East Valley Tribune Naturopathy - A "Natural Health Solution" That's Actually Supernatural!

here, I highlight some of the reporting laziness that happens concerning naturopathy.  First, there's the article which talks about "natural" medicine [NM] yet doesn't mention that the premise of NM's context is essentially supernatural [see 001., below]; then, I show you that within naturopathy / NM -- backstage! -- the premise is explicitly contextually supernatural [see 002., below]; yet, naturopathy falsely poses all-the-while as scientific [see 003., below]:

001. Travis Roemhild reports in the East Valley Tribune article "Natural Health Solution Offered in AF" (2010-12-30)[vsc 2011-01-01]:

"[caption] Dr. Matthew Cavaiola [NMD SCNM], a licensed naturopathic physician and acupuncturist, applies a series of needles to a patient's back in his clinic recently [...he] owns Phoenix Anti-Aging Clinic [...] and uses natural therapeutics to treat a variety of conditions[...main article] when Dr. Matthew Cavaiola opened his office in Ahwatukee Foothills, he was filling a need he saw in the community [...] to give the people of Ahwatukee Foothills an outlet into the world of naturopathic medicine [...he] has been a resource for residents who want to take a more natural route in dealing with their health. 'People really want answers for their health problems,' he said [...] 'the most important thing is understanding where the issues are coming from and dealing with the cause of the problem,' Cavaiola said. 'My goal is to not just treat the symptoms but to fight the cause [...by using] outside-the-box thinking' [...] Cavaiola is also a certified acupuncturist. He speaks highly of the practice saying that it has a unique ability to rekindle the energy [coded vitalism] that flows through the body. 'Acupuncture was developed and perfected over thousands of years [...] it opens up the chi [explicit vitalism] and can correct imbalances that have the ability to help with a variety of illnesses'."

Note: the article directly links to the ND's web page.  So, there's energy = chi, and a supposed "natural" context.  It's interesting how one can ever understand a causative figmentation [chi].

002. the Canadian Association of Naturopathic Doctors's fund-raising book "The History of Naturopathic Medicine: A Canadian Perspective" (2009, ISBN 9781552787786) states: 

"naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of medicine based on the philosophies of vitalism and holism [p.014...] vitalism and holism represents the philosophy of naturopathic medicine [p.029...there are] six defining principles of naturopathic medicine: [#1] first, do no harm (primum non nocere) [...] from a naturopathic perspective, it refers not only to the patient but to the patient’s vital force [p.030...#2] the healing power of nature (vis medicatrix naturae) [HPN-VMN...] the aim of naturopathic physicians is to treat the patient, not the disease, by directing the vital force and encouraging it with naturopathic therapeutics to stimulate the body’s own defenses [...marginal] 'during the healthy condition of man the spirit-like force [supernaturalism] which animates the material body rules supreme as dynamis [...] Samuel Hahnemann,  M.D. 1755 - 1843 [p.031...] vitalism refers to the view that life is governed by forces beyond the physical self [metaphysical]. Often vitalism is associated with concepts of spirit or soul [explicit supernaturalism; p.239]."

Note: so, there's vitalism = vital force = HPN-VMN = supernaturalism = dynamis = metaphysicalism = spirit / soul.  This is not natural at all!  What a hoodwink.  And naturopathic thinking isn't "outside", it's irrational: equating the natural with the supernatural.  But, the vitalistic supernatural are not science-interior, they are science-exterior.  That's an incontestable fact.

003. yet, at NMD Cavaiola's web page, we're told of naturopathy's "science" basis:

003.a. in "Naturopathic Medicine" [vsc 2011-01-01]:

"a licensed naturopathic physician (N.D.) [...] is educated in all of the same basic sciences as an M.D."

Note: by definition, "basic science" means 'science as a basis.'

003.b. in "New Clinic Brings Natural, Patient-Centered Care to Phoenix" [vsc 2011-01-01]:

"naturopathic physicians are trained [...] in the basic and clinical sciences, like a conventional MD."

Note: science, science, science.  But what kind of science contains nonscience?  The pseudoscientific kind.

004. in sum:

one huge problem with naturopathy is that it doesn't make -- obviously --  reasonable categorical distinctions in order to allow informed consent.  The natural and the supernatural are equated; the science-exterior and the science-interior are equated; the clinically inert 'of chi placebo' is elevated to the level of panacea .  But, these categories are quite distinct.  Blurring their delineation steps thought back into a pre-modern, prescientific, superstitious mode.  But, such naturopathic conflation continues.

one huge problem with the reporting regarding naturopathy is 'lack of depth and a blind proponentry'.  Each account reads like a billboard / advertisement.