Naturopathic medicine depends upon many modalities not accepted by conventional medicine. Among the most common modalities practiced by naturopathic physicians are nutrition, counseling and homeopathy. Naturopaths subscribe to the view that the body, if given the nutrients it requires, has the capacity to heal itself in most circumstances. They also often accept above recommended daily intake of certain nutrients that are, at that level, associated with positive effects on the immune system, heart function, brain function, muscular skeletal function, liver function, kidney function, islets of langerhans function, and cellular function as treatments for disease. Although largely dismissed by conventional medicine, a substantial majority of Americans have chosen to follow the advice of nutrition counselors, including naturopaths, and individual success stories related to that advice are common. Not only that, but most people in the world, those resident in China and in India, are far more familiar with naturopathic medicine because traditional Chinese Medicine and Ayurvedic Medicine commonly practiced in India are largely naturopathic, depending upon plant based remedies instead of synthetic drug substances as treatments.
