What is naturopathy, and how can it help me?
The interest in natural medicine is growing exponentially in Australia, and around the world. For a variety of reasons, people are turning to natural medicines
- some are not getting answers or relief from conventional medicine,
- some have concerns about drug side effects,
- others just want to live a healthier life.
Many people have heard of naturopathy, but not everyone knows what naturopathy is.
So, what is it? Is it safe? What’s the evidence that it works?
Let’s see if we can clear up some of your questions!
In this article, we cover -
What is Naturopathy?
Is there any evidence of its safety and efficacy?
How to know if your Naturopath is qualified
Can I claim naturopathy on my private health insurance?
What to expect when you see a Naturopath
How to choose natural medicines
What conditions can a Naturopath treat?
Important things to tell your Naturopath
What is naturopathy?
Naturopathy is a primary health practice, in which the practitioner treats the ‘whole person’ mind, body, and soul with natural herbal medicines, nutritional supplements, changes to lifestyle, and clinical nutrition (amongst other treatments e.g., homeopathy, flower essences). Naturopathic practitioners are guided by a philosophy that includes values that ensure that you are safe, listened to, respected, and treated with gentle care. Naturopaths are well-trained, having completed a degree in health science, and are happy to collaborate with your other health care professionals.
Is there any evidence of its safety and efficacy?
In 2021 The Naturopathic Health Technology Assessment was published by the World Naturopathic Federation. As a compendium of the efficacy, safety, and economics of Naturopathy globally, it is based on more than 2,200 peer-reviewed studies of Naturopathic practice in over 30 conditions, with 81.1% efficacy demonstrated. This impressive 750 paged book was presented to the Australian Government in November 2022, closing the door to a common, and inaccurate narrative that there is no evidence.
How to know if your Naturopath is qualified
Like any industry, there are unscrupulous or poorly educated Naturopaths that are the ones generally reported in the media. To ensure your practitioner is appropriately qualified, ask your Naturopath if they have professional association membership. In order to have association membership a Naturopath requires a minimum of a 4-year Bachelor of Health Science, a Naturopathy degree, and professional insurance. This will protect you in case of any problems, however, Naturopathy is considered by insurers to be a very low-risk profession and this reflects a high safety profile of properly qualified Naturopaths.
In order to gain professional association membership and insurance, a 4-year Bachelor of Health Science, in Naturopathy is required as a minimum. The degree covers units in human bioscience, organic chemistry, psychology & counselling, pharmacology (particularly important to understanding any interactions between herbs and medicines), herbal medicine, clinical nutrition, traditional and current medical research, flower essences, and clinical examination techniques.
Can I claim naturopathy on my private health insurance?
Soon!
Naturopathy and a number of other complementary practices, were removed from the Private Health Insurance scheme in 2019, partly due to some technicalities in the way we are represented. Since then, associations such as the Naturopaths and Herbalists Assoc. of Australia have been lobbying the Government for re-instatement, and the Minister for Health, Gerald Butler announced in 2025 that this ban was now lifted. A public announcement is likely due mid 2026, while we wait for the insurers to adjust their systems, allocate provider numbers and put all checks and balances in place so that only suitably qualified naturopaths (not just people who call themselves naturopaths) can offer you rebates on consultations, and maybe more. What, and how much is rebated will depend on the insurers themselves and it’s likely that they will vary - so, speak to your insurer to find out what they will be offering, and whether this suits your needs - and tell them what you need, so that they can be better informed.
What to expect when you see a Naturopath
Naturopaths often work in a way that reflects their own practices, and the people they treat. This can make for a different experience with every naturopath, however, there are some common things you will notice.
It is common to be offered a ‘free discovery call’ where you can chat for around 15 mins, to see if the naturopath is a good fit for you. You might ask questions about treatments for your particular condition, you might have had experience with other practitioners that you’d prefer to avoid again or things that you would like to explore. The call is primarily for you to satisfy any questions you may have about naturopathy generally, and will also allow the practitioner to understand your expectations
How to choose natural medicines
Natural medicines can be very safe, however, just because something is natural does not necessarily mean it is safe; for you, with your medications, in your current state of health. For example, if you are taking medications such as SSRIs, beta-blockers, or warfarin there can be interactions with some herbs that will increase or decrease the amount of the drug in your system. If you have high blood pressure, some herbs may increase blood pressure further when taken in high doses, and/or over time.
