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Exiting the Anthropocene: Achieving personal and planetary health in the 21st century

Humans are part of nature, and our health cannot be separated from the health of our environment. Fully understanding ecological interdependence is to see personal health as part of planetary health. The rising rates of human disease, distress, and despair are inextricably linked with degradation and destruction of ecosystems at all scales. This extends to the human‐made social, political, and economic “ecosystems” that influence attitudes, values, and behaviors—of individuals and whole societies. We cannot hope to overcome the pandemic of chronic, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), as an expression of these deepening imbalances, without addressing the wider determinants of health that penetrate…

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Featured

  Personal Health-Tracking Oura Ring Just Got a Huge Free Upgrade

The Oura Ring debuted way back in 2015 as a Kickstarter product. Not only did it achieve its funding goal and make it to market, it helped grow an entirely new market segment. What if you want to track your health throughout the day, but without the bulk of a smartwatch or fitness tracker strapped around your wrist? That was four generations ago. Now the Oura Ring is in its fourth generation, and people go crazy for the lithe smart devices that count steps, monitor sleep health, and track calories burned during exercises. And a lot more. Only people have been complaining lately about the accuracy of the latest firmware, especially in counting the wearer’s daily steps.

 Making a Planetary Health Case for Whole Person Health

Whole person health care offers a number of potential benefits including better health outcomes for patients, decreased health care utilization, and lower overall costs of care. With its emphasis on health promotion and disease prevention, whole person health also has great potential to help align health care with planetary health by decreasing both direct and indirect environmental impacts associated with conventional medicine.

 Why personal and planetary health are so inextricably linked

An empowering new campaign highlights the mental health benefits of connecting with nature – and protecting the planet.

Articles of Interest

DNA sequencer raises doctors' hopes for personalized medicine

Among the many stents, surgical clamps, pumps and other medical devices that have recently come before the Food and Drug Administration for clearance, none has excited the widespread hopes of physicians and researchers like a machine called the Illumina MiSeqDx. The device could accelerate the use of genetic information in everyday medical care, physicians hope, improving diagnoses and treatments.

Down With My Health Record

Australia offers a cautionary tale of government tech gone really, really wrong.

GeoMedicine - OK, Maybe We Should Move!

GeoMedicine will probably serve as a catalyst for future human migration from one part of the globe to another in the quest for minimizing personal health risks. And, it may be sooner than you think!

Happiness and wealth aren't enough—here's why you should strive to 'flourish'

Scientists say "flourishing" is a better framework for living a fulfilling life. A huge new global study reveals who is actually flourishing—and who is languishing behind.

Healthy Lifestyle: “Wellness is the new luxury”

Until 2019, a healthy lifestyle could be regarded by some as a fashion trend. Not anymore. We are becoming increasingly conscious as to what better living implies, and our definition is expanding: balanced eating and sporting habits are no longer enough; we look up to a more holistic approach. Physical, psychological and spiritual wellbeing have become a priority.

How Much of Your Personal Health Information Should Be Online?

It's time to move beyond the isolated patient experience, but the social outlets we're using aren't made for sharing high-stakes information.

Human health and the health of Planet Earth go together

The emergence of the planetary health approach was highlighted by the report of The Rockefeller Foundation-Lancet Commission on Planetary Health in 2015 and changed how we comprehend human well-being.

Like It Or Not, Personal Health Technology Is Getting Smarter

Some of these devices will lead to a better health care system, Kvedar predicts, with cheaper, more efficient care. But that will take separating useful devices and data from superfluous ones — no easy task. And not everyone believes the changes that personal health trackers are bringing will be good. The clinical accuracy and privacy of many devices remain unproved.

Managing Your Health Records Should Be As Easy As Managing Your Money

Apple wants to make that happen. But will it succeed? Apple isn’t the first tech company to try to bring personal health records to the masses—Google gave it a brief shot, and Microsoft still technically offers its HealthVault. But those efforts were in many ways too early, coming before most Americans were carrying around miniature computers in their pockets, and their interfaces were notoriously clunky, requiring a deadly amount of manual data entry.

