There are two main methods of treating disease.  One is combative and the other is preventative.  Main stream medicine is almost entirely combative.  They wait until an acute or chronic disease is fully developed then try to cure them with drugs and surgery.  The naturopath uses preventative methods.  Efforts are directed toward increasing the patient’s health through diet, exercise, stress relief and spiritual/emotional strength.  These efforts lead the patient into developing such a healthy condition that is it protected against infection or infestation from germs, bacteria, viruses or parasites.

People are finding that it is much cheaper and much more advantageous to prevent disease than it is to cure it.  To create continuous good health means greater efficiency for mental and physical work and greater capacity to enjoy life.

To build health naturally, healthy diet and habits of natural living must be promoted, elimination established, correct breathing and exercise practiced, and the right mental/emotional attitude advanced.   The patient that is successful with this will build health and greatly diminish the possibility of disease.

Combative methods are still necessary in some cases. If people insist on violating nature’s laws and make their body’s breeding grounds for germs, parasites and disease, combative methods of medicine are needed.  These methods should still be compatible with nature’s laws and not be suppressive or destructive.

The body has a built in ability to heal.  Nature cures and is the basis of lasting healing and health.  If you get a cut it will heal naturally even if you have faulty health practices.  Conditions like arthritis are not so simple.  To heal arthritis conditions causing it must be changed.  These changes must occur before physiological damage has occurred.

Main stream medicine also practices allopathy.  This means that they combat a disease by introducing another disease.  This is seen constantly when patients are given drugs to alleviate the symptoms of a disease only to have serious side effects appear.  For example medicines are given to lower cholesterol, and then blood work to monitor the health of the liver is constantly ordered.  Once there has been enough damage to the liver the medicine must be discontinued and another method found.  There are people that have literally shelves full of prescription and over the counter medications.  By the time they start their third medication they are using new drugs to control symptoms produced from their current pharmaceuticals.

Nature Cure is a system of medicine that focuses on prevention and on the use of practices compatible to nature’s laws as therapies for disease.  The main therapies include diet and nutritional supplements and herbal remedies to provide missing nutrients used as building blocks by the body. Also used is hot and cold, water, air, and physical manipulation.  It builds the entire person repairing and building on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of health.  This system is so simple any person that understands the basic principles can take it home and use it to benefit their family.  The tools are easily found and for the most part very inexpensive.

The effect of violating nature’s laws is lowered vitality with unfavorable composition of blood and lymph.  Waste matter and poisons accumulate.  These conditions are conducive to disease because it provides the environment disease thrives in.  Lowered vitality is due to overwork, night work, excesses, over stimulation, drugs, and unnecessary surgical operations.  Deficient blood is caused by the selection of inappropriate food and the lack of minerals and other essential nutrients.  Accumulation of waste matter and poisons happens with the same conditions as above and to faulty diet, overeating, the use of alcohol and narcotic stimulants, drugs (both over the counter and prescription), vaccines, and especially to the suppression of acute diseases.

Every acute disease is the result of Nature’s efforts to rid the body of waste, foreign matter and poisons and to repair injury to tissues.  This is a healing tool.  It should never be suppressed.  The elimination processes need to be supported and encouraged.  This procedure will shorten the time an acute illness will last and it will lessen the severity of the illness.  When the illness has run its course and the person feels good again they will actually be healthier and stronger than they were before they began to feel sick.

Every chronic disease is the result of an accumulation of wastes and poisons.  Vital tissues and organs have become damaged and the healing forces are no longer strong enough to mount an acute illness to correct the problem.  Vitality is reduced because the nutrients necessary for health are missing and waste has built up causing an inability to heal.  If physiologic damage has not occurred vitality can return and good health can be restored.  If physiologic damage has occurred health will probably improve greatly using natural principles but optimal health will never be reached.

Usually when chronic diseases are being addressed a healing crisis will occur as health improves.  This is the time that enough of the poisons and wastes have been removed and the blood is carrying enough necessary components that the vitality has been strengthened.   An acute illness results as even more correction is needed and now the body is strong enough to fight for health.  Although the illness is unpleasant, it is a very good sign.  It must be recognized as a good sign so combative measures are not taken which would interfere with the process of regaining good health and could even reverse the process some.

The mental/emotional state exerts a powerful influence over our health.  Studies have determined that fear, worry and anxiety create in the system conditions similar to freezing.  Things seem to clog up and nothings moves well.  Impatience, irritability and anger cause heating conditions that is also unhealthy.  Emotions like faith, hope cheerfulness, happiness and love exert a relaxing influence that seems to harmonize the tissues and organs creating great health.

All disease is the result of the violation of the Natural Law of Health.  The way to regain health is to make choices and master habits to conform to natural laws.  A person must learn how to comply with them and must make the effort to comply.   The choice is yours you can live in a way that protects your health or not.  It is much easier to get a prescription to mask symptoms than it is to make lifestyle changes.  The consequences of your decisions will be manifest.  It may not be today or tomorrow but it will happen and good or bad, you will live with the consequences for years.