Many people self-prescribe herbal, vitamin, or amino acid supplements with information from friends, family, or from the internet. This may mean taking a supplement that is not in the right dose, not right for you, you might be taking two supplements that interact with each other, or doubling up on one ingredient potentially overloading your liver or kidneys. Some supplements bought over the internet come from countries that do not have the stringent quality control requirements of the Australian TGA and may be adulterated with other materials or are made from herbs that are not the ones stated, not processed properly, or in clean facilities. Some off-the- supplements have ingredients that you don’t need or are in dosages too low to be of assistance.
For these reasons, it is always safer for a Naturopath to guide you and/or supply practitioner-only products that contain exactly what you need, that will not adversely affect you or interact with your medications.
What conditions can a Naturopath treat?
Naturopathy can treat or aid in almost any health condition. Acute accidents or injuries are often best helped by your doctor, however, natural medicine may assist your body to heal.
Naturopathy can treat, or assist a whole range of conditions such as:
Hormonal imbalances, menstrual irregularity, heavy/light bleeding, missing periods, menstrual pain and/or mood, endometriosis, PCOS,
Fertility problems (male and female)
Gastrointestinal disturbances, IBS, SIBO, bloating, reflux, IBD, diverticulitis, chronic constipation, diarrhoea
Musculoskeletal or joint pain, fibromyalgia, arthritis (rheumatoid, osteo, psoriatic)
Fatigue, post-viral conditions such as Long COVID, glandular fever, recurrent viral infections, or depressed immune function
Allergy, asthma, eczema, psoriasis, acne, and other skin conditions
Diabetes Type 1 & 2, glaucoma, peripheral circulation problems, kidney support,
Liver and gallbladder disease or conditions
Recurrent sinus infection, bronchitis, respiratory conditions
UTIs, candida, bacterial vaginosis
And, the list goes on…virtually any condition can benefit in some way from naturopathic treatment.
People with chronic health conditions often find that naturopathy can help relieve symptoms when no other treatment has helped. Herbal medicines, lifestyle medicine, dietary modification, or nutritional supplements can be used for improving circulation, reducing inflammation, improving blood sugar regulation, assisting in hormone regulation, reducing flare-ups, improving digestion, and regulating mood.
Whether you are currently on medication or being treated by a doctor, you could still be assisted by naturopathy. We are trained to ensure that treatments are safe and no interactions between natural medicines and pharmaceutical drugs, and sometimes improvements in health can mean less reliance or a reduction in the use of those drugs. We will happily collaborate with any other members of your healthcare team, to ensure safety and consistency.
Important things to tell your Naturopath
It is important to be open with your naturopath about what medications you are taking, just as it is important to tell your doctor about any natural supplements you are taking. This can help keep you safe from drug-herb interactions that may increase, decrease or block the drug in your system. It may explain why you are experiencing a symptom e.g. many over-the-counter supplements contain forms of magnesium that can contribute to diarrhoea, if you take too much (for you) or multiple supplements containing magnesium, you may not notice that it is this causing your symptom/s.
The more information you tell your naturopath, the better the picture ‘we’ get. This allows us to treat you more efficiently, and effectively. If there’s something important, whatever it is please let us know, we treat without judgement, and our office is a safe space to share.
FAQs
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Yes, a naturopath will treat the ‘whole person’ so, whether you have one symptom or a number of them, we will treat the root cause/s. You might be surprised to find that your conditions have all stemmed from one cause, or you may have multiple factors that have caused or contributed to your condition. Whatever your situation, we can do something to optimise your health, and improve your body’s ability to restore balance.
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Yes, and no. Many of today’s drugs were derived or extracted from natural sources, but are now synthesised. About 70% of all drugs are derived in some way from natural products, often herbs.
So, what is the difference? Well, herbs contain a multitude of constituents, there may be one, or several that have beneficial therapeutic actions, and these are often the ones that are studied (sometimes well-studied, sometimes not). When they show benefits on their own, they are often synthesised as drugs. The thing to remember is that often the constituents that are left out have actions that support the main beneficial constituent - this is called ‘the entourage effect’, so let's say constituent no. 1 relieves pain from inflammation, constituent no. 2 might not, but it increases the effectiveness of no. 1. No. 3 might make no. 1 more absorbable, or reduce a side effect, no. 4 might suppress a different side effect. This is only used as an example, but it also explains why some herbs are effective, but when the constituents are studied in isolation, they don’t show the same results that anecdotal evidence does. It also explains why when constituents are isolated, concentrated and made into a pharmaceutical, they have more side effects than herbs.
