Table 1 Personal Health Ecologies (PHEs)

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Mainstreamers: the traditional patient;

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Allopathic self-care: prefer over-the-counter products or toughing it out rather than seeing a physician;

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Maximizers: highly engaged with their physicians and try to get the most out of their health care plans;

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Nutritionists: rely on food and diet to prevent illness;

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Naturalists: rely on complementary and alternative medicine and their bodies’ natural healing process and dislike using the health care system;

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Integrators: those who rely on the health care system for medical diagnoses but also dabble in complementary and alternative medicine (CAM);

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Holistics: use the health care delivery system and CAM for the things each modality excels in;

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Healthy Lifestylers: dramatically change their lives to maximize their health and look for health benefits across a wide range of products and services.