VITALISM and developmental . 8 The vital force is not only the source of life but also a key component of health and healing . 4 The vital force is self-regulating , self-healing , creative , and has directive intelligence . 3
The manifestations of vital force are shown through vitality . 8 Vitality has numerous meanings , such as the states of being strong , active , energetic and dynamic , having aliveness , animativeness , resilience , and having a meaning in life . 9 Vitality and vital force are a worldview and an essential philosophical root of naturopathic medicine , and therefore vitamedicine , and are an integral element of the foundation for many of its underlying principles .
Vitamedicine
Vitamedicine is derived from “ vita ”, being Latin for “ life ”, and medicine . 10 Vitamedicine is a personalised personcentred holistic system of health care with a core set of philosophies , principles , and practices . Vitamedicine looks at the whole person , physically , mentally , emotionally , socially , and environmentally , among other aspects , and focuses on the person ' s individual needs . 10 It aims to address the underlying causes of disordered health and promote optimum health . It takes into full account the lifestyle factors of the person , including what people enjoy doing . The uniqueness of everyone is taken into account by vitamedicine . 10 Vitamedicine takes a dynamic “ big picture ” view of health and wellbeing , and with this view , the whole is greater than the sum of its parts . 10 Vitamedicine is integrative in nature and utilises the integration of traditional knowledge and science . 10
The pillars of Vitamedicine
The pillars of Vitamedicine , like most natural medicines , gained their roots from the principles of naturopathic medicine . 1 The 12 pillars of Vitamedicine 10 are :
• First , do no harm ( Primum non
Nocere )
Figure 1 . The 12 pillars of Vitamedicine
• Treat the whole person ( Tolle Totum )
• Identify and treat the cause ( Tolle
Causam )
• Prevention ( Preventir ) and health promotion in all areas
• The healing power of nature ( Vis Medicatrix Naturae ) and that of the body
• The health professional is a teacher ( Docere )
• Regular hydration
• Nourish with wholefoods
• Support with herbal medicines
• Daily physical activity and regular movement
• Mindfulness
• Sleep and rest
Lifestyle medicine underpins , strengthens , and reinforces the 12 pillars of Vitamedicine . The pillars of Vitamedicine are shown in Figure 1 .
First , do no harm ( primum non nocere ) First , do no harm . Doing no harm applies in all areas of one ’ s life . This can be as simple as being aware of the words and tone we use , doing something or not doing something to avoid harm . The Hippocratic oath enjoins its takers to “ do no harm or injustice ”. 11 Doing no harm also refers to treatment : that is , not to force inappropriate treatment on someone , or impose treatment on someone who is not yet ready for the type or level of treatment proposed . In the Hippocratic tradition , “ I will prescribe regimen for the good of my patients according to my ability and my judgment and never do harm to anyone ”, “ I will not cut for stone ... but leave this operation to be performed by practitioners ( specialists in this art )” and “ keeping myself far from ill-doing ” can be expanded to refer to keeping within the scope of practice and not exploiting people , especially the vulnerable , 12 so as to not cause harm .
Treat the whole person ( tolle totum ) The focus is on treating the whole person whose whole being ( mind , body , spirit ) initiates the healing process . 1 By treating the whole person , you can take all aspects of the person and their environment into account . This is often referred to as being holistic . Hippocrates stated that the aim of treatment was to restore balance through diet , exercise , and the reasonable use of herbs , oils , and earthly compounds . 11 The whole is greater than the sum of the parts 4 , 13 and the parts cannot be understood when considered in isolation from the whole . 4
Identify and treat the cause ( tolle causam ) Diseases can be observed as symptoms of a fundamental underlying cause or causes . 1 The causes of the same disease state or symptom picture can vary from person to person , and the causes may be more complex than what is observed from the surface . Therefore , identify and treat the cause , not the symptoms . This is an extension of treating the whole person . By identifying and treating the cause , you are working ‘ upstream ’, whereas treating the symptoms is
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