Eric Bakker New Zealand naturopath.
We're back, we're back.
Thanks for coming back.
I've got a question here, "Can you give me some tips on how to find the best naturopathic
doctor in my area?"
Okay.
Now, I get hundreds of emails, you can imagine.
In fact, I'm shutting my email account down.
I'm going to create a new email for my family and my friends because I get overrun with
emails from people I can't even respond to anymore.
But a common question is, I know you're going out of practice in November of this year,
2019, how do we know we're going to find someone who's bona fide, who's good, who can help
us, et cetera?
Well, there are many really good people out there.
It's a matter of tracking them down.
My patients found me, they can find any practitioner online these days.What you want to do is hopefully
find someone who's got some credentials.
Not someone who came down with the last rainstorm and said, "Oh, I'm a naturopath," and yet
they've been milking cows last week, or they've been working on diesel engines or something.
Be very careful, because anyone can hang up a shingle and say that they're a naturopath.
It's a very unregulated area in many countries.
Some countries like US, they've become very tough.
Australia and New Zealand, they've become very tough.
But in many other countries, anyone can call themselves a naturopath.
So make sure you ask for qualifications to see where the person trained or studied, how
long they've been in practice for, what specialties they have, what are their clinical interests.Preferably
someone who's got a passion for what they do, who really enjoy what they do and like
working with people.
It also would pay if you can communicate effectively with that person and feel that you're being
really heard, like that person's really listening to you and has quite a lot of empathy and
understands and wants to help you out.
They're sort of core prerequisites.
But more than anything, the person needs a skillset, so some type of experience, and
preferably the person will know the area, working in an area where you have quite a
high need.
Let's say you've got a digestive problem.
So the person has seen many people with digestive problems.
Preferably also I'd recommend that the person would be well versed in Western orthodox medicine.
So understand pharmaceutical medicines.
Have some type of pharmacy skill, or know about interactions with different drugs.
They might know about some different operating procedures or medical procedures.
All these points are telling me to tell you that you need someone a bit older, rather
than a bit younger.
All right?
Getting a 22 year old to work on, for example, inflammatory bowel disease, is in my opinion
probably really not a good idea.
If I were to see a naturopath who was 22, I'd probably expect to see that person with
less serious kind of a condition.
But if I just had a quadruple bypass, I had colon cancer and I had my left foot amputated,
I probably wouldn't really go to this lady.
I'd rather go to someone with a bit more experience.
When I first started off, my bread and butter was constipation.
That was basic stuff that I worked with a long time with people.
Often when I started and I got chronic, complex cases, I'd refer them on to more experienced
people.
And I'd be the first one to put up my hand saying, "I don't really know this.
I'm going to move it on."
That's why I've got a lot of books, because I started to read about different conditions
in an era when there was no internet.
All the years of study I did was with pen and paper and typewriter.
There was no computers.
Everything was written down.
Or I recorded stuff and I'd listen to it with a little tape recorder.
Those days are gone.
I find now it's a totally different ballgame.
There's technology involved now with natural medicine.
A lot of the things that I was taught now are going out, which I find a real shame.
A lot of new things are coming in which I don't agree with, which I also find a real
shame.But it's up to you to navigate your own issues, and you can find people.
Organizations are what you want to look at.
Naturopathic organizations.
There are many in America, you'll find them in different European countries.
Wherever you live, I'd recommend you contact a naturopathic organization and then find
out people in your area or where you want to go to, but also find out specialties.
Ask people on these boards or associations if they know someone with particular interest
in X, Y, Z condition.
Often they will.
I know many people in different specialties for that reason, because I've had referrals,
or referred on.
And eventually you get to know a lot of people.
And I can tell you there's a lot out there, and especially in America.
So go to the organization, do due diligence, do some searches online, email or call these
people, and you will find somebody.
Be sure that the practitioner, the naturopath, is versed in stool testing.
Comprehensive stool testing is, in my opinion, one of the best tests to do to really open
up a case and to give you the information you need, and your practitioner to get you
from A to B.
But I would hightail it and turn away from people who come up with snap diagnosis.
Who want to throw 20 or 30 tests at you at once.
Who are talking about thousands of dollars worth of treatments and you haven't even said
hello to them yet, and they're already outlining protocols and things.
Use your common sense.
If someone seems a bit like a crackpot or half crazy, you may want to turn around and
get out the door.
There are plenty of these people in that industry.
So common sense.
Have your radar well finely tuned when you see someone to see if they're about to take
a lot of money off you, for example.
I do know some practitioners who are a little bit like that.
They're unscrupulous and they see every patient like a walking checkbook.
But they usually don't last long in the business.What am I trying to say?
I'm trying to say find someone qualified, find someone experienced.
Try not to just rely on the lady in the health food shop if you've got a chronic condition,
because you may well need more than just advice over the counter.
And be sure also that the person you're seeing is going to be there for a while.
That they're not a fly-by-nighter.
They're someone you can work with regularly.
And I recommend at least monthly consultations until you get yourself to a much higher level
of health.
You will find someone.
Patience, due diligence, and you'll get the right kind of person.
And that'll be great.
But always remember, there's the medical doctor, and there's the naturopathic one.
It's good to have both.
You need to have all bases covered.
Hope that gives you a bit of insight into my opinion on someone that you should be going
to see for your health needs.
Thanks for tuning in, I always appreciate it.