Naturopathic Doctor Tim Salotto has devoted more than a decade to the study of natural medicine. A graduate of the Bastyr University doctoral naturopathic medical program, he founded his practice to help people dealing with chronic illnesses solve the root causes of their medical issues.

“Naturopathic medicine is about making people healthier; not by having to take a million pills indefinitely, but by getting them on a healing regimen,” says Salotto. “We want them to get back to a life where they’re taking one or two supplements a day at most, or ideally they’re not taking anything, just eating a healthy diet and exercising.”

He particularly enjoys helping people dealing with cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and hypertension using nutritional medicine and holistic modalities. “I have a bachelor’s degree in nutrition from a naturopathic medical institution,” notes Salotto. “That illustrates my background and where I’d like to focus my practice, which is using foods, diet and supplements in targeted ways to really promote optimal long-term healing.”

Nutritional medicine and naturopathic treatments can also treat issues such as headaches, anxiety and depression; basically any ailment that might last longer than a week. “In most cases, an M.D. is going to prescribe pharmaceuticals that treat a condition’s symptoms, not its root cause,” Salotto explains. “I see many people who are suffering from something chronic because the medical system has failed them in some way. They’ve been prescribed medication that masks their symptoms, and in some cases just changes symptoms to those that are just more livable. A naturopathic doctor looks at why this pathology arose in the first place, and what we can do to reverse that as much as possible.”

Salotto is also focused on educating the community about the role of a naturopathic doctor in their health care. “I like to highlight the legitimacy of the education naturopathic doctors receive,” he says. “The first two years is virtually the same as a typical medical school. The latter two years are focused specifically on outpatient medicine. We’re not homeopathic doctors; there’s a big difference, and I see people get the two confused a lot. A lot of naturopathic doctors will use homeopathic medicine, but what a naturopath does is much broader in scope.”

As his practice grows, Salotto says he draws satisfaction from being able to help people overcome chronic conditions. “When I hear from patients that they’re better, it lights me up,” he says. “I get really happy when I hear that I made a big difference in someone else’s life. Somebody who’s in an acute care, like an ER doctor, might be directly saving lives all the time, but naturopathic doctors save lives in a figurative sense. If you’ve got a skin condition covering a huge portion of your body, you’re living, but that’s no way to live your life. Or constant gastrointestinal pain: what kind of life is that? When it comes to such cases, in a sense, a naturopath is saving someone’s life, and I think that’s just as important.”

Dr. Tim Salotto is taking new patients at 645 N. 12th St., in Lemoyne. For appointments, call 717-728-4546. For more information, visit DrSalotto.com.

Kate Morgan isa frequent contributor to Natural Awakenings magazine and can be reached at [email protected].