A substance taken to strengthen and prevent disease, especially chronic disease. Formerly, tonics were widely available both as over-the-counter and prescription formulas. Unfortunately, the increased sophistication of medicine has led to the abandonment of preventative or strengthening approaches that utilise the innate abilities of an organism (like ourselves) to right itself with a little prodding in the correct direction. The last several decades have seen increased focus on disease-at-a-time medicine, with more and more patients receiving treatment at acute care facilities like hospitals and clinics, circumstances that delegate against preventative or tonic approaches. Tonics tend to stimulate deficient functions, therefore are best suited for functional disorders, not organic ones.