Regenerative Medicine - My Light-bulb Moment!

Why Naturopathy?Unlike many of my colleagues, I didn’t get into Natural medicine because I had some kind of a personal "health crisis". Don’t get me wrong, I certainly wasn’t a healthy specimen when I decided to take the plunge into study (being in my early 20’s I loved parties, alcohol and sugar!), but I didn’t have some personal health catastrophe that 'led' me to natural medicine.I didn’t even grow up taking herbal medicines, poking around a veggie patch or learning all that much about how my body worked! As a kid, when I was sick, Mum took me to the doctor. If I had a headache, I got a cuddle and maybe some Panadol.We had the standard 90’s dinners – spag bol, ‘kantong’ stir-fries and corned beef with veggies. My lunch box usually had a sandwich, a popper, a piece of fruit and maybe a roll-up or ‘dunkaroo’! And breakfast was Trim milk with Sultana Bran or Vegemite on toast (we might have even had margarine!!).To be totally honest, I didn’t even REALLY know that a Naturopath did! Despite all this, I still felt like I was on the right path, so I enrolled and thankfully, I found my dream job.So, if it wasn't a personal health crisis or alternative up-bringing... what led me down this path?I wasn’t really sure until a few years ago. Growing up, my parents ran a company that taught Graziers (and still does) how to holistically manage their land to increase the health of the animals, soil and landscape. It's also known as Regenerative Farming.As it turns out, many of the principles which underpin Regenerative Farming mirror the principles of Natural Medicine! When I had this epiphany… it ALL made sense! I grew up with these principles as 'background noise', it's in my DNA!I called my Dad, and said “It turns out the principles of Natural Medicine mirror those of Regenerative Ag!”. To which he replied “I know”. Smarty pants :)This is why Naturopathy made so much sense to me, even though I didn't realise it at the time. Have a look at the principles, side by side. This is why the type of medicine I practice is a kind of ‘Regenerative Medicine’... To me, it encompasses so much more than 'Preventative Medicine' or even 'Natural Medicine'.