You know that you are a unique individual, and you would like to be treated that way.  Conventional (allopathic) medicine treats you like a diagnosis -- with a "this-for-that," cookie-cutter approach to prescribing medicine for symptoms.  Naturopathic medicine may be just the antidote that you've been seeking.

To address your health concerns in the most thorough way possible, naturopathic medicine is a health care system based on six primary principles:

• First, do no harm (Primum non nocere)
• Work with the healing power of nature (Vis medicatrix naturae)
• Find and treat the cause of disease, not just the symptoms (Tolle causam)
• Doctor as teacher (Docere)
• Treat the whole person
• Prevention

To put these principles into practice, Dr. Andrew Peters first applies good, solid medicine to diagnose your problem.  This includes taking the time for a thorough history, including lifestyle factors.  Dr. Peters can order any necessary laboratory testing to help identify the underlying causes of illness.

Treatment then consists of the gentlest possible therapies.  Often, lifestyle changes (such as diet, exercise, sleep, and stress management) are the most important factors in altering the course of disease.  These can be assisted through the intelligent, targeted use of natural therapies such as nutritional supplements, herbal medicines, and physical medicine techniques.

What laboratory tests are available?

Dr. Peters can order standard lab tests such as complete blood counts (CBC), cholesterol, blood sugar, urinalysis, etc.  In addition, other testing may be necessary to discover the root cause of your health concerns, including:

• Food allergy testing (blood)

• Salivary hormone profiles (adrenal function, male & female sex hormones)

• Urinary metabolic profile (markers for cellular function and overgrowth of harmful microorganisms)

• Urinary heavy metals (mercury, lead, etc.)

What are "professional quality" supplements?  Why are they important?

There are many nutritional and herbal supplements available out there -- at the drug store, at health food stores, even at department stores.  Unfortunately, with loose regulation, you don't always know what you're getting.  By choosing supplements from reputable manufacturers (many only available through doctors' offices), you can be assured of:

• The quality of the ingredients (freedom from contamination, proper identification of active components)

• The potency of the product (it actually contains the amount of ingredients claimed on the label)

• The absorbability of the product (it breaks down in your digestive tract and get absorbed into the bloodstream)

Some of these supplements may cost more than their drugstore counterparts, but when you're trying to achieve a specific therapeutic goal, it doesn't pay to roll the dice with your health.