-thfəl adjective
Etymology: Middle English helthful, from helthe health + -ful
1. : beneficial to health of body or mind : conducive to health : salutary
a healthful climate
2. : healthy
a weird translation of Dickens' relatively healthful exuberance into a morbid … mysticism — Writer
physical organization … which was at once healthful and exquisitely delicate — Nathaniel Hawthorne
Synonyms:
healthy , wholesome , salubrious , salutary , hygienic , sanitary : healthful and healthy are both used to mean conducive to or indicative of health or soundness, the former word being preferred in some quarters
a healthful climate
better nutrition, more healthful housing, sounder forms of recreation — Lewis Mumford
one of the healthiest climates in England — Arnold Bennett
extolled the healthy air of the hills as the best way to recover from fever — Hervey Allen
healthy and normal outlets for youthful energies — Allan Nevins & H.S.Commager
wholesome may more strongly suggest beneficial, upbuilding, or sustaining capacities, physically, intellectually, or spiritually
wholesome meats
the warm rays of the sun, too, were wholesome for him in body and soul — Nathaniel Hawthorne
one trade is healthier or cleanlier than another, that it is carried on in a more wholesome or pleasant locality — Alfred Marshall
wholesome, fast-reading adaptations for teenagers of the adult best sellers they want to read — New York Times Book Review
salubrious may suggest the pleasantly invigorating or bracing
these uplands are likewise often the most salubrious seat of living, with their fine scenery, their bracing ionized air, their range of recreation, from mountain-climbing and fishing to swimming and ice-skating — Lewis Mumford
salutary may describe something corrective, tonic, or otherwise beneficially effective although the thing in question may in itself be unpleasant
in the open air, which is the most salutary of all things for both body and mind — R.L.Stevenson
salutary was the tartness with which she protested, “You're the most conceited man that ever lived!” — Sinclair Lewis
idle ladies and gentlemen are treated with salutary contempt, whilst the worker's blouse is duly honored — G.B.Shaw
hygienic is likely to suggest conformity with various health principles and laws
anyone … who took the proper amount of balanced food, or consumed his excess heat units in regular exercise, and lived a reasonably hygienic life — V.G.Heiser
sanitary implies cleanly precaution against contamination, infection, or other unhealthful developments
the sanitary appearance of the hospital kitchen