A Magazine of People and
Possibilities
Chronic Diseases
by Dr. Raj Rakhra
Chronic diseases are prolonged conditions that often do not improve and are rarely cured completely. Diabetes, de-pression, congestive heart failure, hepatitis and asthma are ex-amples of chronic diseases. Approximately one in four Canadians has been diagnosed with one or more chronic diseases. Chronic illness has a profound effect on the physical, emotional and men-tal well-being of individuals, often making it difficult to carry on with daily routines and relationships. However, in many cases, dete-rioration in health can be minimized by good care. This often de-pends upon individual choices made on a daily basis.
We get sick because our lack of health is economical-ly profitable for a lot of big companies and shareholders. These include: food industries that promote ‘designer’ junk foods and beverages that hold no nutritional value and actually make us fat and sick, as well as industries that pollute our environments and bodies with harmful chemicals and toxins. Another business is the ‘sick care’ industry that calculated out long ago that there is much more money to be made in treating symptoms with drugs and sur-geries in expensive hospitals than in patient education, prevention and natural medicine.
Wellness or Sickness
The time has come to choose which side you want to be on, wellness or sickness. You can either choose to actively seek out solutions, continually nourishing your body and reviving your spirit – or you can remain passive about the potential perils lurk-ing around, gradually losing your life energy until sickness finally catches up with you. If you don’t make a decision, the choice will be made for you by the financially motivated food, chemical and drug companies or by the media addicted to advertisement dol-lars. But will you benefit?
Chronic disease such as heart disease, cancer, chron-ic lung disorders, kidney diseases and diabetes are the leading causes of death and disability. Chronic diseases account for the majority of all deaths. These diseases also cause major limitations in daily living for millions of people. Although chronic diseases are among the most common and costly health problems, they are also among the most preventable conditions.. Adopting healthy behaviors such as eating nutritious foods, being physically active, avoiding tobacco and excessive consumption of alcohol can pre-vent or control some of the chronic disorders.
Heart disease and stroke are the most common cardiovas-cular diseases.
Heart disease and stroke are among the most widespread and costly health problems facing our nation today, yet they are also among the most preventable. Leading a healthy lifestyle greatly re-duces a person’s risk of developing heart disease or stroke. Pre-venting and controlling high blood pressure and high cholesterol also can have a significant impact on cardiovascular health.
The cost of heart disease and stroke in the United States is projected to be more than $448 billion in 2008, including health care expenditures and lost productivity from death and disability. As the population ages, the economic impact of cardiovascular diseases on the health care system will become even greater.
Cardiovascular disease is a term that refers to more than one disease of the circulatory system including the heart and blood vessels, whether the blood vessels are affecting the lungs, the brain, kidneys or other parts of the body. Cardiovascular dis-eases are the leading cause of death in adult Canadian men and women.
Ischemic heart disease is the most common type of cardiovascular disease in Canada and other industrialized coun-tries around the world. It refers to problems with the circulation of blood to the heart muscle. A partial blockage of one or more of the coronary arteries can result in a lack of enough oxygenated blood (ischemia) thus causing symptoms such as angina (chest pain) and dyspnea (shortness of breath). A complete blockage of an artery causes necrosis (damage to the tissues) or a myocardial infarction, commonly known as a heart attack.
Cerebrovascular disease (Stroke) refers to a problem with the circulation of blood in the blood vessels of the brain. A blockage with effects lasting less than 24 hours is referred to as a transient ischemic attack. A complete blockage with long-term effects is referred to as a cerebrovascular thrombosis (clot) or ac-cident or a stroke. Sometimes, a blood vessel in the brain can burst resulting in long term effects.
Peripheral vascular disease affects the circulation pri-marily in the legs. Patients with this disease typically complain of pain in their calves especially when walking.
Heart failure occurs when the pumping action of the heart cannot provide enough blood to the rest of the body as it is needed. This can happen as a result of damage to the heart muscle, for example from a heart attack, or from excessive con-sumption of alcohol, or because of a heart muscle disease also called cardiomyopathy. Patients with heart failure usually suffer from shortness of breath and swelling of the legs.
Chronic respiratory diseases are chronic diseases of the airways and other parts of the lung. Some of the most com-mon are asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), lung cancer, cystic fibrosis, sleep apnea and occupational lung diseases. Respiratory diseases affect all ages, children, teens, adults and seniors. Most of these diseases are chronic in nature and all have a major impact not only on the individual with the disease, but on the family.
The two most important risk factors for chronic respi-ratory diseases are tobacco smoke (through personal smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke) and indoor and outdoor air quality. Those who smoke cigarettes increase their risk of developing lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma. Exposure to second-hand smoke affects all Canadians, causing cancer in adult non-smokers, sudden infant death syndrome in newborns and worsening symptoms of those with asthma or COPD. All Canadians are affected by the quality of air they breathe. However, the effects are more severe in those with lung disease. People who have chronic respiratory disease should refrain from smoking (or being exposed to second-hand smoke) and as much as possible ensure a high quality of the air they breathe. Lung cancer is the leading cause of death due to cancer in Canada, representing an estimated 30% of the cancer deaths in males and 25% of the cancer deaths in females.
Tobacco use is the single most important preventable cause of lung cancer. A comprehensive, intersectional approach to tobacco control including a variety of interventions, from edu-cating the public about the adverse health effects of tobacco use, advertising restrictions to taxation, have contributed to significant decreases in its use over the past several decades.
Arthritis
Arthritis comprises over 100 different diseases and con-ditions. The most common is osteoarthritis. Other frequently oc-curring forms of arthritis include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, fibro-myalgia and gout. Arthritis can also affect children. Problems that occur in the joints may be due to mechanical failure or inflamma-tion produced by infection, disease or some other unknown cause. Common symptoms include pain, aching, stiffness, and swelling in or around the joints. Some forms of arthritis, such as rheuma-toid arthritis and lupus, can affect multiple organs and cause wide-spread symptoms.
Diabetes
People with diabetes have a shortage of insulin or a de-creased ability to use insulin, a hormone that allows glucose (sug-ar) to enter cells and be converted to energy. When diabetes is not controlled, glucose and fats remain in the blood and, over time, damage vital organs. Diabetes is the leading cause of new cases of adult blindness, kidney failure, and non traumatic lower extrem-ity amputation. It can lead to heart disease, stroke, pregnancy complications, and deaths related to flu and pneumonia. The cost of diabetes in Canada is estimated to be up to $9 billion annually. As yet there is no cure for this disease, however diabetes can be managed. In the case of type 2 diabetes, it is important to know that it can be prevented. Research has shown that a combination of good nutrition and physical activity can actually help prevent or postpone type 2 diabetes. Death rates are about 2-4 times higher for adults with diabetes than for those without the disease.
Good health (freedom from sickness) can be on the whole attributed to positive lifestyle choices that include preven-tative medicine, whole food diets, meaningful relationships and so much more. Make a choice for a natural healthy way of life.
Dr. Rakhra is a Naturopathic Physician, serving Calgary
for more than twenty years and practicing Complementary Medicine since 1964. He is a
Member of Alberta Association of Naturopathic Doctors. Dr. Rakhra's clinic is located at 121 - 14 Street North West in Calgary, Alberta. You
can reach his office at 403-270-7033. Visit his website at: www.aynh.com.
Read more articles by Dr. Rakhra Here.