Treating the whole body and each patient, with their unique makeup, is one of the cornerstones of Naturopathy. Most patients want advice on what, if any, supplements they should be taking. There is no easy answer. Take for instance, calcium. Men and women have different needs. Age, health status, kidney function, disease history, risk factors, family history of osteoporosis, lifestyle history and injury history all need to be taken into consideration before recommending how much calcium is needed, in what form and if anything else should be added to it for bone health.
There are also very specific tests that can tell us what micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, amino acids, anti-oxidants, and fatty acids) a patient is deficient in, how their body absorbs them and how much supplementation is needed.