September Flashcards
What does allopathy mean?
Against disease
What is naturopathy?
A system of healthcare that promotes and encourages the body’s own self-healing mechanisms
What do people believe that vital force can be stimulated by?
Fresh air, sun, clean eating, health diet, fasting, detoxification
What are the main principle of treating diseases in naturopathy?
Treat the cause not the symptom, treat the person as a whole, prevention is better than cure, empower patients to take responsibility for their own health
What is a nutrient?
A substance that provides nourishment essential for growth and maintenance of life
What is nutrition?
The process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for health and growth
What is nourishment?
The food or other substances necessary for growth, health and good condition
What is a whole food?
Food that has not been processed or refined and is free from additives or other artificial substances
What is a superfood?
Highly nutritious foods containing all or nearly all the vitamins, minerals and trace elements a body needs
Why are junk foods bad?
They hinder cell communication
Which societies and principles were natural medicine built on?
Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Egyptian, Greco-Roman medicine.
Who is the quote ‘let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food’ attributed to?
Hippocrates (468-377 BC)
What did Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897) do?
The father of Hydrotherapy
What are the actions of cold water on the body?
Decreases peripheral circulation and numbs the area, increases RR
What are the actions of hot water on the body?
Relaxes muscles, increases peripheral circulation, decreases RR
What are the actions of alternating hot and cold water?
Stimulates blood flow
What did Dr Max Bircher-Benner do?
He advocated a 50/50 raw food diet with emphasis on fruit. Advocated for maintaining a nutrient profile in food. Famous for his Bircher muesli.
What did Dr John Harvey Kellogg do?
- promoted the importance of the intestinal microflora
What did Henry Lindlahr (1862-1924) do?
Iridologist, who cured his diabetes using natural approaches and then went on to cure other people
Who was Dr Max Gerson (1881-1959)?
He was a doctor who treated TB and cancer patients. He said toxicity and deficiency are the two areas underpinning bad health
Who was James C Thomson (1887-1960)?
Set up the first natural training college, Scottish naturopath
Who was Dr Bernard Jensen (1908-2001)?
Advocated for bowel cleansing as the most important aspect in maintaining health, developed advanced iridology, made a colon hydrotherapy machine
Who was Louis Pasteur (1822-1895)?
He developed the germ theory that disease occurs outside the body - bacteria, viruses etc. He developed the process of pasteurisation
Who was Antoine Bechamp (1816-1908)?
A French scientist who said that it is not the germs but the terrain where the germs go that causes the disease - acidic, low oxygenated environment that causes disease as the body cannot fight the germs
Who are the ASA?
The advertising standards agency - extended their remit to censor natural therapy websites and adverts in the UK
Who was John Rockefeller (1839-1937)?
Founded standard oil and had control over oil refinery, he put in lots of money into medical schools in the USA who disregard naturopathy etc
Who formulated the Law of similars?
Samuel Hahnemann - like cures like - bee venom for bee sting, coffee for insomnia
What is the homeopathic remedy for a fever?
Dab the skin with lukewarm water to mimic the body’s natural response - perspiration
What is the homeopathic remedy for sunburn?
Cool down slowly, apply warmth, drink warm things, avoid shocking the body with cold applications
What is the homeopathic remedy for burns?
Apply something warm, not ice cold water
What is the homeopathic remedy for frost bite?
Rub foot with snow, warm it up very slowly
What is the homeopathic remedy for a hangover?
Sip or smell alcohol
What types of deodorants should be used?
Not antiperspirants - natural deodorants that allow sweat removal
What are the disadvantages of using antipyrexics for fever?
This can delay recovery, fever is useful for getting the immune system into action
What are the disadvantages of antibiotics?
They disrupt the intestinal flora and can lead to long-term digestive and immune disruptions. They can be life-saving in certain conditions. antibiotic resistance
How long does it take for different part of the body to regenerate?
Brain - 1 year, blood - 4 months, liver - 6 weeks, skin - 1 month, bone -3 months, stomach mucosa - 5 days
What are Hering’s 5 laws of cure?
- Cure should occur from the inside out
- More serious organs should be cured before the less seroius ones
- The mind gets better before the body
- Symptoms disappear in the reverse order to when they arrived
- Symptoms disappear proximally to distally
What are the main causes of insulin resistance?
Excess, processed carbohydrates, trans fats, low level fibres, lack of physical activity, dehydration
What is the belief of the chinese body clock?
It is believed that each organ functions at its optimum capacity at certain times of the day - it can be used to help determine organs involved in pathology presentation
What is the YIN and YANG?
Yin - cool - contracting and cooling
Yang - warm - expanding
Not complete opposites
What are some Yin foods?
cold and cooling foods
plant foods, wet foods, raw foods, foods that grow in spring and summer, refined foods, sweeter foods
What are some yang foods?
Warming foods, red meats, high calorie foods, chocolate, tea, coffee, spices, root vegetables, fresh food
What are some Yin conditions?
acne, high blood pressure, migraines
What are some Yang conditions?
