Everyone's sick! But this is normal...... right?
Updated at 2020-06-05 05:46:52 Posted in (Primary)General,
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
In 2015 the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) released their latest data on the leading causes of death and
disability - and it was chronic
diseases which were at the top of the list. The top
chronic diseases on the list (which had up to 20 leading causes listed)
included ischaemic heart disease, dementia, cerebrovascular disease, diabetes
and many more (1). Back in 2011, chronic disease accounted for over 90% of all
deaths with the majority of those people suffering more than one chronic
illness. In fact, 20% of deaths have been associated
with five or
more chronic diseases. (2)These
statistics are scary and given the last ten years of data collected by the ABS
– they are not likely to change anytime soon especially with certain diseases
on the rise such as dementia (including Alzheimer’s disease), diabetes and
heart failure.
Chronic
disease is also the number
one predominant challenge to global health – with
non-communicable conditions nearly accounting for two-thirds of deaths,
worldwide (3). And the majority of these diseases
are highly
diet related – which is where nutritional medicine is
powerful as a preventative measure against chronic illness. Other risk factors
along with poor diet include smoking, physical inactivity, high alcohol intake,
uncontrolled high blood pressure and high cholesterol (3). Dietary risks linked
with chronic illness include poor intake of fruit, vegetables, whole grains and
fibre and a high intake of processed or highly refined foods (high in sodium,
sugar, trans fats etc). (3) In a recent online survey in New South Wales, only
10% were found to be eating the minimum recommended intake of daily fruit and
vegetables (5 servings) and 57% were eating the recommended two servings of
fruit/day (5). The knowledge on how much daily vegetable servings, and what
actually constitutes a serving (it doesn't mean eating 5 vegetables) which
should be consumed was extremely poor. This is concerning as studies have shown
that those people who eat at least seven servings
of fruit and vegetables each day have the lowest risk of death from chronic
disease – especially with higher vegetable intake as
it offers greater protection than fruit. (6) So if you aren’t already doing so,
get in there and eat your vegies – especially those leafy greens!
Australia is also facing a rapidly ageing population which
will increase chronic disease rates, as people aged over 65 have much higher
rates of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and high blood
pressure (2). By 2044, it has been projected that a quarter of all
Australians will be over the age of 65 – DOUBLE what it is now. (4)
The burden
of chronic disease will impact on public health and
health-care systems with an increased need for management of these diseases,
health care costs and reduced
life expectancy (as well as quality of life to
the person inflicted with chronic disease as well as the family members
directly impacted) (2). The World Health Organization has predicted that up
to 80% of
the most common chronic diseases (heart disease, type 2
diabetes and stroke) and over
a third of all cancers could be prevented –
primarily from improving diet, increasing exercise, quitting smoking and
reducing alcohol intake (2).
In
order to reduce the risk factors which have been linked with chronic disease,
interventions are required at both a population level as well as an individual
level. Nutritional medicine works to address these risk factors at an
individual level to either a) prevent disease from occurring or b) aid in the
management of these diseases. It is by acknowledging some of the early risk factors –
such as high cholesterol or high blood pressure – and their relation to poor dietary and lifestyle
factors which will work in preventing chronic disease,
death and disability in later years. For example, rather than going on blood
pressure medication for high blood pressure - which addresses the symptom -
nutritional medicine will look at addressing
the underlying cause/s (poor diet, no exercise, stress) of
why there is high blood pressure to begin with. Given that high blood pressure
is an early risk factor for heart disease (one of the leading causes of death),
it will be much more beneficial long term to address these dietary and
lifestyle factors earlier on, as, unfortunately, we are headed
for a very sick and heavily populated elderly generation in the following
decades. Rather than be a part of the majority headed for multiple chronic
disease infliction's or disabilities in combination with the dangers of
poly-pharmacy (a major global healthcare crisis), I would urge readers to
look at these common risk factors and address the necessary changes needed to
live their life with health and abundance as the alternative option. So to
finish this article, I leave you with one of my favourite quotes:
“It is no measure of
health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society.”
—
Jiddu Krishnamurti
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Everyone's sick! But this is normal...... right?
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Leanne Aster