I’m A Naturopath, Not A Quack

by Eric Bakker N.D.

Occasionally, I’ll hear from a viewer that I should be shut down for being a quack. I’ve had this happen many times over my career. Interestingly, I also get invited to speak at medical conferences in front of 300 plus doctors.

When a person gets invited to speak at the type of venues where I’ve spoken, it’s clear that professors and experts in the field see you as a colleague. I work in a medical clinic of high standing – although maybe their standards have slipped unbeknownst to me, and they now allow ducks and quacks.

I’m not a quack. I studied for seven years and did a lot of training. I trained at a university level to get a medical health science degree. And honestly, when people call me a quack, it really is like water off a duck’s back.

Further readings:

The truth is, I’m not really interested in appeasing people who call me a quack or a fraud. I’m interested in helping people who’ve been sick for a long time. I’m interested in people who feel as if they have been tossed to the curb by the medical establishment. I’m interested in people who have gone from one doctor to another and are still suffering.

The people I help don’t call me quack. Also, you tend to develop quite a tough skin when you’re a clinician who practices integrative medicine. Some of my esteemed colleagues are called snake oil peddlers because they are interested in natural medicine.

People would probably be surprised to know how many traditionally trained doctors I’ve helped to convert into functional medicine doctors. These doctors were influenced by the results we achieved working together in the clinic using natural methods.

Who knows, maybe the quackery has extended, and now ducks are running all over the place.

I think the day will come when people look back and are shocked at how judgmental people were about natural ways of healing. They’ll realize that naturopaths had a lot of foresight that other people just couldn’t see.

Sources:

About Eric Bakker N.D.

Eric Bakker ND has completed almost ten years of study and has almost almost 25 years of clinical experience in natural and integrative forms of medicine, and has pursued continuous post-graduate study in Australia, America, India as well as in New Zealand.

Eric is the past Vice President of the NZ Natural Medicine Association and is currently on their editorial advisory board.