Frequently Asked Questions

Can naturopathic medicine help me?

Naturopathic medicine can help so many different conditions. Even if you are currently being treated by your medical doctor there are lots of therapies and treatments that we can do in conjunction with other treatments to help improve quality of life and overall wellness. If you want more information on how naturopathic medicine can help with your specific health concerns, call now to book a free 15 minute consultation – 416.699.5320.

Are the costs of seeing a naturopathic doctor covered by OHIP?

At this time the costs of seeing an ND are not covered by OHIP, although most extended health care plans offer coverage for naturopathic medicine.

How long will it take to ‘get better’?

There is a considerable amount of variation in the length of time that it takes to ‘get better’.  It depends whether or not the condition being treated is acute (has only been around a few days, week or months) versus chronic (months to years). Naturopathic doctors tend to see more chronic illness in practice which take longer to treat than acute illnesses. Because the goal of naturopathic medicine is to ‘treat the root cause’ of disease rather than simply suppressing or masking symptoms it can take anywhere from a few weeks to a few years to address all of the health concerns and see overall improvement in wellness. Each individual is unique in the way that they respond to treatment so it is best to ask your naturopathic doctor what sort of timeline you can expect in terms of recovery from your health concern. So the long and the short of the question is that it can take days to years to ‘get better’ depending on the condition being treated.

How is a Naturopathic Doctor different from a  Medical Doctor?

While we are both trained as primary care physicians the biggest differences are our philosophies and our treatments. Naturopathic doctors focus on treating the whole person (a holistic approach) while medical doctors usually treat problems and systems in isolation of one and other. Naturopathic doctors also have more of a focus on wellness and health and trying and educate our patients on how to prevent disease that medical doctors. The second biggest difference is in the treatments that we use. While medical doctors  use pharmaceutical drugs to treat illness, we use  lifestyle counseling, nutrition, acupuncture, botanical medicine, and homeopathy. These are the biggest differences between an MD and and ND.