When something traumatic happens, one of the most pressing questions most people ask is… WHY? It seems to be intergraded into our mindset to search for the CAUSE of the events.
Newscast analysts in murder cases spend hours and hours trying to figure out why the murderer did what he/she did. And when we lose a loved one from disease or an accident, we often look up to the only power that can answer our question and ask:
“WHY did you have to take him/her away from me?”
So it’s no surprise that after watching people’s general health decline drastically over the last 30 years that we also want to ask… WHY?
Type 2 diabetes cases are increasing by a whopping 20% per year and people suffering are getting younger and younger. More people are dying from heart attack and stroke than 100 years ago and that’s despite the fact that everyone and their uncle is on either blood pressure or cholesterol lowering drugs. Obesity is completely out of control and we could go on and on.
So WHY is this happening? Aren’t the advances in the medical system supposed to be making us healthier instead of sicker?
In today’s feature article I’m going to list the five things I believe are the major causes for this development. Then I hope that you’ll contribute what you believe to be the major cause in the comment section below.
Lets begin with the most obvious one:
Overeating
We’re frankly eating too much. The average food portions are bigger than they’ve ever been before. Even the plates we eat off of today are a third bigger than they used to be.
This is especially true for America (where it’s no surprise that obesity more common than other developed countries). When traveling in Europe and Asia I notice how people order much more moderately at restaurants than in the USA.
This is not just nostalgia of the past. Hard core numbers show that the average American consumes almost 1000 more calories per day than they did in the mid 1950s.
Given that obesity is one of the major contributors of most of our modern diseases, it might be a good idea to cut down just a little on our food portions.
But it’s not just the size of the food that’s the problem; even more importantly, it is what is actually ON our plate.
Processed Food
Technological advances have really made it possible to generate an almost unlimited amount of food quickly. Genetically modify vegetables and animals and they’ll grow much faster and bigger in conditions that before were not possible.
Then load the food with hormones and chemicals and the growth will be even quicker and no bacteria will want to come close to those things.
Now cook, freeze and pack the food and add even more chemicals to it so it will last forever.
The result on our plates is food that’s totally robbed of any nutrition and energy while loaded with chemicals and empty calories.
Wow, what a treat!
Would you believe it for a second that we’re immune to the hormones fed to the animals we’re eating? That the chemicals used in processing will not affect us when we eat those? Doesn’t make any sense does it?
One of the most harmful but overused chemical is high fructose corn syrup. It’s in everything now. Not only has it been found by itself to contribute to some major diseases, it’s so cheap that it can be used without considering any moderation.
The consumption of high fructose corn syrup took off in the beginning of the 1980s and has been increasing steadily ever since. Simultaneously obesity and the frequency of type 2 diabetes have increased. There is absolutely a direct connection between the two.
You probably remember as kids to only have one or two sodas per week maximum. Now kids are drinking two to three per day. It’s so cheap and it’s everywhere and it’s loaded with high fructose corn syrup. No wonder almost a third of our children suffer pre-diabetes.
Check out our All Natural Type 2 Diabetes guide for information on how to beat diabetes in 28 days…
So there we have it. We’re eating too much and consuming an overload of empty calories from food and chemicals.
And it’s not like we need those extra calories. We drive more and spend more time sitting in front of the TV and computers than we ever did. So while consuming more we’re burning less.
So that brings us to the next trend of last 30 years…
Lack of Movement
It’s not just lack of exercises to burn calories. By nature we were designed to be constantly on the move. Sitting in front of the computer or TV or in a car for hours and hours without moving much isn’t natural for us.
Our system works as a whole and part of the system is our skeletal muscles’ purpose of helping the heart to pump blood around our system. If we don’t move around, this doesn’t happen like it should and our heart has to work harder. The result is that vital parts of our bodies don’t get enough oxygen.
This not only causes blood pressure to rise, but also leads to oxygen-depriving diseases such as fibromyalgia and migraine. Later on this can cause stroke, heart attack or Alzheimer’s.
