About - Vital Health Publishing

Vital Health Publishing

Vital Health Publishing arose out of the growing need for books about vitalism. Vitalism views the body as a living organism rather than a machine with replaceable parts. Our bodies are much more than the sum of their parts. When damaged, a machine does not have the ability to repair itself. In contrast, our bodies have an innate intelligence that guides healing and restoration. Vitalism recognizes and engages this intelligence or “body wisdom” to speed recovery from illness and build even greater levels of health.

A Vitalistic Naturopathic Doctor understands that there are biological, chemical and physical forces at work in living beings, as well as an energetic component that goes beyond biochemical and physical forces. This energetic component, although it does not have a direct definition in Western terms, is known as Qi in Chinese medicine and prana in Ayurvedic medicine. In naturopathic medicine, it is known as the Vis or the Vital Force. Together, these biological, chemical and energetic forces create
vitality and drive normal and healthy functioning within the body.

Vital Health Publishing was founded by Drs. Eli Camp and Judith Thompson in 2017 to publish works created by Vitalistic Naturopathic Doctors. They began with 1 book, The Unvaccinated Child: A Treatment Guide for Parents and Caregivers and have many more planned for the coming years!

Eli Camp, ND, DHANP trained in naturopathic medicine at the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine in Tempe, AZ. She lectures across the country at numerous health conferences, public school districts and to the community in general regarding the topics of health and the practice of homeopathy. She serves as a preceptor for students from various fields of healthcare and as a mentor, consultant and coach to other Naturopathic Doctors to help them establish and become successful in private practice. Her memberships include the Oklahoma Association of Naturopathic Physicians (OKANP), the Homeopathic Academy of Naturopathic Physicians (HANP) and the Naturopathic Medicine Institute (NMI). In addition to membership, Dr. Camp served as Vice-President and President of the New Hampshire Association of Naturopathic Doctors, Treasurer of the Florida Naturopathic Physicians Association and currently serves on the Board of the HANP and the NMI. She resides in Oklahoma with her 2 grandchildren, husband and 4-legged friend, Asia.

Judith Thompson, ND, trained in nutrition, herbal medicine, homeopathy, pharmacology and bio-energetics at the National University of Natural Medicine in Portland, Oregon. Her work combines naturopathic philosophy with modern science. Her years of delivering babies and caring for children nurtured her passion to see children grow up vitally strong. She has published articles nationally and internationally for medical journals and nutraceutical companies. She is the President of the Florida Naturopathic Physicians Association and is a member of the Naturopathic Medicine Institute and the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. She is a faculty member of Everglades University. She lives in Miami, FL, practices yoga and enjoys spending time in nature with her family, friends and dog.

Luka Boždar is the Social Media and Marketing manager for Vital Health Publishing. He is a PR and marketing enthusiast with a BA in Public Relations from VERN’ University of Applied Science in Zagreb, Croatia. Most of his previous work was based on fake-news research in Croatia, where he resides. Before finding his true call in communications, he worked as a sound engineer and as a hospitality manager on numerous events. In his free time, he is a huge music scholar and a passionate vinyl collector.

Mitchell Kershner, ND, is a Naturopathic Doctor who has been in the health field for over 32 years. His studies began in the field of nutrition at Miami Dade Community College in 1985. He continued his studies in personal fitness and later became a trainer at several local gyms, spas and health clubs.

After doing extensive work in nutrition and going on to receive a license for massage therapy in 1989, he thought to himself, ”There must be a profession that combines these fields of health care along with my interest in exercise.” This thought led him to seek and find Naturopathic Medicine. Upon completing his prerequisites at Florida International University, he moved to Portland, Oregon to study Naturopathic medicine at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine.

Upon graduation in 1996, he relocated to Taos, New Mexico and opened his private practice. Three years into practice, he started teaching at the University of New Mexico in the nursing program biology/ science department. Dr. Kershner started teaching clinical nutrition at the undergraduate level and went on to teach Anatomy and Physiology. He also taught Exercise Physiology to the massage program students.

During his stay in northern New Mexico, Dr. Kershner served as a medical crew member on the Taos Search and Rescue team.

Aging family and a desire to pursue more education in the culinary world brought Dr. Kershner back to South Florida where he attended culinary school and received a diploma equivalent in Culinary Arts from the International Culinary School at the Art Institutes in Fort Lauderdale. In November of 2011, he started Healthy Chef Doctor, a company dedicated to health education via guest lecturing, simple and healthy cooking demonstrations, private affairs and home parties.

