Depending on your situation, your naturopath may take one or more of the following approaches to treat you:

* Ayurvedic medicine.

This is really a health care system unto itself, but it's sometimes adopted-and adapted-by naturopaths. Ayurvedic medicine, founded in India 3,000 to 5,000 years ago, focuses on the individual's overall health and on restoration of harmony and balance, which lead to good health. As with other alternative and complementary approaches, it takes a holistic approach rather than focusing on a person's symptoms. It's similar to naturopathy in that treatments are generally natural and include an array of options, including herbal medicine, bodywork, exercise and meditation. The Ayurvedic practitioner tries to help you understand your constitutional makeup and suggests health, lifestyle and dietary changes accordingly. * Bodywork.

Some naturopaths include therapeutic massage and manipulation of muscles, bones and spine. This approach is often similar to that of a chiropractor. Bowen manipulation, a soft tissue manipulation technique, is another type of bodywork some naturopaths use.

* Botanical and herbal medicine.

Naturopaths-among others-believe that herbs and other plants have healing properties. Some may prescribe herbal remedies in place of conventional drugs. Always consult with your primary health care professional(s) before changing your medications or adding a new one. Many botanical medicines are nutritive and are safe to use while taking prescription medications, too. Make sure all your healthcare providers know all medicines-pharmaceutical as well as botanical-you're taking.

* Clinical Nutrition.

Naturopathy holds that a healthy diet is an essential part of a healthy life and that dietary changes, including abstinence from certain foods and the use of nutritional supplements, can have a profound effect on your health. For instance, many naturopaths promote a whole food diet that requires a balance of the appropriate fats, protein and carbohydrates tailored to your metabolism. And you may find that the naturopath asks you to eat more unprocessed, unrefined, whole-fiber foods and avoid alcohol.

* Detoxification.

Related to nutrition, detoxification seeks to rid the body of toxins. Some naturopaths will recommend such techniques as fasting, enemas and juice diets to detoxify the body. Sometimes it's recommended to clean out the digestive system, help improve intestinal health and remedy constipation. Detoxification-particularly juice fasting and other fasting techniques-may also be used to improve health by purging your body of the various chemicals it is regularly exposed to including caffeine, tobacco, drugs, pollution, pesticides, food additives, etc. A dramatic type of enema is a colonic irrigation. Many gallons of fluid-often water containing herbal extracts or coffee-enters your colon through your rectum. The point is to cleanse your system. (This may be called colonic hydrotherapy, detoxification or high colonic.)

* Homeopathy.

Many naturopaths are trained in homeopathy, a system of health care that uses highly diluted portions of natural substances to restore health. These remedies, derived from plant, mineral and animal sources, are used to treat patients with conditions ranging from depression to diarrhea. Minute traces of a particular substance are used to stimulate your innate healing processes. A good example is nux vomica. Consumed in large quantities, it can cause nausea (it's a seed that contains strychnine). In very small, highly diluted doses, however, it is a typical homeopathic remedy for nausea and upset stomach. The theory behind homeopathy is "like cures like," or "hair of the dog."

* Hydrotherapy.

Naturopaths often use water (and ice and steam) for therapeutic purposes. How it's used can vary dramatically-your naturopath may suggest something as simple as a warm bath to help with joint pain or a hot chest compress for respiratory problems. Treatments include whirlpool baths, steam baths, saunas, sitz baths, hot and cold compresses, as well as constitutional hydrotherapy treatment. Constitutional hydrotherapy treatment, which is often used to detoxify the body and stimulate the immune system, utilizes sine wave electrical stimulation current (the same used by physical therapists) in conjunction with a particular series of alternating hot and cold compresses. (Some consider enemas and colonic irrigation to be a form of hydrotherapy.) A series of these treatments is needed to detoxify and purify your blood in order to rebuild and balance your metabolism.

* Minor office surgery.

Four-year trained naturopathic doctors (ND) are trained as primary care physicians and may perform minor surgery in the office, such as repair of superficial wounds or the removal of external cysts, moles, etc. However, most do not. If your naturopath suggests minor surgery, check out his or her credentials before proceeding. One way to find out is to check with the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Ask to see his or her diploma. And in Alaska, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Utah, Vermont and Washington, you can check an ND out through the state licensing board. Never allow someone without the proper training and credentials perform surgery on you.