ABOUT ME: A CHRISTIAN NATUROPATH

Like many who seek out natural remedies, my mother was disillusioned by the mismanagement of her chronic health condition in the mainstream system. I grew up in an environment where natural medicine was not only normal, but generally preferable to the mainstream model. But as a teenager, when I looked around my church and school, I saw a general reluctance among Christian people to seek out natural therapies. While the doctor was considered scientific and spiritually neutral, natural therapists were so often perceived to be ‘new age hippies’, and many didn’t feel that it was a spiritually safe space. That fear was not unfounded. I had certainly witnessed practitioners who would justify their concerns.

It was a shame, because there is so much value in natural therapies, and I felt many of the people around me were missing out on a valuable avenue of treatment and healing, for want of safe, evidence-based practitioners. There was a distinct lack of Christians in the industry, and this observation was one of the reasons I decided to go into this field of work. Twenty years later, and the naturopathic industry has evolved a great deal – the threshold for qualification of practitioners is higher, and there is generally a stronger reliance on solid biochemistry in protocol and product development. However, there are still very few Christians in naturopathy, and many Christian patients do prefer to work with a Christian practitioner. I see it as a great privilege to be able to serve God by helping others to restore their health, so that they, in turn, can better serve God and others.

If you’re reading this, and you’re not a Christian, I want to reassure you that I understand what my job is, and what it isn’t. I am neither a pastor, nor a chaplain, and I won’t be pushing any unwelcome religious paradigms upon you. However, there is a reason why so many naturopathic practitioners are prone to having spiritual elements in their practice. Naturopathy takes a holistic view of health, which includes not only the physical body, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person’s life. In my experience, people are the healthiest when they have some sense of meaning, peace, and coherence in how they understand themselves and the world around them – often rooted in the spiritual dimension. As a Christian, my own understanding of these things is grounded in my faith. However, I recognise that not everyone shares that framework. My role as a naturopathic practitioner is not to impose my spiritual beliefs, but to support you in your health journey with respect and care. If matters of faith or worldview are important to you, I’m happy to explore these things with you. Otherwise, our focus will remain on your health goals and the practical steps needed to achieve them.

A CHRISTIAN APPROACH TO NATURAL MEDICINE

I believe God is sovereign in all things. For a Christian suffering with their health, prayer can and should be a major part of the journey to healing. Both the Christian client and I, as practitioner, should be bringing health issues to the Lord and praying for wisdom and healing. While I hope He uses me, and the tools He’s provided for us in food and plants, ultimately everything is in His hands alone.

That being said, I believe that in general, God works according to His established order. He has designed the human body as an intricately coordinated and interconnected system, capable of adapting and restoring balance when we remove barriers and provide the right support. As practitioners, and as individuals, we are called to be good stewards of that design, caring for the body in a way that respects how it was created to function. He has also given us the capacity to learn and understand, albeit imperfectly, how these systems work. For this reason, I believe that the best avenue to healing is to work with the body God created, rather than to frustrate or override it.

As with the human body, the internal synergy of the food and plants God has designed is remarkable. With few exceptions, foods and herbs tend to absorb and function best when they are kept as close to their original form as possible. Food is how our bodies were designed to receive nutrients, and in many cases, dietary change is a powerful and appropriate place to begin.

However, we also live in a fallen world. Our environment, lifestyle, and food systems are not what they were intended to be, and there are times when additional support is both necessary and wise. Well-designed supplements and herbal medicines can play an important role in restoring balance when used appropriately.

When we do use extracts or isolated nutrients, I believe it is still wise to take cues from the patterns we see in creation. Complex extracts often work more harmoniously, and with fewer unintended effects, than heavily refined or isolated compounds. Likewise, nutrients tend to function best when their natural cofactors are considered, reflecting the interconnected design of the body itself.

Natural medicine is not without its limits, and part of responsible care is recognising when other forms of intervention may be needed. Conventional medicine also has an important role, particularly in acute or crisis care, and at times in short-term symptom management. I am happy to work alongside it if it serves the best interests of the patient.

Above all, my aim is to approach each person with care and compassion, recognising that behind every set of symptoms is a unique individual with their own story, challenges, and needs.

A note on Eastern medicines: I believe that God is the creator of all things, and that includes the natural laws that govern how our bodies respond to food, herbs and environmental inputs. Because of that, it is possible for different cultures to discover remedies that genuinely work, even if the frameworks used to describe them differ from our own. In some traditional systems, such as Chinese or Ayurvedic medicine, health and disease are described using concepts that do not map neatly onto modern scientific language. While these models can seem unfamiliar, I don’t assume that they are therefore incorrect. In many cases, they may be describing real patterns in the body that we do not yet fully understand or measure within a Western scientific framework. Where I draw from these traditions, I do so thoughtfully and with discernment. I look for consistent, observable outcomes, and aim to integrate what is effective into a broader understanding of physiology and health. In this way, I seek to remain open to what is true and effective, wherever it is found, while staying grounded in both scientific responsibility and a Christian worldview.

If you decide to seek my assistance with your health issues, I pray my work might be a blessing to you.