The reason I became a Naturopathic Doctor (ND) is simple: I was sick and tired of being tired and sick. I had a high profile job reporting to a high profile CEO in the investment management industry and had been diagnosed with several health challenges: cancer, depression, anxiety, and high blood pressure due to stress. In addition, I was recovering from an eating disorder and an addiction to exercise given my talent as a track competitor at the National level and Ironman triathlete background.

I was used to the “traditional” medical model – go to your MD, get referred to specialist A, B, C or D and stay in the “system”. After 15 years of being in “the system” and not getting satisfactory results, I conceded to my friends requests and agreed that there MUST be another way to address all my health problems – including my physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states. I started seeing an ND in 1996, after waiting 2 years to get an appointment. And, I have not looked back. I even made an extremely difficult choice when I was 33 years of age and passed up an incredible job opportunity after asking myself one question: “If money didn’t matter, what would I be doing with my life, career-wise?” The answer came immediately to me: Become a Naturopathic Doctor and help people recover from the same illnesses you have dealt with using a balanced approach that involves more than simply suppressing symptoms with pharmaceuticals.

This issue of Connect is about your Mind, Body and Spirit – to date, Naturopathic Medicine is the only medical model that I know of, that addresses all these aspects in an individual. Naturopathic medicine refers to a distinct system of primary healthcare that uses natural methods and substances to support and stimulate the body’s inherent self-healing process. It is a system of medicine that is based on prevention and promotes the optimum health and wellness of individuals by taking into account the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of one’s life when diagnosing and developing a treatment plan.

Naturopathic doctors view individuals as an integral whole where symptoms are seen as warning signals of improper functioning or imbalances in the body and with one’s environment. The objective of Naturopathic medicine is to address the root or underlying cause of disease, rather than to simply treat or suppress symptoms and we work as leaders on your health care team, in conjunction with medical doctors and specialists, for your benefit. Give yourself the most important gift of a lifetime – the gift of health. Consult with a Naturopathic doctor today to optimize your health – do it for yourself, your family and perform better at work as a positive side effect!