To learn about various conditions caused by lack of blood flow check out:
Fibromyalgia information
Migraine and headache information
TMJ information
Now, of course, the major problem with lack of movement is that we don’t process the overload of calories in our system. Studies have shown that by just paying a little more attention to not sitting too much, taking the steps etc, people burn 250 more calories per day. This equals about an hour of walking.
Staying on the move throughout the day also keeps the metabolism going and prevents our blood sugar levels from spiking.
One of the biggest dangers is when people begin to develop health problems such as neck/back pain or arthritis. Since it hurts (especially in the beginning) to move, people shy away from it.
Studies have shown, however, that exercising is one of the best things you can do to improve arthritis. For more info on improving arthritis naturally, click here…
But lack of movement isn’t the only side effect of our technological systems. In fact there is another thing that’s much, much worse. What are we talking about? Of course…
Stress
The average person has never been under as much stress as they are today. The technical world is moving us so fast that our minds and bodies can’t keep up. This has really been a health hazard developing over the last 50 years.
Stress can come in many shapes and forms. We have emotional stress, mental stress, physical stress, sensual stress, etc.
Some of the most dangerous generators of stress we fall victim to is hidden stress from our environment. Studies have shown that people who live in big cities experience an extreme level of stress from the street noise. Even those who lived there for their whole lives and are mentally used to it still fare worse than people living in quieter areas. But their bodies simply don’t ever assimilate and that causes a ton of health problems like high blood pressure.
Then we have emotional stress both from present times as well as our past. This is often caused by a conflict of values between what we want and what other people expect from us. It can be our bosses, spouses, children, parents, friends or the man on the street that open up that internal conflict within us that causes stress.
Mental stress happens when we have to solve a problem and find solutions. This can, for example, happen when we encounter problems in work or while dealing with money. Emotional stress and mental stress are often closely connected.
We often ignore physical challenges as stress. But did you realize that when you get sick, your body is under a lot of stress? Even having a common flu releases a lot of stress hormones. Not to mention painful diseases like arthritis or neck pain. Even health problems we’re not consciously aware of such as high blood sugar levels or high blood pressure cause our body to release stress hormones (which can raise blood pressure). Since stress also makes us more vulnerable for all kinds of diseases, this can be a vicious health circle.
However, all stress is not bad!
Temporarily, focused stress ends up lowering our overall stress levels and can make us healthier.
Exercising moderately is one example of this. While you’re on the tread mill, your stress level goes up. Then as you step down, your stress level drops again and your body is loaded with good feelings from natural hormones.
The same thing happens when you do a cross word puzzle or Sudoku. You’re temporarily putting mental stress on your system that then gets relieved once the puzzle is finished.
Even a good, healthy, outburst fight with your spouse that then ends with making up and making love can be healthy. You both allow yourself release emotional stress, followed by purging physical stress and then it’s over.
We all experience stress from time to time. The key is to relieve the stress and give your system a break. Even a few minutes of a break will do a lot to improve your health.
This is why Christian Goodman’s blood pressure program is so successful. Almost everyone can drop their blood pressure using his focused break exercises.
You can learn more about the blood pressure exercises here…
The last thing I consider as a major contributor to our modern day health crisis is kind of a double-edged sword. On one hand it has improved our lives drastically; on the other hand it may be one of the major causes of death. I’m talking about…
Love Addiction to the Medical System
Ever since the invention of Penicillin, the society we live in has regarded doctors as gods. After all, this one medication eliminated many of the worst diseases of the 18th century.
But modern medicine has failed in curing most of the diseases facing the human race. And oftentimes the side effects of the methods used are causing more problems than solutions. In fact, medications have been found to be the fifth most common cause of death in USA.
The problem is that doctors are not trained to look at the underlying cause diseases but only to fix the symptoms. Just like a car mechanic will not give you lessons on how to drive your car most effectively, but only fix whatever is broken. It’s our responsibility to take care of our own health. That’s why I don’t blame doctors or the medical system for our health problems but rather our own dependence on them.
