naturopathy

By element do you mean a specific plant or the broader principles of naturopathy?

"First of all, naturopathy and homeopathy have nothing in common except for that they sound kind of similar.

But I also think that the good bits of naturopathy will eventually just be called "nutrition".I presented specific complaints to this ND, which my other doctors haven't been able to assist with.

This difficulty has to be the reason why some forms of "medicine" persist, ie naturopathy will have to work sometime, just as a stopped watch is right twice a day. I would never be so foolish as to discount your story, however, without knowing the actual facts, and without acknowledging that some people do, in fact, have food allergies, celiac sprue, etc...

Not sure how naturopathy helps here, unless naturopaths routinely break the law."Of course the dosages are a lot more variable than if you just got a pill, but that's why you go back to your naturopathic doctor every week or so..."How does that help?

But regardless of your personal feelings about naturopathy, NDs are certified to prescribe medicines and perform surgical procedures in at least a dozen states, and in some others, they're even licensed to be primary care providers.

Is it fair to call it quackery or should it be more fairly called a placebo-based remedy system?Can it be slotted in the same league as naturopathy?After all naturopathic formulations don't always have the same efficacy in controlled trials.

[edited to remove my dig at homeopathy, which wasn't at issue here - it was naturopathy]The more interesting thesis of the original article is that some inflammatory disease is related to a 'leaky gut' syndrome and that it could be modulated by diet and changing gut flora.

"I wouldn't call that supporting evidence that CAM works, in fact I'd say that whole page doesn't give it any support at all, nor does it excuse naturopathy from having harmful effects -"Substances used in alternative medical practices may have not been thoroughly tested to find out how they interact with medicines, foods, or dietary supplements.