February 25, 2023

A Holistic View on Health --- More Than the Sum of Its Parts

When you think of the word “health”, what comes to mind? A Nike commercial or perhaps an ad for a new nutrition shake.

Maybe it’s the growing conversation around mental health, self-love, and what that means in your day-to-day life.

Health and wellness is an important aspect of life, and it covers a wide variety of topics. But we often isolate our health to one symptom here or an ailment there.

Your neck, for instance. It hurts, but why? Perhaps you slept wrong, or maybe you stretched incorrectly. After thinking awhile, you admit you’ve been under a lot of stress. You haven’t eaten the best; you’re your sleep habits are all but a dream. Before long you realize several factors play a role in why you have pain in your elbow.

What is a Holistic View of Health?

While it’s easier to reduce your symptoms to a single department, more research is coming out on the importance of incorporating the whole person – especially from a holistic standpoint.

Holistic care embodies the idea of holism or being “whole”. It recognizes how interdependent the mind and spirit are with the body (1), and considers these when addressing health concerns:

Biological makeup

Social health

Psychological tendencies

Spiritual habits

Humans are like onions in a way. You have layers made up of your body, soul, and spirit. Looking at your health through a holistic lens allows you to appreciate how things are connected, how they influence other areas, and how you can live an enjoyable life in a way that benefits all three of these layers.

Not only that, but healthcare providers can also offer more comprehensive care to patients in a way that goes beyond prescribing certain medications to treat specific issues.

Let’s take a deeper look into these three aspects to paint a more holistic picture of how health and wellness can be.

Body

Your body is comprised of many different types of structures. Your skin, muscles, veins, bones, ligaments, and nerves are surrounded and filled with blood, lymph, sweat, bile, and waste products. From tiny cells to large organs, these areas of anatomy and physiology work together to keep you functioning optimally (2).

When you look at the health of your body through a holistic lens, some of the biggest factors to highlight include:

Nutrition

Sleep habits

Hydration

Physical activity and exercise

Fresh air intake

Here’s one example to illustrate how this works: when you don’t sleep well, your hormones become imbalanced and Ghrelin (also known as “the hunger hormone”) increases in your body. This makes you crave higher-calorie foods, which can lead to weight gain (3).

Soul

It’s been said that your soul is the intangible part of your being that holds your personality, essence, consciousness, and individuality. The soul can also share space with your mind and how you process thoughts, emotions, and feelings (4, 5).

Your thoughts hold tremendous power over your health, as many studies confirm (6). Your social interactions can also play a role in whether you feel levels of anxiety, depression, or purposelessness. These feelings can worsen any existing physical health concerns (7).

Having a holistic view of this area of health can give you clues into why you have trouble getting out of bed, have body pain, or simply feel disconnected.

Spirit

Derived from the Latin word “spiritus” meaning “courage”, “vigor”, and “breathe”, the human spirit is another immaterial part of you that can include expressions of art or creativity, your passion, intellect, as well as how you connect with God, yourself, others, and nature (8).

Even though it’s believed to be eternal, it’s often overlooked when addressing aspects of health and wellness. Seeing health in a holistic manner means you recognize the need for a purposeful life, are able to connect, and transcend to higher levels and dimensions through activities such as:

Prayer

Meditation

Fasting

Music

Grounding

Mindfulness

Incorporating these elements into your view of your health and well-being can truly change the way you see yourself, others, and the world around you. Life can become a greater adventure with endless possibilities!

Summary

A holistic view of health respects human dignity. It takes the whole of the person and keeps in mind how everything is connected for a life experience that benefits everyone (10).

From food to environment to thought patterns, there is so much to learn. Thankfully, many in the medical community are waking up to this and using their knowledge to provide better care to their patients.

At KaraMD we’re thrilled to offer natural supplements that address many of these aspects of health and well-being. Whether you’re looking to improve your sleep, lower your stress levels, or boost your metabolism, we have just the thing for you!

Head on over to the shop to see which of our 5-start products will meet your health needs today (10).

References

1. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4441185/

2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780122386626500057

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3763921/

4. https://www.jstor.org/stable/1412640

5. https://www.compellingtruth.org/human-soul.html

6. https://news.stanford.edu/2018/06/11/four-ways-human-mind-shapes-reality/

7. https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/explore-mental-health/a-z-topics/physical-health-and-mental-health

8. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6150917/

9. https://www.optimumhealth.org/blog/a-holistic-approach-body-mind-and-spirit

10. https://karamd.com/shop/