The Seven Time-Tested Principles of Naturaopathic Medicine:

1. First, Do No Harm
   Naturopathic physicians seek to do no harm with medical treatment by employing safe and effective natural therapies.
2. Nature Has Healing Powers
   Naturopathic physicians believe that the body has considerable power to heal itself. It is the role of the physician to facilitate and enhance this process with the aid of natural, nontoxic therapies.
3. Identify And Treat The Cause
   Naturopathic physicians are trained to see the underlying causes of a disease rather than simply suppress the symptoms. Symptoms are viewed as expressions of the body's attempt to heal, while the causes can spring from the physical, mental-emotioal and spiritual levels.
4. Treat The Whole Person
   Naturopathic physicians are trained to view an individual as a whole, composed of a complex set of physical, mental-emotional, spiritual, social and other factors.
5. The Physician Is A Teacher
   Naturopathic physicians are primarily teachers, educating, empowering and motivating patients to assume more personal responsibility for their health, by adoting a healthy attitude, lifestyle and diet.
6. Prevention Is The Best Cure
   Naturopathic physicians are preventative medicine specialists. Prevention of disease is accomplished through education and encouraging life habits that support health and prevent disease.
7. Establish Health And Wellness
   The primary goals of hte naturopathic physician are to establish and maintain optimal health to promote wellness. While "health" is defined as the state of optimal physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being, "wellness' is defined as a state of health, characterized by a positive emotional state. The naturopathic physician strives to increase the patient's level of wellness, regardless of the level of health or disease. Even in cases of severe disease, a high level of wellness can often be achieved.

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Source: M. Murray and J. Pizzorno, Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine - 2nd Ed. (New York, NY: Three River's Press, 1998)