There’s been a virtual explosion of diseases plaguing the medical world within the last couple of decades. Diseases which were thought rare and specifically genetic are now happening to almost everybody. Some of these new diseases are so bizarre we hardly have a name for them. Despite the perplexity, they all have one very important thing in common – and you’ll never guess what it is!
Heart Disease
Heart disease happens when inflammation of the arteries causes them to narrow and stiffen. This can restrict blood flow to your extremities, reproductive anatomy, heart, and brain. Heart disease is the precursor to strokes and heart attacks, which can be fatal. It’s also linked to blood flow disorders like erectile dysfunction and certain types of dementia.
For the longest time, doctors blamed dietary cholesterol and saturated fat for heart disease. But a lot of that blame came from faulty research funded by food companies in the 1950s and 60s. Since discovering that cholesterol and fat aren’t actually to blame for heart disease, the world of health and nutrition has been turned on its head – and experts are still scrambling to find the real answer to this problem.
Diabetes
More and more experts are beginning to believe that type 2 diabetes is the result of systemic inflammation in certain metabolic tissues. Type 2 diabetes specifically happens when the cells in your body become resistant to insulin and refuse to absorb glucose out of the bloodstream. This constantly elevated level of blood sugar is very damaging to your internal organs and major tissues.
Furthermore, the pancreas becomes increasingly stressed to keep up with the raising demand for insulin. It can even stop working completely in extreme cases. Diabetes can be fatal for people who don’t have access to insulin and who have no other way to manage their insulin and blood sugar levels. Doctors used to believe the diabetes types 1 and 2 were both genetic; however, it’s starting to look more and more like type 2 diabetes is strongly linked to diet, exercise, and other lifestyle choices.
Crohn’s, Celiac, and Many Other Digestive Disorders
Most doctors believe that digestive disorders like Crohn’s or celiac disease are (at least, in part) Caused by inflammation and irritation of the intestinal lining. Symptoms characteristic of digestive disorders include:
- Frequent and recurring diarrhea
- Rectal bleeding
- Rapid and inexplicable weight loss
- Abdominal cramps and abdominal pain
- Reduce appetite
- Fatigue
- Bloating and excessive gas
- Iron deficiency anemia
- Constipation
The symptoms of celiac disease usually only happen after gluten-heavy meals. But whether it’s Crohn’s, celiac, or your garden-variety irritable bowel syndrome, these conditions can make it very hard for people to live a normal life.
Arthritis
It’s been pretty common knowledge for decades now that arthritis is inflammation of the joints. This can cause severe pain in the immediate area and is most common in:
- Minor joints like your fingers and wrists
- Major joints like your elbows, shoulders, knees, and hips
- Your spine
Arthritis in your spine can lead to even more complications like peripheral neuropathy or sciatica. Doctors usually prescribe anti-inflammatory medications like NSAIDs, Naproxen, or inject the joints directly with corticosteroids. Extreme cases may require surgery.
But all of these treatments can only do so much good. Eventually, arthritis will make life debilitatingly painful for people who suffer from it. Arthritis of the major joints like knees, shoulders, and hips may require joint replacement surgery in order to make the pain go away. But these are major surgeries which can have devastating consequences for the people who receive them – which means that surgery isn’t always ideal.
What Do All of These Diseases Have in Common?
It doesn’t take a witty British detective to solve this mystery. And now that you know the cause, it’ll be easier to get to the solution!
If you’ve been paying attention, then you know we’ve already given the answer away several times over. The answer is, of course: inflammation. When major organs and tissues in your body are besieged by chronic inflammation, it can cause any and all of the health problems we’ve discussed. Indeed, most medical experts believe that inflammation is one of the most deadly chronic medical conditions of this century.
Fixing chronic inflammation is a tricky business. Medical experts are only just starting to understand what it is and how it works. Luckily, there are some simple solutions you can utilize at home in your spare time at little or no cost to you! And we will tackle those solutions in our follow-up article which will be published soon – so keep an eye out for it!
