CAUSE AND PREVENTION

 

What Causes Lifestyle Diseases and Can They Be Prevented?

Don't fall victim to lifestyle diseases

A lifestyle disease is a disease linked to the way a person is living. Lifestyle diseases result in chronic diseases or non-communicable diseases.^[1] These terms are often used interchangeably. It is possible to reduce your risk of lifestyle diseases.

Common lifestyle diseases include heart disease, stroke, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and more.^[2] One major contributing factor to developing some of these diseases is how we live; in fact, our lifestyle primarily controls our risk of developing such diseases. Luckily, because we can change how we live, we could reduce our risk of developing such diseases by … well, changing our lifestyle: the foods we eat (or don’t eat), our exercise habits, stress levels, etc. In fact, our lifestyle is what primarily controls our risk of developing such diseases.

Of course, the saying “easier said than done” rings true here. Changing our lifestyle habits can be especially hard to do. However, in some cases it could cost you your life. We hope this would be enough motivation to make any necessary changes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides that six out of ten adults in the United States have a chronic disease, and four have multiple!^[3] The World Health Organization predicted that the portion of the global burden of disease that noncommunicable diseases are responsible for would reach 57 percent by this year.^[4] Cardiovascular diseases, obesity, and diabetes had the most prevalence and worrying trends.

Causes and Prevention

Risk factors consist of behavioral factors, biological factors, and societal factors.

Diet, physical inactivity, tobacco use, and alcohol consumption can increase your risk of chronic disease; these are behavioral factors. Biological factors include certain pre-existing medical conditions, age, and genes. Lastly, societal factors include various socioeconomic, cultural, and other environmental criteria. Risk factors have also been characterized as modifiable behavioral factors, non-modifiable, and metabolic risk factors.^[5]

The International Journal of Current Research and Academic Review states that chronic diseases usually affect middle-aged or older people after consistent living of an unhealthy lifestyle composed of those behavioral factors we mentioned: tobacco use, overconsumption of alcohol, poor nutrition, lack of physical activity, and prolonged work.^[6] [7]

These behavioral risk factors of chronic disease can be avoided. Eat better, exercise, and make time for some much-needed rest and relaxation. Doing all this won’t only reduce your risk of developing a chronic disease, but can also improve your quality of life, increase your life expectancy, and ultimately save you money. How, you might ask?

Well, a disease obviously has to do with your health and affects it, and bad health can make it hard to enjoy living. The amount of money you spend on health care is also likely to go up when you get a lifestyle disease. In fact, those with chronic conditions use health care the most in the United States and are responsible for the majority of health spending.^[8]

However, while you can change your lifestyle and habits, you can’t do anything about your genetic susceptibility, age, and other factors. But that’s okay since lifestyle diseases are primarily caused by modifiable lifestyle factors.

Let’s discuss further just how you can prevent the burden of a chronic disease from happening to you, specifically in two ways: diet and physical activity.

Diet and Physical Activity

M.J. Pappachan of the Department of Medicine at Grantham & District Hospital says that one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, a type of lifestyle disease, is higher body weight.^[9] We can manage our weight through diet and exercise. Nutrition and health are closely related, so it makes sense that a history of poor eating can contribute to health challenges.^[10] A healthier, balanced diet can improve one’s health as well as getting adequate physical activity.

Nutrition has been used since ancient times for healing and health purposes. Why stray from it now? It’s the most natural method of treatment, not calling for synthetic medications and the like.

The right nutrients (which come from food) can help improve health, correct problems, and strengthen as well as maintain health. Depending on your condition, you might have to consume more good stuff, like fruits and vegetables, than someone else.

For instance, at Balance of Nature, we advise you take three of our Fruits and three of our Veggies capsules daily. The added nutrition can help you maintain health and avoid illness. If you are experiencing some kind of slight deterioration in health, you should up your intake to six of each. Someone with a life-threatening condition would need twice that amount (twelve and twelve) to supply the body with the extra nutrition it needs to recruit and repair. As your health improves, you can gradually decrease the intake.

Fruits contain various compounds including fiber, antioxidant nutrients, and phytonutrients that can slow and help prevent certain health conditions.^[11] Vegetables do too. This is the benefit of upping your produce intake.

Fatma Al-Maskari, an associate professor in the Department of Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, at United Arab Emirates University, says that specifically eating a high-fiber, low-fat diet as well as physical activity and other healthy behaviors reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature mortality.^[12] Other diets have been evaluated as well: a diet high in fat and salt intake, low in carbohydrates, and low in fruits and vegetables was shown to lead to the development of risk factors, whereas a diet low in fat and high in unrefined carbs was shown to protect people from chronic disease.^[13]

It can be hard to change routine behaviors and habits, but it’s necessary to do so for the sake of your health and quality of life. You may get discouraged along the way, but the important thing is to not give up—you can do it! Better health is worth it. Good health won’t just reduce your risk of disease, but will ultimately improve how you feel. Better health usually results in better mood, more energy, and productivity, improving your overall quality of life.

If you are experiencing ups and downs in your journey toward that better quality of life, there are things you can try to help you succeed in changing.

~krish rawat