The Naturopathic Way: How to Detox, Find Quality Nutrition, and Restore Your Acid-Alkaline Balance

Reviewed by Irene Watson for Reader Views (7/09) The first thing we need to know is the difference between Naturopathic Medicine and Allopathic Medicine. Naturopathic Medicine treats the disease using natural methods whereas Allopathic Medicine uses therapeutic methods. Dr. Christopher Vasey, ND, treats his patients through Naturopathy and encourages readers to follow suit. As one that prefers using natural methods to treat disease I was happy to find Dr. Vasey's book. In agreement with the author, I strongly believe what we ingest into our bodies, as well the lack of exercise and state-of-mind is how our body reacts. In many cases it is through dis-ease because our bodies have been compromised. Naturopathy focuses on removing the cause of the illness, rather than mask the symptoms with medication. Dr. Vasey explains how our bodies become unbalanced and the importance of bringing them to balance again. Through proper nutrition as well as complementary supplements Dr. Vasey reinforces that a body can be healed. He also advocates cleaning the body through drainage of the liver, colon, kidneys, skin, and lungs with diet, therapy, herbs and fasting. The bottom line is to create a healthy biological environment within the internal body. Being an advocate of natural healing methods I appreciated reading Dr. Christopher Vasey's "The Naturopathic Way" by being reminded of the importance of keeping our bodies clean and healthy. The book is concise but informative, comprehensive but written in lay terms. It is a great starter book for anyone wanting to learn more about healing their body through natural methods. It's also a good resource for herbalists, nutritional consultants, and other naturopathic doctors to make available to their patients.

In this slim volume of just over 100 pages, Vasey lays out six rules for recovering and maintaining health. In contrast to the allopathic model of treating symptoms, the Naturopathic Way deals with the fundamental cause of illness and focuses on restoring balance to the biological terrain - the body's internal cellular environment. It explains clearly and succinctly how disease can progress from just "not feeling well" to serious illness, and makes clear what influences this progression and how to reverse and eliminate it. Vasey's aim may have been to introduce the naturopathic approach to illness, but I believe he has achieved something far more important. As someone very familiar with the principles of good health: nutrition, hydration, detoxification, exercise and mental attitude, I still found this book a wake-up call, because knowing and doing are two different things. The Naturopathic Way offers such clear and simple guidelines that adopting these principles doesn't seem such a chore. It also makes you realize that with all the assaults on our immune systems from the modern lifestyle, you ignore them at your peril. You can choose to get your act together and achieve positive health, or choose to accept progressive decline. At least the book gives you enough information and tools to choose for yourself. I think this book is so valuable that it should be in every household.