Let’s compare modern Western diseases to things like cholera that used to be very common in major cities. There are several ways to deal with cholera. You could give the patient antibacterial drugs once they develop cholera, you can distill the water supply with chlorine or other chemicals, or you can not pollute the water source in the first place, which is obviously the most natural and common sense method to deal with this health problem.
In the same way when dealing with diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure or any other modern day disease, you can treat it with medications or you can tackle the underlying thing that’s causing the health problem in the first place.
You can find information on how to tackle various health problems naturally on the right hand side of this page.
But first, please leave your comment below. What is, in your opinion, the major cause of the health disasters we face in the 20th century Western world?
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To busy, lack of stillness. What do you do when you get ill, you lie down and rest body and mind.
The major reason we are sick is our health care system has been set up to hold no one accountable for illness. The pharmaceutical industry is the primary force behind this and many of our prescription drugs make or keep us ill. I have been taking insulin for sixty years for Type I diabetes, if not prescribed or taken properly, it can cause death due to low blood sugar reactions..
My comment may seem like I’m some kind of ‘crazy’. I am 79 years old. I take NO chemical medications except a baby aspirin, and Indians used chemicals of the bark of a willow, which is aspirin. I’ve never been admitted to a hospital in my adult life. So I’ve earned the right to speak out. OUR HEALTH PROBLEM IS TRADITIONAL MEDICINE! Traditional Medicine is all about feeding money to the coffers of the Pharmaceutical Companies, who are poisoning the public with their drugs that keep us alive but never cure anything. A hundred years ago in our great Nation, heart attacks barely existed. There was no such thing as Alzheimer. ONLY 1 IN 100,000 HAD DIABETES. You’d really call me a ‘crazy’ if I called it a deliberate conspiracy to destroy our health, keep us alive until traditional medicine bankrupts us
My comment was cut off because of length. I’ll continue. Briefly, we are given drugs, being poisoned by GM0’s, MSG, Artificial Sweeteners, to kill our immune systems and create autoimmune diseases, the remedy for which are more drugs which are worse than dying naturally with our poisons. Our foods aren’t labeled with these poisons, artivificial sweeteners confuse our brains and cause addictions to sugar, all of which cause autoimmune diseases. Diabetes is an autoimmune disease; so is arthritis; and if you have soy bean oil in your cabinet, you best move it to the garage and use it to kill bugs. Monsanto has a monopoly on all seeds today. Eat corn, you’re eating poison. Diet drinks or foods are poison. Cholesterol drugs are poison.
Overeating,excess amounts of High Fructose as in Soda drinks,all contribute,
but lack of proper Medical care has a lot to do with the problem.Medicare
discounts the Dr fee.SO,the Dr needs to increase the AMOUNT OF Patients that
he treats.This means less time for each patient.It also means a lot of bad
diagnosis,plus the prescription of some very potent medicines,that are not
needed
My comment is going to seem crazier than any ones, but being 81 yrs old I am allowed.Crazy though it may seem people have touched on all subjects which definitely are causes of our decline healthwise, but the root of all these causes is lack of faith.Man thinks he is greater than the creator.Remember the Titanic? Must we keep on making the same stupid mistakes? People seem to think that the almighty dollar is a God, and the big pharm is the worst.They are making trillions killing people with their concoctions of harmful chemicals.Oh I could go on, and on, but common sense should prevail here.So nuff said.
I believe low levels of B12 play a part from poor health related issues, and not diagnosed enough by our Gp’s.
Most folk believe that B12 comes from fruit and veg, when it actually comes from ‘animal’s liver’. One needs to ensure they get enough fibre, which can be found in Oats, and some other cereals’ but not bran.
B12 is a need, and not a want,it’s what keeps our ‘blood level count healthy’ if allowed to get too, low. Your Gp, may arrange to start with over a 4 day period injections, and followed up with injections every 3 months, you may have to return to your GP before the end of the three months,if you find the symptons have returned!
Subluxation is also a huge factor. for complete information call 903-223-8776. The spinal cord especially in the neck area is of the utmost importance.Ray Wilson
I totally agree. If people would just go back to real food and get a little exercise – health problems would plummet.
