Dear Doctors,

What exactly is a naturopath? I have thought about seeing one since my cholesterol is a little high, but I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy. I don’t want to become a vegetarian and I don’t want to give up drinking coffee. Do naturopaths see patients like me?

– Joe in Sammamish

Dear Joe,

Thanks for writing! You are exactly the kind of patient that we like to see!

Naturopathic doctors (also known as N.D.s) are primary care providers that are trained in all aspects of preventive and natural healthcare.

Naturopathic medicine emphasizes disease prevention and focuses on finding the underlying cause of disease, rather than just treating the symptoms.

As naturopathic doctors, we attended five years of medical school where we were trained in all aspects of preventive and natural healthcare. We learned to use a wide variety of treatment modalities including conventional and alternative methods.

Our expertise is being able to integrate traditional alternative medicine (vitamins, herbs and nutrition) with modern healthcare. We devote a significant portion of our time to educating our patients.

Joe, I can assure you that at our clinic, all of the naturopaths eat meat and potatoes and have been known to go to Starbucks. There are many ways to lower cholesterol without becoming a vegetarian or giving up coffee.

Like most naturopaths, we take time to get to know our patients.

At our clinic, a typical first visit lasts for two hours which gives us adequate time to get to know you and to understand your medical history and health concerns.

We would want to do additional lab work to better understand the extent of your cholesterol problem. There is some newer lab testing that allows us to break down your “bad cholesterol” into its various components and determines the best way to individually treat your high cholesterol.

In general, the way that we would want to treat your high cholesterol would depend on your health history, cardiovascular risk factors and your actual cholesterol level.

It might include diet and lifestyle changes, supplements and/or medication. Many patients are shocked to find that their cholesterol can be dropped significantly just by getting adequate fiber in the diet.

I think that you will be pleased to find that there are many options for lowering cholesterol.

Again, Joe, thanks for writing. We hope that you schedule an appointment with a naturopath soon. I don’t think that you will be disappointed.

Jill Monster ND

(Send your health question to: info@naturomedica.com)