Genetic diseases, incurable diseases caused at a cellular level which no one has any control on and accidents are not what we should be worried about the most. We should be most concerned about lifestyle diseases. We do not have a say in our genetic composition, frailties in our immune system unless we inflict the damage, accidents resulting from the faults of others and conditions that are interrelated but cannot be helped. What we can do is take steps so we don’t suffer from lifestyle diseases, which are essentially caused by us and our choices.
What are Lifestyle Diseases
The most common lifestyle diseases are chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic liver disease including cirrhosis, arthritis, asthma, heart disease, chronic renal failure, metabolic diseases, depression, atherosclerosis, obesity, osteoporosis, type 2 diabetes, cancer and Alzheimer’s among a few others.
All these diseases are caused primarily by lifestyle choices. Diet, physical fitness or overall health, vital signs, substance abuse, living conditions and environment are the main causes or facilitators of lifestyle diseases. In a way, we can control whether or not we would suffer from these lifestyle diseases.
Unlike fatal or terminal conditions which would cause death, sooner or later, lifestyle diseases worsen over time. They become severe and can seriously impair your normal life. They are expensive to manage. There are no cures. The conditions are painful and can indirectly cause several other health ailments. For these reasons, lifestyle diseases are our worst enemies.
Causes of Lifestyle Diseases
Smoking or chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol, consumption of drugs or any kind of substance abuse, lack of exercise, eating more than necessary, indulging in unhealthy foods and working in unhealthy conditions are some of the causes of lifestyle diseases.
How to Prevent Lifestyle Diseases
Around a hundred and fifty years or so, the leading causes of death in the world were communicable diseases. Tuberculosis, influenza or pneumonia and diarrhea were major the top three conditions leading to death. Today, heart failures and strokes, cancer and degenerative diseases are the leading causes of death in the world.
An active lifestyle sans tobacco and alcohol, drugs and fatty foods is quintessential to preventing lifestyle diseases. Diets rich in fatty meats and processed food should be avoided. Instead, low sugar starchy foods with healthy lean meats, fiber, minerals and vitamins should be adopted. Nutritious foods like milk and egg have been replaced with processed dairy products and heavily synthesized products with egg as an ingredient. It is necessary to go back to whole foods such as wholegrain bread, brown rice, cooking unprocessed chicken and juicing fresh fruits.