This wisdom is not new. In fact, many cultures have used saunas and sweat lodges to create the heat a person experiences during a fever. Massage works because it moves accumulated waste products out of the muscles. Applying heat and cold to an injury has the same effect as massage, as does moderate exercise. Fasting (not eating) allows the body to concentrate its forces on breaking down and eliminating waste.
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
Taking care of yourself when you do not feel good is healthcare because you are taking care of your health. Most people practice disease care, because they take care of themselves once they have a problem. Healthcare is proactive, while disease care is reactive.
"diseases occur when an individual becomes too hardened...hardening of the arteries is the dynamic behind every case of heart disease, calcification of the soft tissues in the joints is the root of every case of arthritis, and the mineralization of the affected organs is one of the dynamics underlying the disease of cancer."
-ThomasS. Cowan, MD