Dr. Matthew Baral is a naturopathic doctor and leader in the field of natural medicine. He specializes in holistic treatments for children and preventative medicine. Naturopathy is based on the belief that the human body has an innate healing ability. Dr. Baral teaches his patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle changes and cutting edge natural therapies to enhance their bodies’ ability to ward off and combat disease.
His passion for working with children occurred while in his third year of med school when he was taking pediatrics classes as part of the didactic program and realized, “This is the most significant time to affect a patient’s life. When you’re working with adults, they often already have conditions, but in the pediatric population we can really change them for the better for the rest of their lives.â€
Dr. Baral is from New York and made a move west to study naturopathy at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington, one of the four accredited evidence/science based programs in the country. Since receiving his Naturopathic medical degree in 2000 Dr. Baral has lent a hand in numerous projects to improve the health and wellbeing of his patients and establish a greater understanding of the benefits of alternative medicine. “It’s very difficult to put a simmering fire out once it’s started. I try to prevent that fire from ever happening.â€
He credits naturopathy as a practice that addresses the root cause of the patient’s issue. Unfortunately the gatekeepers to healthcare are typically not focused on a preventative medical approach but instead focus on defensive medicine. Dr. Baral believes that preventative medicine can truly change the face of healthcare as we know it.
“It’s very easy to take a pill to stop your heartburn. It’s not that easy to change your diet around or to stop drinking. The major hazard is that you can’t keep devising ways to trick nature. However if you educate children and show them early on that food will actually affect how they feel they can take control of their own health,†says Dr. Baral.
Dr. Baral currently serves as the pediatric contributing editor to the Natural Medicine Journal and the International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine and has co-authored the first textbooks on pediatric integrative medicine.
Since early 2000, Dr. Baral’s achievements as a Naturopathic physician have gained much recognition from the medical community, enabling him to further spread awareness on the subject of the body’s innate ability to heal itself. He has published over ten articles and has spoken at over thirty conferences across the U.S. His practice is in Tempe, Arizona but he frequents Los Angeles for private consultations. He also posts—on Twitter and Facebook—tips on recent studies and current information to provide helpful advice and information for those who may be interested in learning more about natural medicine.
For more information check out www.drmatthewbaral.com
