In the Pursuit of Wellness

Most people, including healthcare providers, are motivated to manage disease rather than cultivate wellness. That may be understandable, as the concept of wellness is vague and poorly defined. While wellness is more than the absence of illness, symptoms or pain, there are few objective measures.

            Illness, on the other hand, is often concretely definable with clear parameters. Just think of diagnoses, like high blood pressure, cholesterol, infections, anemia, fractures, concussions and others. For many, it may seem easier to attain tangible goals, such as lowered blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol, as tests reveal when one has met those targets. But tests are not human beings. Even with low cholesterol, a person can have a cardiac event.

            So, how do we define wellness? Is it simply the ability to live one’s life fully without illness, or is it a vitality that enables one to energetically pursue life’s tasks and pleasures? Is it, even in the face of disease, an internal experience, such as a sense of belonging to a community or feeling connected to a spiritual source?

            Wellness is, in fact, different for each individual. While it is important to monitor and address serious diagnoses, many people want more. Because wellness is intangible, it has been harder to quantify.

            As it turns out, wellness can be measured by looking at factors such as energy, cognition, mood, productivity and more. Providers and researchers increasingly understand that illness and wellness are typically not caused by single factors. The harnessing of bioinformatics to study health reflects an increased understanding of the great complexities of the human organism. Wellness parameters are being studied in response to lifestyle changes.

            With advancements in complex information processing, there are reports of stunning successes coming in. More sophisticated technologies quantifying genetic expression, brain imaging, and even the health of specific populations are validating many of the rubrics of wellness behavior. Proteonomics studies the expression and functions of proteins produced by genes. The epigenome, a layer of biochemical reactions, greatly affects gene expression and may influence whether a disease manifests. The epigenome is affected by its biochemical environment, both internal and external, which can be profoundly altered by lifestyle.

            There are now fields of study in metabolomics, microbiomics, pharmacogenomics, nutrigenomics and more. The theme of this year’s meeting of the Institute for Functional Medicine was “Omics.”

            Dr. Dean Ornish told the Institute of Medicine’s Summit on Integrative Medicine, “Addressing food, stress, exercise, love and intimacy—these simple changes have remarkable improvements in things that were once thought

 to be impossible.” He also said, “Change your lifestyle, change your genes. Nurture can trump nature.” Thanks to sophisticated new measures, there is objective evidence that wellness practices may keep even genetically predisposed disease at bay.

            There are soon to be 140,000 diagnosis codes describing illness and injury. There may not even be a single one for adults seeking “wellness.” But a national movement for wellness has started. The integrative medicine and functional medicine proponents are leading the way. Both have extensive certification requirements for providers. Since November 2014, there is a physician board certification for integrative medicine.

            There are methods, science and technology to help us achieve our own unique wellness. To find a practitioner whose focus is health, we need to apply the same diligence that is required when seeking the best kindergarten or university for our children. The great thing about attaining our own and our family’s wellness is that we can recognize it from within ourselves and in them.

 

Bettina Herbert, M.D., specializes in integrative and functional medicine at the Center for Occupational & Environmental Medicine. To schedule a “wellness” consultation, call 843-572-1600, or for more information, visit COEM.com.