Naturopathic Medical Doctors (NMD) practice medicine as a licensed Physician, a General Practitioner usually.  They have been trained in and can also do acupuncture, homeopathy, nutrition, counseling, physical manipulation (similar to chiropractic), and a variety of other therapies.  With such a wide scope of practice many will specialize in a couple of areas.  As you may have noticed, homeopathy is one of the modalities a Naturopathic Doctor can practice.  Naturopathic physicians report to the Naturopathic Physicians Medical Board.

 

Homeopathy is a science that has been around for over two hundred years that came out of Germany.  It is based on the principles of using a minimum dose and like cures like.   You may have seen the homeopathic medicines sold in the stores in little tubes.  The medicines are made from all sorts of things – plants, animals and minerals.  They are labeled with their name and a potency such as 6C, 12C or 30 C in the store.  The 30C is considered the strongest.  There are also books usually available in the store giving indications for the different medicines.  The trick with homeopathy is you have to get the right one to have good results.  If you have tried a homeopathic medicine and it did not help, you probably chose the wrong one.  The most common homeopathic medicine used is Arnica Montana for bruises, over-exertion and surgeries.  Homeopathy is used widely in Europe, South America and India.  A homeopathic practitioner will listen to all of your various symptoms and match them to a homeopathic medicine. 

 

In Arizona there is another use for the term homeopath.  It refers to a separate board created by Medical Doctors (MD) and Osteopathic Doctors (DO) who practice integrative medicine of various types.  They can be practicing, in addition to general medicine, IV nutrition, acupuncture and of course homeopathy.  However very few of them use much homeopathy.  They do have to pass a test in acupuncture or homeopathy to be part of their Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners.  They will have the designation MD(H) after their name.

 

Valeria Breiten, NMD, RD

www.DrValeria.net

Tel: (541) 482-0625

 

Dr. Valeria Breiten is a licensed Naturopathic Physician in Ashland, Oregon. She is a Registered Dietitian, a homeopath and predominantly uses homeopathy, nutrition, Scenar and botanical medicine in her practice. Her style is warm and cheerful, and her focus is on you, the patient.