Naturopaths/Nutritionists

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Thunderfan66
Thunderfan66 Posts: 105 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Do you believe that naturopaths/nutritionists are good and can really help, or not? I guess it depends on your personal experience, but I'm just interested to know people's opinions. I saw one recently and I found him to be quite arrogant about things. I was annoyed when he said "Oh weight loss is easy, easy". However there were some things he said that made sense. I'm erring on the side of thinking that they are not that great, but I'm just interested in other people's views and/or experiences.

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  • Thunderfan66
    Thunderfan66 Posts: 105 Member
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    Oh, and I had a Live Blood Analysis done, as well as a body composition analysis done with the electrical current. Should I trust these results?
  • LifeWithPie
    LifeWithPie Posts: 552 Member
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    I personally find most naturopathic practices to be quackery and pseudoscience. But that's me.
  • Branstin
    Branstin Posts: 2,320 Member
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    Like anything else in life, some are good and some aren't so helpful. Personally, I believe they could be helpful for people who struggle with weight loss or whose weight loss efforts are hindered or masked due to medication. I would want someone to tell me what I need to hear as opposed to what I want to hear. Nonetheless, I would not keep or pay for anyone who doesn't help me.
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I had a great experience with a Naturopath. Not sure if it matters, but NDs are licensed in my state, have to pass boards, etc. and I know that is not true in all states. My Naturopath guided me through a rough patch with allergies and made me feel better- something my MD allergist couldn’t do. The MD’s diagnosis was “we don’t know what you are allergic to, so here is a prescription to cover up the symptoms”. The Naturopath’s diagnosis was “let’s see if we can figure out what is making you feel horrible since allergy skin and blood tests were inconclusive.” It turns out, the Naturopath was able to figure out what caused me year round congestion, something the MD had no interest in. (It was an intolerance, not allergy, to dairy products identified via elimination diet). Anyway, I am just putting my 2 cents out there that Naturopaths are not all “woo”. If you find a good one, they are a nice compliment to (not replacement for) traditional medicine.

    This doesn’t answer your nutrition question; I just wanted to let it be known that Naturopath does not necessarily equal quackery. However, I am sure there are good and bad Naturopaths, just as there are good and bad medical doctors.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    I just wanted to let it be known that Naturopath does not necessarily equal quackery. However, I am sure there are good and bad Naturopaths, just as there are good and bad medical doctors.
    There's a difference though Doctors use peer reviewed science. Naturopaths don't. Just because they are licensed doesn't mean that it is a proven medicine for anything it just means the state recognises them. If people wish to wast their money on unproven treatments that's their choice but don't try and dress it up as something it's not
  • melsinct
    melsinct Posts: 3,512 Member
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    I just wanted to let it be known that Naturopath does not necessarily equal quackery. However, I am sure there are good and bad Naturopaths, just as there are good and bad medical doctors.
    There's a difference though Doctors use peer reviewed science. Naturopaths don't. Just because they are licensed doesn't mean that it is a proven medicine for anything it just means the state recognises them. If people wish to wast their money on unproven treatments that's their choice but don't try and dress it up as something it's not

    Just because it is deemed "unproven" doesn't mean it can't be effective. The traditional medical community has changed its tune regarding acupuncture in recent years, for instance. Hell, my crappy US health insurance even covers it! Again, my stance is that in *some* cases a Naturopath could compliment traditional medicine, as it did for me in my anecdote above. In the area of nutrition, NDs have far more training than MDs. Sadly, most of the people on MFP know more about nutrition than MDs.

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