Patient Data-Driven Personalization Key to Fixing Today's Broken Health Assessments

ON AVERAGE, WE live 8 years longer than we did in 1970. The problem is, even though we’re living longer than we ever have before, we are not necessarily living healthier. In fact, we are living sicker in the last 10-15 years of life.

Understanding Holistic Health - The Five Aspects of Personal Health

How do we define “wellness?” Is it simply being physically healthy? Or is there more to it? To better understand your health, it is best to look at your system as a whole rather than individual pieces with varying symptoms and functions. A holistic approach to health encompasses the five aspects of personal health: physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual. People argue that you won’t experience complete health and wellness if you neglect any of these areas.

We Asked People What Health Problems They Hide From Their Partners

It's not a lie—it's just an omission of information.

Wellness is More Than Just Physical Health

A common principle of wellness is that your health is more than the absence of disease or injury. Rather, it’s a holistic approach to health that encourages a long, meaningful life. Wellness influencers can be environmental or social, such as peace, economic security, a stable ecosystem and a safe living situation. Individual wellness influencers may include physical activity, a healthy diet, social ties, resilience, positive emotions and autonomy.

What is Personal Health

The ability to take charge of your health by making conscious decisions to be healthy. It not only refers to the physical wellbeing of an individual, but it also comprises the wellness of emotional, intellect, social, economic, spiritual, and other areas of life.

What is Planetary Health?

The planet is alive. This ecstatic skin of the Earth that stretches but a few miles up and down is teeming with critters, plants, fungi, protists and bacteria. We don’t just live on the planet, we live because of it. We’re creatures, very smart apes, whose blood and breath and food exist as a result of the Earth’s vast, generative biogeochemical power. No wonder, then, that planetary health may be difficult to comprehend. It’s a kind of self-knowledge, and, as any teacher or parent knows, self-knowledge is hard won. But it’s also existentially important.

When Did Self-Care Get So Self-Indulgent?

Some trace back the growing self-indulgence of today’s self-care industry to the way the term itself was co-opted. It’s believed that the term “self-care” originated within Black activist circles in the 1980s, by way of feminist Audre Lorde, who famously wrote: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” At the time, taking back healthcare into your own hands was a political act against the racist, sexist institution of healthcare.

Who Really Owns Your Health Data?

There are many people or entities who could claim ownership over a patient’s medical information. Does your physician own it? The medical institution? Some third party? In general, ownership of information belongs to the individual or company who created or authored that information. For example, intellectual property laws protect “original works of authorship.” Medical records represent professional medical opinions of a physician or a medical institution, and therefore may not necessarily be the patient's property. Why shouldn't individuals own their medical records? After all, these medical records contain their personal health information and were created for them. Lab work is literally a part of the patient -- why should other people own that?

Why do smart people get hooked on wellness trends? Personality traits may play a role

If you’ve spent time on social media recently you have probably been exposed to questionable “wellness” content. You may have been instructed to dip your toes in icy water or let the sun shine where it usually doesn’t. Wellness trends such as drinking “loaded” water or taking ice baths may be benign for most people, while others such as drinking raw milk, eating raw organ meats, or taping your mouth while you sleep carry real risks.

Resources

5 personal care innovations that lived up to the hype in 2024

From a true alternative to flossing to the ultimate bed topper.

5 Tips to Create Your Personal Health Care Plan

There is a paradigm shift happening in modern medicine today that focuses on being proactive rather than reactive about our health. When you take a preventive approach to managing your health and practicing healthy behaviors, you can decrease your chances of developing certain diseases and expand your life span... The key components of a comprehensive, personal health plan are designed to work synergistically to support and improve your overall health. They include diet and nutrition, physical health and exercise, mental well-being, and lifestyle habits. But where do you begin? Creating a personal health plan is a great start to getting you on the road of health and wellness. Allow us to help you develop this plan.

