001. the Boston Herald reports in "Doctors Slam Midwife, Naturopath Bills" {2009-08-04; McConville, C. (? ?)}:
"Massachusetts legislators are considering bills that would establish separate boards [...including one for] naturopaths [...] the Massachusetts Medical Society [MMS] is taking aim [...because it isn't] good medicine [...they're] fighting efforts to make naturopaths licensed health-care providers in Massachusetts. Naturopathic medicine is a small, but growing, form of holistic health care [...] naturopaths say bills currently before the House and Senate would require that all naturopathic practitioners in Massachusetts be held to the highest standards of education and training [...] the medical society denounced the move, calling the practice of naturopathy a 'large assortment of erroneous and potentially dangerous claims [hear, hear!] mixed with a sprinkling of non-controversial dietary and lifestyle advice.'"
Note: the fact is that there aren't high standards at the supposedly highest of standards naturopathic colleges [I know, I went to such a school], the AANMC schools of the AANP and FNPLA [see 003., below].
002. naturopathy's definition of "holistic" with their false claim of science upon that, per their central "highest standards" school, NCNM which states in "Principles of Healing":
"these principles stand as the distinguishing marks of the profession [professions claim; the essentially naturopathic follows]: [#1, first and foremost] the healing power of nature -- vis medicatrix naturae. The body has the inherent ability to establish, maintain, and restore health. The healing process is ordered and intelligent [teleology claim]; nature heals through the response of the life force [vitalism claim...] the process of healing includes the generation of symptoms, which are, in fact, expressions of the life force attempting to heal itself [vitalism claim...] the practice of promoting health through stimulation of the vital force [vitalism claim...] these principles are based on the objective observation of the nature of health and disease and are examined continually in light of scientific analysis [survives scientific scrutiny claim...] causes may occur on many levels, including physical, mental-emotional, and spiritual [supernaturalism claim...] health and disease are conditions of the whole organism, involving a complex interaction of physical, spiritual, mental, emotional, genetic, environmental, and social factors [supernaturalism claim...] the physician must also make a commitment to her/his personal and spiritual development [supernaturalism claim...] homeopathic medicine is based on the principle of 'like cures like.' Clinical observation indicates that it works on a subtle, yet powerful, energetic level, gently acting to promote healing on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels [supernaturalism claim...this is] a medical model that is more patient-centered and holistic."
Note: the holistic is vitalistic, supernaturocentric, teleological, and falsely claims that the science-unsupported is in fact objective & scientific. Naturopathy is the height of academic and pseudomedical absurdity. Naturopathy is sectarian beliefs falsely postured as legitimate science. Yeah, lets license crappola / junk thought like this, to protect the public. Makes sense [not!].
003. some of 'the grossly erroneous essentially naturopathic' [misrepresenting as scientific fact the actually science-ejected]. Naturopathy's claim that [and I won't, in this post, hypertext-link the following, as this blog has piles of such 'from the inside' linkages already]:
003.a. vitalism survives scientific scrutiny [no, it doesn't];
003.b. supernaturalism survives scientific scrutiny [no, it doesn't];
003.c. teleology survives scientific scrutiny [no, it doesn't].
004. I applaud the MMS. It is their duty to take such a stance.