Lethargy, anaemia, feeling cold
What is a Yin cooking method?
Use of water in cooking
What is a Yang cooking method?
Use of heat/fire to heat - such as roasting
What is the macrobiotic diet?
A diet based on the principles of Yin and Yang. It says that health can be achieved by balancing your diet with foods that are neutral. It emphasises chewing foods and avoids using the microwave
Which foods are generally heating?
Foods that stimulate the metabolism - garlic, onion, ginger, eggs, meat, apples, lemon, cheese, walnuts
Which food are generally cooling?
Foods that decrease the metabolism - most fruit, vegetables, fresh cheeses, fish, mint
Which foods are generally light?
Airy foods - rice cakes, popcorn, corn, sunflower seeds
Which foods are generally heavy?
Meat, wheat, aubergines, greasy dried foods
What is research?
The systematic study of a subject in order to establish facts and reach new conclusions
What is the naturopathic medicine trials pyramid?
- observations and experiences of practitioners and patients
- Laws, principles and conclusions based on experiences of practitioners in clinic
- Practitioner case studies in clinic, patient questionnaires, research
What are some methods of natural medicine research?
Qualitative research, case studies, patient questionnaires - measure you own medical outcome profile, clinical audits, outcome studies
When is the MYMOP done?
patient fills in questionnaire from visit to visit
What is a clinical audit?
- a study to assess whether the best practice is being carried out in clinic
- to draw out data regarding the effectiveness of treatments carried out in clinic
What is outcomes research?
Assesses the delivery of care, use of resources and the benefits to patients - can be done by looking at exit questionnaires, assessing cost
What does ayurvedic medicine include?
lifestyle medicine, herbal, mineral, diet, exercise and detoxification
What are the three basic energy types in ayurveda?
Vata - thin, dry, cold, mentally agile, anxious
Pitta - medium-bodies, warm, bad tempered
Kapha - strong build, can be overweight, dependable, can get depressed
What approaches are included in traditional chinese medicine?
Acupuncture, chinese herbs, nutrition, massage, movement - Qi Gong, cupping - based on observation of the natural world
What is acupuncture based on?
Observations and clinical experiences of clients
What are the key principles of acupuncture?
There are 12 main channels (meridians) that move energy through the body to create balance and health
meridians represent organs and functions of the body
What is an acupuncture point?
An area on the skin where a meridian comes to the surface
What did Samuel Hahnemann do?
He gave Cinchona Bark (China) to people with malaria and found that their malaria disappeared, he came up with the law of similars
How are homeopathic remedies ‘proved’ in like cures like?
Healthy volunteers take the substance, any symptoms they have are recorded, the substance is then given for symptoms that have been recorded
What did Ignatz von Peczely do?
He founded iridology, he saw correlations between signs in the iris and pathologies presenting.
What did Edward Bach do?
He observed links between bowel bacteria and personality traits. He matches plants of similar energy to that of his patients.
What did Bernard Jensen do?
Came up with a reflex map of which areas of the colon relate to which areas of the body
Name some new natural therapies
tooth reflex chart, lymphatic drainage, foot reflex zones, kinesiology, thermography
What is kinesiology?
muscle testing to diagnose and treat - body movement
What is thermography?
It uses an infrared camera to detect heat patterns and blood flow in body tissues
What are three problems with biomedical research?
It doesn’t look at the cause, it can be isolated, geared up to make profits
Name three researchers who contributed to natural medicine
hippocrates, samuel hahnemman, Gerson, Bach
What is a systematic review?
A review of all available literature in ordered to analyse the effectiveness of a particular compound/technique etc
What is a meta-analysis?
a statistical procedure for combining data from multiple studies.
What is epidemiological research?
Research that looks at why something may occur at a population level
What is a descriptive study?
A study that describes a current situation - e.g how many cancer patients have tried homeopathic remedies
What are the main principles of research ethics?
beneficence, non-maleficence, confidentiality, right for the participant to quit at any time, right for them to be fully informed, maintenance of standards
What is narrative medicine?
A qualitative approach to assess the narratives of patients in clinical practice
What is outcomes research?
Assesses the delivery of care in a particular context and the benefits to patients - MYMOP
What is an example of observational studies?
Narrative medicine and studies, ethnographic, study of cultures
What are the Emic and Etic perspectives?
Emic - thoughts and beliefs about local people from the inside (joining them)
Etic - from the outside
What are some steps to critically appraise a paper?
Who wrote it, and what is their interest?
Who published it and what is their interest?
Who funds it?
Are there any suggestions of bias in the study? confounding factors?
Is the interpretation of the results justified?
What are the outcome measures?
Look at references
What are some examples of bias?
Confirmation bias
confounding factors
conflict of interest
bias in study design and methology
What are the functions of cholesterol in the body?
- precursor to sex hormones (androgens) and cortisol
- makes up a part of cell membranes
- involved in vitamin D synthesis
(is found in high quantities in the brain)