For some reason, people think that making their own food is hard and expensive. When I lost my career, the first thing to go was all the junk and fast foods. I look at what it costs to eat out, shake my head, and go home and make something that tastes a whole lot better. Go figure…
I even made a website that has all of my recipes. One of my members told me that one weekend she felt like cooking, but she couldn’t find anything that took more than 1/2 an hour. Sheesh!
Seriously, its not that hard.
I believe everything that is happening now is the product of our time. Life style, foods, environment, stress and pressure takes its toll on everyone. Just like I used to say the conspiracy exist to keep all of us unhealthy and sick to maintain the lucrative business steady and strong. We are all captive victims of their evil scheme and you know whom I am referring to.
for me, its access to fresh, natural food and money stress plus problems w/kids jobs and marriages!
DON IS RIGHT!! I HAD NOT BEEN IN TO SEE MY DR IN 2 YEARS -HE REFUSED TO REFILL MY PRESCRIPTION TILL I CAME IN -THEY TOOK MY BLOOD PRESSURE,GAVE ME A PAPER FOR BLOOD TESTS [ONLY 4 THINGSCHECKED!!] AND SAID SEE YOU NEXT YEAR-MY QUESTION IS-HOW MUCH AND WHAT TESTS HAVE BEEN STOPPED TO MEDICARE IN THE PAST 2 YEARS?? MY DR -USED- TO BE REAL THROUGH!! WHAT HAS HAPPENED??
I agree 1oo% with Mr. Brown..I am 75 years old and also on no chemical drugs,except baby aspirin..If only the MD’s in this generation were allowed to use alternative treatments ,and covered by our medical plans ,we would be so much better off.I believe this is one time the Govt. should form a seperate panel of alt. Dr.(NOT INVOLVED WITH THE FDA AND DRUG COMPANYS)to bring out all the natural cures for cancer and diabetes.This will never happen because there is too much money involved with this med. MAFIA !!
Another health related matter, comes from ‘Yeast’ which can cause all manner of health conditions.
your article is simply great. ver realistic and that is exactly what is happening in all parts of the globe. people of all the countries are killing themselves healthwise. even the supposed highly read people of he usa are the major health victims, especially obesity. has education has helped americans.?
very much doubtful after seeing obesity on such a large scale in your coutry
A confusão interior das pessoas se projetam no mundo exterior, causando todo este desequilibrio que vemos hoje em dia. Enquanto insistirem em continuar a viverem deste jeito, as pessoas terão resultados iguais ou piores do que já colhem.Sobriedade, inteligência e ação correta não são apenas palavras. São alguns dos passos que podem ajudar as pessoas a sair desse caminho errado, que acaba levando-as ao buraco…
Excellent article. All Americans should read this. The analysis and conclusions are relatated to our societal life style. Unfortunately, we are more concerned with style than substance and taste rather than texture. We can save our health if we really read and demonstrate the suggested practices. Thanks a lot!
I would say it is the insanity of the workworld. Of course “work” as such has been seen as the curse of mankind since the Biblical history, with “slavery” as the worst of it. But with the way people now work at such long hours, often in stressful situations (even sitting at a desk with a hostile boss, customers or colleaugues is certainly high-stress), with no escape in sight for years to come, can cause the body to react in a very bad way.
I have worked 15 years in tourism in San Francisco both driving buses and guiding tour groups. It is definitely working with the people that is much more stressful, the endless talking, differences of cultures and opinions, the strained politeness involved in being “in service”, as we all are in most job situations. I began to work 6-7 days a week since the demand was high. I found myself with more health problems, especially arthritis in the feet and knees, confusion about details and the consequential loss of items, unmailed bills, friends and family annoyed at my fatigue and neglect, and just plain disinterest in life except to watch British mystery series. I hardly heard what people – either tourists or others in my life – were saying to me, as my brain was too overloaded to listen or care.
