| Lifestyle disease is something every western | | | | but at least it is a personal battle that one can |
| country now has to live with, whether we like it | | | | win. Lifestyle is simply the combination of diet, |
| or not. The reason is that lifestyle related | | | | physical activity and exercise and where you live. |
| diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, | | | | Altogether it means how you live. And from a |
| and obesity are fast becoming the leading | | | | practical viewpoint it can be mastered and |
| precursors of sickness and death. The very term | | | | anybody can do it. |
| lifestyle disease stems from modern sedentary | | | | Let's take a look at some of the lifestyle diseases |
| lifestyle, coupled with fast processed food diets, | | | | that we all need to look out for. |
| which eventually lead to degenerative diseases | | | | From the americanheart.org website, they found |
| because the body's DNA gets mutated by | | | | that: "More than half of all Americans with chronic |
| repeated abuse of the body. | | | | diseases don't follow their physician's medication |
| With this increase in disease, and the development | | | | and lifestyle guidance. Cardiovascular disease |
| of technology, and medicine, and pharmaceuticals, | | | | (CVD) is the No. 1 killer in America. In 2005, |
| there are numerous new drugs on the market to | | | | 865,000 Americans died of CVD, accounting for |
| deal with the new sick people. There are no easy | | | | about 34 percent of all deaths. Exercise reduces |
| solutions to lifestyle disease, in the form of pills, | | | | the risk of other health problems, such as heart |
| so these often have little or no effect. In fact | | | | disease, which can contribute to stroke. By helping |
| from the americanheart.org website, it states that | | | | to prevent heart attack, exercise may reduce |
| adverse drug reactions (ADRs) may be the | | | | the risk of some kinds of embolic stroke. High |
| fourth-to-sixth leading cause of death in America. | | | | blood pressure (hypertension) was the underlying |
| And they also found that two thirds of Americans | | | | cause of death for 56,561 Americans in 2006 and |
| use medications. With such a huge number of | | | | a primary or contributing cause of about 326,000 |
| people on medication, we must begin to question | | | | deaths." |
| a few things, in particular the lifestyles we are | | | | That is just the tip of the iceberg. And it isn't |
| living, the health care system, and the motives of | | | | getting better. The figures above have got |
| the pharmaceutical giants who make these | | | | worse, but they don't have to get worse for the |
| medications. | | | | person that is willing to take basic steps to take |
| Being smart, we should not focus too much of | | | | care of the body on a routine basis. Again, |
| our time wondering about the world of politics, | | | | lifestyle disease can be beaten by re-aligning |
| and big business because we have an uphill battle | | | | ourselves to a natural lifestyle that our bodies |
| to try to change the way our health system | | | | crave. It's basically about building healthy habits, |
| works at a core level. Instead, it is wiser to focus | | | | and eliminating unhealthy habits. |
| on the lifestyle side of things. Even this is a battle, | | | | |