A regimen for the well; A Regimen for Health, Hippocrates

 Why you might read A Regimen for Health

A Regimen for Health fills the gap of what a healthy person should be doing to stay well. It takes Hippocrates philosophy and spreads it into preventative medicine.

In my Self Education project, it fills exactly that gap. As well as giving further insight into what Hippocrates saw as the health person. 

Content of A Regimen for Health

This book details what should be done on a daily and seasonal basis to stay in good health. Hippocrates starts with the seasons. He states that in the winter little water should be taken and the food dry. The transition between season should be done gently. The change between dry and wet in winter and summer respectively.

He then moves on to differences in the state of one's body makes. Giving different recommendations for young and old and fat and thin. As well as hard and soft. 

His recommendations stay entirely around types of food and drink. He also includes the frequency of meals. Finally, he details how to lose and gain weight. As well as what type of exercise should be done.

Reflections on A Regimen for Health

Today we have our own ideas around what is health. Both to do what is healthy to eat and drink as well as what exercise. So it should not be surprising that Hippocrates had his own ideas of what would keep people well. He covers a fair bit of ground given the length of this text. The interesting thing is that he does not really stop and explain his reasoning. This is a little against his normal tendencies. 

What others have to say about A Regimen for Health

"Disease is not an entity, but a fluctuating condition of the patient’s body, a battle between the substance of disease and the natural self-healing tendency of the body." From Excellence Reporter

"He considered that the habits and environment in which a person was, influenced the illnesses that he contracted." From Life persona

Comparisons with other texts

This is the antithesis of Hippocrates work Regimen in Acute Diseases. Yet it covers a lot of the same ground. With directions about eating and drinking being the centre of both works. 

It also relates to The Science of Medicine. It is a continuation of the idea that everything can be discovered in its best form. In this case, it is the same ideas applied to how to stay healthy.

Conclusion

This short work covers what to eat and when for the best health. It expands into more specifics like if you are thin or fat. We have looked at how it is a continuation of the idea of Medicine as a science. As well as how it complements and contrasts the Regimen in Acute Diseases. But in all, it is just what it says a Regimen for Health.

Have you read A Regimen for Health? If so what did you think of it? 

 
Want to read A Regimen for Health but haven't? Please leave me a comment and let me know why you want to read it.

Hopefully, this post inspires you to take the time to look into it on your own journey of Self Education.

Get a copy of A Regimen for Health.