What is Naturopathy? Naturopathy is a holistic approach to wellness, based on the principle that the body has the inherent ability to heal itself. When the body has all of the nutrients, vitamins and minerals it requires to function optimally, holistic wellness is achieved. Often in today’s world many of us pull up short as our diets are often deficient in the vital nutrients, vitamins and minerals necessary. This is the result of many factors including our location, access to a variety of foods, depletion of nutrients in our soils, avoidance of food groups due to allergy, being busy and eating more fast/convenience foods etc. The absence of vital vitamins can have a cascading effect on our health, mental health, energy levels and our ability to function well. By using various assessment techniques, Naturopathy can help establish what the body is deficient in and assist the body with food and or nutritional supplements including vitamins and minerals, to restore its optimal function, naturally.   Herbal medicine is the oldest form of medicine in the world. According to WHO (World Health Organisation), more than 75% of the world’s population still uses herbal medicine. Modern herbal medicine has the benefits of evidence based research, pharmaceutical grade manufacturing processes and access to herbs from all over the world. Herbal medicine works towards supporting the body to heal itself and restore the body’s defence and restorative mechanisms. Today, herbal medicine comes in many forms such as liquid tinctures, tablets, capsules and teas, making herbal medicine easy to take and tolerable. Most liquid preparations are preferred as they are more easily absorbed by the body and also give flexibility to the practitioner, allowing them to support multiple conditions in one formula. Most liquid preparations will contain 4-5 herbs, depending on the client and prescription. Prescribed herbal formulas can be taken in water or juice. If liquid preparations are not at all tolerated, then tablets can be prescribed. Herbal medicine can successfully support many health problems, from the simple cold and flu, which responds quickly to herbs, to more complex health problems including female menstrual problems, PMS, menopause, skin conditions, stress, digestive complaints, the immune system and so on.