Also, you might notice that when you take a drug you ‘notice’ the effect, however, when you have a herbal supplement you don’t really notice it…until you stop taking it! This is because drugs generally suppress an action/s of the body, whereas herbs will support the body’s own processes, and its own ability to restore balance and therefore, health. It is very common for people to take a herb and feel that they ‘got better on their own’, that is until they stop taking the herb when symptoms return!
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We hear that often, and it might be that your doctor is right…for the tests that have been conducted. Maybe there are other tests that need to be done. GPs are often strictly limited to the amount and types of tests that they can do, by Medicare and by their professional guiding bodies, and this can affect the interpretation.
The way that your doctor interprets your tests is different from how a naturopath will. Doctors are looking for ‘frank’ disease states, meaning you can be one point within the reference range, therefore not considered to have a disease, one point over and you are. Where a naturopath will look at a number of tests as a pattern, using reference ranges that reflect optimal health (not just disease) which is useful for preventative medicine. Reference ranges differ depending on the lab doing the testing, and reflect the population that they test. So, for example; if there are a high proportion of people that have type 2 diabetes, then the reference range will reflect higher blood sugar levels than another that has fewer with diabetes.
Using optimal ranges reflects a healthy reference range for people of different ages and stages of life. You wouldn’t expect a 4-year-old girl, a menstruating woman, and a 60 y.o. man to have the same levels of iron, a 4 y.o. girl has a smaller body, a menstruating woman has monthly blood loss (therefore, iron) and a 60 yo man has a lifetime of accumulated iron.
Hi, I’m Julie Forrester-Naturopath available near you - conveniently, via Zoom Telehealth. -
Your naturopath and doctor perform different functions, and can both be assisting you - in fact, it’s better for you that way!
Your doctor can help you with anything that requires medication, is ‘acute’ (meaning, something out of the normal for you - like a flu, or cold, or broken leg, or new pain or symptoms that you haven’t experienced recently). Your naturopath can help you to achieve foundational health, for your body to be as well as it can (so, that you maybe won’t need pharmaceutical medicines). Naturopaths can help manage symptoms of chronic conditions (anything that’s been happening for 3 months or more) so chronic pain, autoimmune conditions, or things like perimenopause/menopause, hormone imbalances, diabetes, arthritis, etc.. Where a doctor will prescribe medication, or refer you to a specialist, they may make some general lifestyle recommendations like ‘lose weight, eat healthy or get some exercise’. Unfortunately, they are limited by the time in appointments - not always their fault, it’s the system that limits what they can and can’t do. Many GPs have no training in lifestyle medicine, or nutrition and so unless they seek out this extracurricular training, their knowledge can be limited. A (modern) naturopath studies Clinical Nutrition & Lifestyle Medicine as part of their 4 year Health Sciences degree, in addition to Human Bioscience, Clinical Pathology, Pharmacology, Western Herbal Medicine, Herbal Pharmacognosy, Psychology and counselling, and more.
The other main differences are the ‘way’ in which we view health and disease. Naturopaths aim to support the body’s own healing ability (e.g. when you get stitches, it’s not the stitches that do the healing). Naturopaths understand that the body is interconnected, your emotions affect your digestion, your digestion impacts your nutrient absorption which causes disruptions to the way your cells work, your gut microbes affect your brain etc. Doctors have an older, and more ‘mechanistic’ viewpoint, treating each part of the body, each system independently of another. The other main difference is ‘Germ Theory versus Terrain Theory’ - whether diseases are caused BY microorganisms like bacteria, or whether breakdown in the body’s systems allow the microorganisms to gain the upper hand and cause disease. Recent science demonstrating the complex ecosystems that form the human microbiome which shows that microbes are part of us and we part of them, we need each other to survive. This complicated relationship fits neatly into terrain theory.
So, in short - it’s like saying do I need a panel beater or a mechanic for my car. Someday, you’ll need both, but for different reasons and it depends what’s going on. In a perfect world, everyone will have a ‘healthcare team’ with a GP, naturopath, osteopath, exercise physiologist, acupuncturist… whatever you need at any particular point in time.
