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be comprehensive. In addition to standard or conventional medical care,
individuals should incorporate treatments which "complement" these services.
Complementary health care includes categories such as alternative, integrated,
anti-aging, holistic, functional, nutritional, oriental, and various other forms of
"medicine". They are not medicine in a traditional sense, but rather
complementary to conventional medicine.
As a whole, complementary health care looks at a person as a "whole" being (i.e.
holistic medicine). The current view of health care for the most part is
reductionist with the patient being broken down into various "parts" or systems.
This has pitfalls as our body systems are dependent on one another to function
properly.
Illness and wellness alike are dependent upon multiple factors including
interaction of body systems, lifestyle, stress, diet/nutrition, physical activity, sleep
habits, genetics, social habits and much, much more!!
In order to become truly well or healthy one must address all of these areas and
not just the "part" that is malfunctioning. Therefore, complementary health care
places a great deal of responsibility on the patient, creating a greater awareness
of one's state of health and how they may influence it - whether positively or
negatively!
