Actually, very little of what you\'ll learn at a naturopathic school has been used consistently for thousands of years. Acupuncture (if your program of choice teaches it)has, and some forms of botanical medicine. But, Homeopathy is only couple hundred years old. Naturopathic physical medicine is essentially chiropractic (19th century)and flower remedies were invented in the 1940s. Clinical nutrition, as well, had 20th century beginnings.

My point isn\'t that none of these modalities is useful. I wouldn\'t have attended a naturopathic school if I felt that natural medicine has no merit. My point is simply that Bastyr, at least, relies on questionable diagnoses. These days it\'s food intolerances (others, who attended Bastyr more recently, say it\'s psychospiritual imbalances now). Not long ago it was liver toxicity and before that intestinal dysbiosis and hypoglycemia. In turn, each of these has been implicated in everything from hangnails to brain tumors. That\'s why I call them the \"trendy diagnosis of the week\" Often diagnosis relies on fraudulent methods like pseudo-applied kinesiology, Caroll testing, and hair analysis.

Also, keep in mind that the naturopathic schools recieve funding from manufacturers of supplements and homeopathics. Even the journal Alternative Medicine Review is financed by Thorne Supplements.

I agree strongly that preventitive medicine receives short shrift. I think people would benefit greatly with better education on healthy diet (not funded by food companies), exercise, stress reduction and environmental factors.

I also agree that you should choose an educaion that resonates with your worldview. Good luck in school.