Hi Everyone. Given the recent poltical shifts weve had in alberta and in Canada as a whole recently, I had taken to looking at other ways our lives can shift.
One issue which did not emerge in the Federal election campaign in any substantive way was healthcare. I actually find this very curious, as our current healthcare system uses a vast amount of funding without creating the kinds of health outcomes that Canadians truly wish for.
Despite spending increasingly large amounts of money on healthcare, all we generally have to look forward to is a future of increasing disease risk, cancer, and dementia. The currently dominant paradigm of healthcare knows very well how to repair immediate problems, such as broken bones and heart attacks, but very little on how to help people live to ripe old ages free from disease and disability.
Naturopathic Medicine does know how to do these things. Naturopathic treatment is based on creating an environment conducive to long term health, and on stimulating the body’s inherent ability to heal itself. When one does these things, long term chronic diseases are inherently prevented, and the likelihood of long term health. While this has only recently begun to be documented, some research on the subject has begun to be conducted, confirming this very old Naturopathic observation. You can view this research here and here.
At the moment, in Canada, this benefot is excluded from public available medical care. There is, to be blunt, no place in Canada to get this level of excellent preventative care, aside from either having private insurance coverage, or having the resources to pay for it oneself.
Internationally, this is actually quite remarkable. Many healthcare systems outside of North America recognize and incorporate many different systems of medicine into public healthcare. European countries have a large proportion of Medical Doctors trained in and practicing these therapies. China itself has equal access to both Allopathic and Chinese medicine. The world health Organisation has stated in its Traditional Medicine Strategy that Traditional and Complimentary medicines should be both regulated, ensured to be of a high quality and training, and incorporated into public healthcare systems throughout the world.
Canadians have a right to medical care of thier choice, and good preventative care, regardless of their ability to pay for it.