Page 34 - INSIGHT MAGAZINE_January2025

MEMBER PROFILE

Sometimes a negative situation
can lead to a positive one,
something Dr. Henna Plahe, ND
discovered several years ago.
The Cambridge naturopathic doctor
was in her third year of study at Western
University in her hometown of London,
Ont., with plans to become a dentist
when her grandfather in East Africa fell
ill and was brought by her parents to
Canada for treatment.
“Within a month of arriving he
passed away. But during that time,
I was fortunate to see the beauty of
conventional care and naturopathic
care,” she says, taking a moment to chat
between clients at her welcoming Eagle
Street North office. “I just found it so
interesting how both forms of medicine
had benefitted my grandfather. It was
just so beautiful to see there was a
place for both types of medicines and
I didn’t even know at the time that this
(naturopathy) was a profession.”
A chat with a family friend who was
a naturopath turned that interest
into action for Henna who decided
to change course and enroll in the
Canadian College of Naturopathic
Medicine in Toronto, one of two
naturopathy schools in Canada.
She admits her parents, who moved to
London from Markham when her father
began working as a diesel fabricator for
GM, had some initial apprehension to
the idea of switching from the dental
program.
“I think there was some discomfort
because it was a big change. But
ultimately, they also really appreciated
what they saw in the naturopathic side
of things with my family, so I did receive
a lot of support from my parents,”
says Henna, adding growing up her
grandmother’s home remedies were
part of her upbringing. “Now I see there ‘Know your own
is actual research to support doing
some of things she suggested.”
She says society has become much more self-worth’
aware of the benefits of naturopathy, - Dr. Henna Plahe, ND
which requires practitioners to undergo
an additional four years of study on top
of obtaining a university degree and
several rounds of licensing exams. PHOTOS BY BRIAN RODNICK

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