Condition Spotlight
Wellness is a modern word with ancient roots. The key tenets of wellness as both preventive and holistic can be traced back to ancient civilizations from the East (India, China) to the West (Greece, Rome). In 19th-century Europe and the United States, a variety of intellectual, religious and medical movements developed in parallel with conventional medicine. With their focus on holistic and natural approaches, self-healing and preventive care, these movements have provided a firm foundation for wellness today.
Maintaining a strong immune system is essential for overall health and well-being. It acts as your body’s primary defense against infections and illnesses. While diet and exercise are fundamental ways to support immunity, sometimes your Read More
A typical day for many adults goes like this: drink coffee, sit in a car or take public transit to get to work, work at a desk bent over a computer all day, take quick Read More
Wellness influencers, bio-hackers, meditation teachers, and functional nutritionists—you’ve already moved mountains. From sunrise journaling to CGM-powered meal plans, from Oura Rings to twelve-minute cold plunges, your habits, programs, and apps have paved the way for Read More
An annual wellness visit is a yearly appointment with your doctor or primary care provider (PCP) to assess your health condition, create an update of how you’re doing and come up with an appropriate prevention Read More
Hydrogen peroxide is a simple, affordable, and versatile household staple that hardly gets the credit it deserves. Found in most first aid kits, this all-purpose cleaner offers practical solutions spanning from laundry to gardening. If Read More
With summer around the corner, it’s time to think about family road trips and summer getaways. The United States boasts 63 national parks spread across the country, many of which make perfect destinations for a Read More
Bergamot is a highly fragrant citrus fruit, that is the lesser known relative of lemons and oranges. This bizarre fruit looks like an orange on the outside but resembles a lemon on the inside, earning Read More
If you work in an office role, sit at a desk in front of a computer all day, it’s extremely important that you don’t neglect your workspace. You need to cultivate an environment that allows Read More
Feeling cold feet—literally—is a common and unpleasant experience, even for those in warm climates. Taking steps to manage your chilly toes can greatly improve your comfort and well-being. The good news is that there are Read More
Many people don’t realize that it’s impossible to put all eating disorders into one nutshell. There are several types of eating disorders out there that your loved one might be suffering from. Your loved one’s Read More
Wellness is the act of practicing healthy habits on a daily basis to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that instead of just surviving, you’re thriving!
To understand it’s significance, it is important to understand how it’s linked to health. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health is defined as being “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”
There are two important aspects to this definition. First, wellness is not a passive or static state but rather an “active pursuit” that is associated with intentions, choices and actions as we work toward an optimal state of health and wellbeing. Second, it is linked to holistic health—that is, it extends beyond physical health and incorporates many different dimensions that should work in harmony.
Wellness is an individual pursuit—we have self-responsibility for our own choices, behaviors and lifestyles—but it is also significantly influenced by the physical, social and cultural environments in which we live.
Wellness is often confused with terms such as health, wellbeing and happiness. While there are common elements among them, wellness is distinguished by not referring to a static state of being (i.e., being happy, in good health, or a state of wellbeing). Rather, wellness is associated with an active process of being aware and making choices that lead toward an outcome of optimal holistic health and wellbeing.
