Recently published CDC findings confirm previous studies that show the public is not following good lifestyle choices. Actually they are getting worse.
Chronic degenerative conditions thought of as inevitable signs of aging can be modified to the benefit of the individual if we make healthy lifestyle choices – no smoking, moderation in alcohol consumption (if at all), no drugs unless prescribed by ones physician for specific indications, daily multivitamin intake, and regular exercise.
Most changes of aging are related to chronic noninfectious inflammatory conditions, thought to be the result of environmental factors.
70 million Americans suffer from Arthritis – or one in every three adults; twice as many as there were twenty years ago.
Asthma is now the sixth most common human disease.
There are more than 18.2 million people with Diabetes, a 49% increase over the past ten years.
Almost 64 million Americans have cardiovascular disease (CVD) in some form. It is the number one killer of Americans, with almost a million deaths last year.
More than one million Americans have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and the numbers are increasing.
Obesity, now a pandemic, affects more than 200 million Americans, along with the exacerbation of existing inflammatory disease, and fat cells play a major role in the production of the messengers that cause inflammatory disease.
Age related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the major cause of vision loss in America and is becoming more common.
The take home message is that these are all inflammatory conditions, and all can be delayed or modified by making the lifestyle choices listed above.
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5 comments:
You mean we can live healthier longer without having to turn to drugs like Lipitor, Celebrex, Anaprox, Glucophage, Avandia, Singulair, Medrol, Serevent, Advair, Proventil, etc., and all those other wonderful pharmaceuticals?
Count me in.
I don't think that is what Dr. Thornton meant. These drugs all have a place if eating clean (no junk food), weight control, staying as stress free as possible, maintaining physical and mental fitness, and supplementing to fill in nutrient gaps has not worked.
Understanding how chronic (silent) inflammation triggers, or switches on, particular RPE/choroid genes including CCL19, CCL26, CXCL14, and SLIT2 will be a major step forward in claifying AMD pathobiology and the macula's propensity for degeneration in some people.
The new discipline (study area) called Nutragenomics suggests there are nutritional deficiencies involved at some level!
Barbara has a good point. Pharmaceuticals (Drugs) do have an important role in cases where, despite a good diet and good lifestyle choices, disease has developed.
Pharmaceutical research has produced some truly remarkable medications to treat inflammatory conditions that develop as we age, but most people would benefit by simply changing the way they eat.
Of course the best way to get your daily dose of vitamins and minerals is from food, but CDC research has revealed that only a small percentage of Americans get the recommended amount of vitamins and minerals from food, and, based on those findings, the AMA recommends that “every American take nutritional supplements to make up for this lack.”
Thanks for brightening up my day. Its scary to think of all those things. Unfortunately its reality. It really makes me want to change my diet and my daily routine. I think we all need a reality check every now and then or just a kick in the you know what.
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