Holistic describes an approach — to medicine, nutrition, or health — that treats the whole person rather than isolated symptoms: considering mental state, lifestyle, relationships, environment, and personal circumstances alongside physical signs. A holistic dietitian asks about stress, sleep, and cooking facilities, not just nutrient intakes; holistic medicine may combine conventional treatment with attention to emotional wellbeing. The concept is a useful corrective to narrow specialism — health genuinely is more than the absence of disease markers. But “holistic” is also a marketing word, borrowed by unproven therapies to imply a caring breadth that evidence-based care supposedly lacks. The wise response: embrace the whole-person view, demand evidence for the treatments.