Local residents seeking an alternative approach to traditional, pharmaceutical medicine may now have an answer.
As of June 4, Danielle Marchildon, a doctor of naturopathic medicine, has been treating patients out of the Natural Choice health food store at the Fergus marketplace on Queen Street.
Marchildon, who also practices in Erin and Bolton, said she is welcoming new patients at Natural Choice, where she will be available every other Friday from 9am until 6pm – although she may expand hours depending on the demand.
“I chose Fergus because it’s a smaller community full of people who are more willing to be pro-active regarding their health,” Dr. Marchildon said.
“The demographic in smaller, closer-knit communities is an interesting dynamic in itself, as these patients tend to have higher vitality, better resilience, are more open minded and can see past the pharmaceutical approach to healthcare.”
A resident of Orangeville, Marchildon received a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo prior to completing the four-year diploma program at the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine (CCNM).
She explained the first two years of the naturopath program are very similar to a medical doctor’s training, including courses in anatomy, physiology and pathology. In the last two years, students focus more on naturopathy, although they also receive extensive training in pharmacology.
“It’s important to be able to identify side effects and any interactions that medications can cause when treating any given patient,” Marchildon said.
When asked to explain naturopathy, she said it is an approach to medicine that “focuses on treating the root cause of disease as opposed to palliating or simply ‘BandAiding’ symptoms.
“It is a distinct primary health care system that blends modern scientific knowledge with traditional and natural forms of medicine.”
She added naturopathy is considered a patient-centred health care system in which the doctor educates and helps guide the patient towards health with an “individualized” treatment plan.
As an example, she says there is no protocol for high blood pressure. Under the naturopathic method, two people suffering from high blood pressure would have two different treatment plans based on their unique situation, symptoms and condition.
“First, we obtain optimal health, then we maintain it and prevent disease from returning,” she said.
Naturopathic doctors focus on homeopathy, traditional Chinese medicine (including acupuncture), botanical medicine, clinical nutrition and lifestyle counselling.
“I find I treat a lot of children for things such as skin issues, behavioural/mental health issues and immune function issues and women for things like infertility and hormone imbalances,” Marchildon said.
“I have additional certification in IV therapy which allows me to treat a broad range of diseases using high-doses of vitamins and minerals.”
And while women and children may be treated most often, Marchildon says she sees patients both male and female and young and old.
“Typically, we see patients who are tired of being on a cocktail of pharmaceuticals and still seeing no improvement,” she said. “This includes a lot of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, auto-immune diseases and digestive disorders.
“In addition to this, we also treat a lot of allergies, anxiety and depression, cancer, hormonal imbalances, insomnia, skin disorders and much more.”
While naturopathic medicine is not currently covered under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP), Marchildon said she is finding more and more employers are covering it with benefit plans.
And more and more people – both doctors and prospective patients alike – are realizing the benefits of naturopathic medicine.
“I think our society as a whole is beginning to shift its perspective on health,” said Marchildon. “More and more people are becoming aggravated at how little time is actually spent with their medical doctor, regardless of their health concern.”
But there remains a disconnect between the traditional and naturopathic discourses.
“I’d say there are more MDs who do not support us,” she said. “And the biggest misconception that we have to deal with is that we aren’t scientifically based … The treatments we suggest are based on clinical trials that support the treatment’s efficacy.”
Marchildon noted that every year at CCNM, groups of visiting medical students from the University of Toronto and Ottawa are surprised at the extent to which the naturopathic curriculum is a scientifically-based learning model.
It remains a daily challenge for naturopaths to prove themselves in a society where pharmaceutical companies have a lot of say, she explained.
“It is difficult, but for every one patient we help, we make significant progress,” she said. “In an ideal world, naturopaths would work closely with allopaths [or MDs] to ensure optimal health for everyone.”
Anyone interested in seeing Marchildon can contact her in Fergus at 519-787-5256 or danielle@drdaniellend.ca. She can be reached at her Erin office (165 Main St.), where she works on Wednesdays from 9am until 5pm, at 519-833-0031.
For more information on naturopathic medicine, visit www.oand.org.