Finally I had a blow-up with one boss, telling him I could NOT under any circumstances drive down Hywy 1 to Hearst Castle for a full day, overnight group, plus train a new person at the same time. If I had not been so tired, it might have been even a pleasure. He couldn’t believe that I was telling the truth, thinking I was just trying to get out of work.
Now I don’t work for that fellow anymore. What a relief! Just one boss, not so much money, but time to rest and read, do internet, cook some brown rice, drink tea, take the dog for a walk, talk to my family a bit.
What our lives now have become: UNBALANCED, ridiculous and pointless….
No wonder we American and Western European adults don’t feel very well. Possibly now the Asians with their punishing schedules at factories and offices all over China, Japan, Korea, etc.
Article oh so right on!!!! Foodwise: Soy is now are next enemy, same as HFCS,as it is in everything but they don’t tell you it depresses the thyroid. Conventional medicine doesn’t know what to do with you if they can’t hand you a pill. You have to remember there is more medicine DOESN’T know than what it does know, you have to take responsibility and be your own advocate in all things.
In my case it is stress build up in 15 years caring my severe disabled wife, now passed away. Since that passing I do my hour minimal a day exercise, eat at regular times and sleep at normal times.Result is that blood pressure is going down, not as fast as I would like but it is down from an average 180/90 to 135/75.Weight is down from 13.5 stones to an 12.3 stones, obvious therefore it was due to not enough sleep, the worry not enough exercise, and un- regulator eaten and to quick. I do not take medicines out of principle unless absxolute needed.
Your article mentions many reasons but even here the causes are not made obvious.
Why do we overeat? It is now known that fructose dulls the brains mechanism for telling us we have had enough. Leptin and ghrelin are 2 hormones which regulate our appetite. A single glass of high fructose soda or fruit juice will allow us to eat more food straight afterwards. It has nothing to do with willpower. Babies are being born obese.
Low fat diets make people eat more sugar because low fat means low taste, so manufacturers add sugar to compensate. We need to eat fats which we have lived with for centuries; butter, lard, olive oil, coconut oil, not polyunsaturated seed oils and margarine, the rise of which coincide with the metabolic syndrome epidemic and which are also implicated in macular degeneration due to the unbalanced ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 needed by the retina.
Fructose and seed oils are implicated in the rise of dementia, and cancer and heart disease. Proportionally more people on western fast food diets have CVD than on traditional diets. We survive because we have better medical care.
but we wouldn’t need so much of this if we fed ourselves better.
Unfortunately industry is geared up to produce this toxic mix, so it’s going to be very difficult to reverse the trend.
Whey is soy our next enemy? Should we stay away from all soy products like tofu?
You are absolutely right in your observations. We live in a very greedy and equally unstable world today. The fast population growth with it the ever so fast developing science & technology have created urgent and fast resolutions to be able to stay on top…in every possible matter! Therefore, we are living a life which has become more robotic and quite artificial in many sense. Today the air we breath in is the main culprit to start with. This what I think.
Great article. The author touched upon one important thing…medicine. A lot of the medicines people are given do more harm than good. I believe the Lord has natural foods here to help cure many of our ailments and we all need to exercise and look at our diets. If we went back to more natural foods, we'd probably see a decline in a lot of these illnesses.
I agree with everyone. The question is, what to do about it. Unless you move to a remote area, raise your own food, and isolate yourself from the modern world, it’s almost impossible to avoid all of it. There is so much confusion even from natural health resources. What you are told is great today, you are told will kill you tomorrow. Then there is genetics. Some people do everything right best they can and get sick and die young. Other people drink, smoke, and eat whatever they like and live to be 100. I’m 51 years old, I eat best I can, drink lots of filtered water, train hard, and I’m 5% bodyfat and in good shape. I’m relatively healthy so far and illness free, but I still gotta live in the 21st century. What else can I do???
i take medicinefor high blood pressure and i feel miserable,im scared to stop for what it will do!
