthcare is the prevention, treatment, and management of illness and the preservation of mental and physical well-being through the services offered by the medical, nursing, and allied health professions. Naturopathy system has a specific role in healthcare as an alternative system of treatment.
Naturopathic medicine includes a variety of practices aiming to improve health and treat disease by assisting the body’s natural healing. It includes nutrition, exercise, and application of heat and cold. It is practiced and regulated in most of the United States, but prohibited in two states. There are few reports of evidence based medicine trials for naturopathy thus few of its techniques have scientific support.
Naturopathic medicine uses physiological, psychological and mechanical methods, such as air, water, light, heat, earth, phytotherapy, food and herb therapy, psychotherapy, electrotherapy, minor and orificial surgery, mechanotherapy, naturopathic corrections and manipulation and natural methods or modalities, together with natural medicines, natural processed foods and herbs and natural remedies. Naturopathic medicine excludes major surgery, x-rays and the use of drugs, except those assimilable substances containing elements or compounds which are components of body tissues and are physiologically compatible to body processes for maintenance of life.