Four Ways to Harness Your Personal Well-Being

How small shifts (and sips) can uplift your day and support your health.

Future of Personal Health

Future of Personal Health is a Mediaplanet site focusing on health insights and news, patient stories, and the latest in diagnostic and treatment options. Our mission is to provide valuable insight, information and professional opinion to educate, inform and inspire an audience of health conscious individuals.

Personal Remedies

Personal Remedies delivers advanced technology solutions that empower patients, caregivers and providers, with instant evidence-based and individualized guidance on chronic illnesses and dietary regimens. We enable personalized nutritional care plans that can lead to remarkable outcomes for patients and the world’s growing chronic illness challenges.

Personify Health

We’re Personify Health. We’re the first and only personalized health platform company to bring health, wellbeing, and navigation solutions together. Helping businesses like yours optimize investments in their members while empowering people to meaningfully engage with their health. Book a demo Finds in-network provider Tracks Rx usage daily Who we are Changing how healthy happens

Bowhead Health

Bowhead Health is an encrypted wellness tracker and personalized health app designed for individuals who want to take control of their health data and outcomes.

Gene Sherpas: Personalized Medicine and You

The Sherpa speaks the language of the trail, he/she knows short cuts and dangerous paths to avoid. This blog is for those wishing to take the journey and those wishing to become Gene Sherpas.

Personal Connected Health Alliance

The Personal Connected Health Alliance (PCHAlliance) aims to make health and wellness an effortless part of daily life. The PCHAlliance, a non-profit organization formed by HIMSS, believes that health is personal and extends beyond healthcare.

Personalized Medicine Coalition

The Personalized Medicine Coalition is an independent, non-profit group that works to advance the understanding and adoption of personalized medicine for the ultimate benefit of patients. Our diverse members work together to educate opinion leaders and the public about the issues that will shape how personalized medicine develops and how quickly all of us can benefit from it.

Personalized Medicine.com

PersonalizedMedicine.com is a free to use portal for professionals in the field of Personalized Medicine and Molecular Diagnostics.

The Personal Genome Project

We believe individuals from the general public have a vital role to play in making personal genomes useful. We are recruiting volunteers who are willing to share their genome sequence and many types of personal information with the research community and the general public, so that together we will be better able to advance our understanding of genetic and environmental contributions to human traits and to improve our ability to diagnose, treat, and prevent illness.

CrowdMed

CrowdMed is revolutionizing healthcare by harnessing ‘the wisdom of crowds’ to help solve even the world’s most difficult medical cases quickly and accurately online. After 4 years of development and refinement, CrowdMed’s patented prediction market technology can suggest diagnoses to real-world medical cases that have stumped doctors for years.

FindZebra

The search engine for difficult medical cases.

Future Medicine

Future Medicine has developed an innovative publishing portfolio to reflect postgenomic medicine. The sequencing of the human genome was a colossal milestone in the evolution of healthcare, with repercussions for all those involved in the healthcare chain. Future Medicine provides healthcare practitioners and research professionals with a unique source of objective, cutting-edge information on exciting trends emerging in the light of these advances.

Health Coach

Health Coach excels in assisting those interested in improving human health and performance. We work with people who are facing personal health challenges and want to optimize their response and recovery and we work with organizations who are committed to developing and delivering products and services that improve lives.

Living to 100

The Living to 100 Life Expectancy Calculator uses the most current and carefully researched medical and scientific data in order to estimate how old you will live to be.

Nutrio

We believe that every person has the power to make decisions that will allow them to take control of their life and health.

The Longevity Game

We exist to help our clients manage financial risk and achieve financial security through our insurance and investment products.

U.S. Preventive Medicine

U.S. Preventive Medicine'' has developed a suite of prevention, early detection and chronic condition management products and services that improve health outcomes while reducing health care costs. Every person at our company is working relentlessly to deliver the "ultimate prevention experience" to more people so we can one day give everyone more good years.