His creation of Staying Healthy – While At Your Computer! book series is the culmination of his work in optimal body posture and function while incorporating the Naturopathic Medicine approach. It is his offering to all those who sit at a computer for work or school to help prevent computer related conditions. As the saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth more than a pound of cure”.

Naturopathic Medicine

Naturopathic Medicine is a primary healthcare system that treats people with both acute and chronic illness. The approach is to restore health in a holistic way, provide preventative treatment and natural therapies. It addresses the source of illness and promotes the body’s own natural healing abilities.

The Philosophy

Naturopathic doctors work with patients using specific philosophies:

The Healing Power of Nature

As in nature, there is an ordered and intelligent wisdom within the body to heal itself.

Identify and Treat the Cause

The body can only heal when the root cause of illness has been discovered and eliminated and balance has been restored.

First, Do No Harm

Every single medical intervention must always move the human one step closer to health and one step further from disease.

Doctor as Teacher

A Naturopathic Doctor helps a person find health by teaching the laws of nature and by helping people figure out how to apply these in their own life.

Treat the Whole Person

An individual’s health is not just about physical health but also includes mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, genetic and social components.

Prevention, the Best Medicine

Naturopathic Doctors focus on prevention of disease by reviewing individual risk factors and suggesting changes that meet patients’ needs.

The Doctors

Naturopathic Doctors practice a form of healing that addresses the whole person- body, mind, emotions and spirit. It is a form of medicine that focuses on engaging the body’s natural ability to heal itself while using natural remedies and therapies to heal from illness and prevent disease.

Naturopathic Doctors attend nationally accredited four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school. Enrollment in naturopathic medical school requires a bachelor’s degree and completion of medical school prerequisite classes, similar to conventional allopathic and osteopathic medical schools.

Each state currently maintains the authority to regulate and license Naturopathic Doctors. This licensure ensures that only qualified individuals who have attended an accredited medical school, can call themselves a Naturopathic Doctor.

In a state that offers licensure, Naturopathic Doctors are able to serve the community in a primary care capacity. They work with community MD’s, DO’s and ARNP’s to provide well-rounded and comprehensive healthcare. ND services in these states are often reimbursed by insurance carriers and they are able to prescribe necessary medications within the Naturopathic Pharmaceutical Formulary.

Most Naturopathic Doctors provide primary care natural medicine through office-based, private practice. In states where NDs have been licensed for many years, they often work in collaboration with medical doctors, and routinely refer patients to each other for optimum management of a patient’s healthcare.

The Tools

All of the tools of the Vitalistic Naturopathic Medicine are used to restore the body to health and never to suppress the symptoms of illness. Symptoms of illness are simply a sign that balance within the body has been disrupted and something is wrong. They are understood by the vitalistic doctor to be the outward signs of the body attempt to restore itself to health. By aiding a person in the restoration of balance, and therefore health, the body no longer expresses symptoms of illness. In other words, a Vitalistic Naturopathic Doctor seeks to discover the root cause of illness in a person and, by treating them individually, can help restore their health.

One or more of the following tools are used by Vitalistic Naturopathic Doctors:

Botanical Medicine

The use of herbs, in various forms, to treat the underlying causes of illness and restore health and balance to the human body.

Homeopathy

The practice of using potentized medicine, individualized to each person, to stimulate the healing ability of the human body.

Diet – Lifestyle

Food, drink and lifestyle are the foundations of health. When these are optimal for the human, it is possible to restore function and balance and therefore eliminate illness.

Physical Medicine

Hands-on healing therapies to correct structural imbalances such as cranial sacral, massage, and physical manipulation. We cannot have proper function (health) with improper structure!

Hydrotherapy

The therapeutic use of water to stimulate healing processes in the human body. This includes treatments such as constitutional hydrotherapy, contrast hydrotherapy, local compresses, warming sheet wraps, and more.

Energy Medicine

At its most fundamental, the human body is energy, a collection of electrons, neutrons and protons and the frequency that is created from drawing breath and living. The use of energy medicine helps rebalance and correct unharmonious frequencies so the body can begin to heal.

Mind – Body – Spirit

A person is mind, body and spirit and to be truly healthy, balance must be present on all planes of existence. As balance is restored the body is better able to heal.

Counseling

Talk therapy, journaling and other counseling therapies are used to restore balance between the physical and mental spheres of human health.

TCM

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses ancient therapies such as acupuncture, moxa, cupping, herbs and more to restore balance and thereby health to the human being.

Pharmacy

There are times when pharmaceutical intervention is needed to maintain a human life. Once stable, the root causes of illness can be discovered and corrected.