The definition of health is a very personal thing. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in 1948 as being "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". A person's view of health and disease changes as they mature and age, as a result of life experiences and upbringing, and it is affected by beliefs, culture, religion, economics, race, class, gender, and other social factors.

Health is an attitude. For some this means the absence of signs or symptoms; for others it represents an awakening on a psychological or spiritual level. For others health is the absence of any symptoms that impact daily life, with the tolerance of symptoms varying greatly.  Some people perceive themself as healthy, even when they are aware that they have a disease or disability.    

The study of health must include a wider perspective than just the physical body and physical symptoms. Human beings are not isolated entities; they are born, live and die, inseparable from the larger contexts of physical, social, political, and spiritual influences. The study of human health needs to include, at a minimum, a patient’s lifestyle, their habits, the environment in which they live, external situations and events, their work, their community, and their sense of spirituality.

Health and disease are inter-related complex subjects. The health-disease continuum looks at how people progress from one state to the other and provides a framework for the progression of disease and the healing process. Human beings are complex, non-linear, self-organizing systems. They are energetic beings that constantly exchange energy with their surroundings in a dynamic process in order to maintain themselves and to maintain a state health.

How you perceive health and disease greatly impacts what you do on a daily basis and how you address symptoms and diseases.  At Naturopathic Foundations Health Clinic we recognize the importance of understanding your definition of health and providing solutions that are right for you.