Almost 12 years ago I had a 6-way bypass and we diagnosed Type II at the same time. I was also 70-lbs overweight…..and my journey began. Today I am no longer diabetic. I have eliminated all processed foods from my diet. I have dropped 80-lbs and no longer take meds. I am an avid bicyclist and a Vegan. The road was long and I had some personal set backs but it has been worth every step. I am a man of faith and believe the Lord has helped me each and every day.
Many years ago a wise man said “The doctor of the future will prescribe no medicine but will , but will involve the patient in the proper use of food, fresh air and exercise.” Thomas Edison
If we know that life and death is in the blood, and we choose knowingly to ignore to ignore the emotional, physical, spiritual and nutritional impact that has on our body and how that translates to good or bad health it is time to give our heads a shake.I am a two time warrior of cancer – the first time mainstream with 3 surgeries only to be diagnosed again 2 years later. Change the way you live, think , eat and what you drink and your life will change too. Seen it hundreds of times. You truly are your own master.
All comments on target as to”why,” Particularly Henry Paul. The problem is that we are all interconnected to each other and to the world and the universe and because of the profusion of anger, anxiety, frustration,
violence, etc. and the lack virtuous behavior established by our Creator as the truth of balanced forces, the earth and each one of use is being impacted as the systemic coherence is being distorted and the earth disrupted.Yes, we can take care of our own body (I too have never been sick and over 70.)But we don’t work together for humanity’s sake.
An enlightening and well written article. Most of the West is sweet. People hardly ever taste bitter, sour, pungent or astringent. Apart from this, LOVE in its truest sense is missing. Today’s life style is eat excessively, eat wrongly and live a life with no morals, no responsibility, no concern and no awareness.
Thanks to your article on exercises to prevent Vertigo, I have not had another bout of Vertigo and I am blessed with good health at 66 years of age. Last month the results from the Lab. for my Annual Physical was excellent. I don’t have to take any medications for anything. I have a healthy lifestyle, I eat healthy, exercise daily, get adequate sleep, control my stress level and I’m enjoying life to the fullest. I am eternally grateful to your group of advisors for changing my life.
Now that greed and the love for money has poluted planet earth and made our own people sick,destroyed the rain forrest, science is looking for a way out to other planets so we can continue destroying that too.
And now that everything has been said and done, what are we going to do about it. Lets take charge by taking our own health back into our own responsability by eating as naturally as our bodies can take. We can also stop blaming and pinpointing fingers at AYZ…and start doing. God gave us a fine manual with great ways of lifestyle and if we come to understand his word, we would not have not gotten this sick in the firts place. Me included.
It took cancer, a TIA,high cholesterol and pre-diabetes to make me realize it were all signs of it’s time and I needed to take back control.And I did. I take no Pharm-drugs, eat all organic natural foods, no addiatives, no refine sugars no added msg,no chemicals and have gained lots of Faith.
Thank you for this article. You have touched on many or our current health problems. Obesity – Is it any wonder when the average person is eating 1000 more calories per day than were eaten back in the 1950's. — In a week that is 7000 more calories – in a year that's 364,000 extra calories — Is it any wonder we are looking at health problems? High Blood Pressure – Heart Disease – Type II Diabetis – and the list goes on. I know this touches on the extreme.
One of my favourite articles is The Overlooked Trace Mineral that Could Wipe Out the Diabetes Epidemic by Tony Isaacs stated….. "in 1959 Type II Diabetes is not a disease. It is the lack of a natural ingredient known as GTF chromium." — That is over 50 years ago – So why is mainstream still only treating a symptom – It is profitable to Big Pharma and the Medical System at every step of the way – Heart Disease – High Blood Pressure – Kidney Disease – Circulation Problems.
We need to learn the cause of the problem, unfortunately mainstream medicine concentrates on the symptoms and controlling those symptoms. We need to take responsibility for our own health issues. But collectively, we need to become READERS – LEADERS ARE READERS. When we just treat the symptoms, we are playing in Big Pharma's ball park and they are the winners, we will have a shorter life span. Come on guys, lets get back to the basices and live the life that God has intended for us to live — How about hitting that Century mark, healthy living.
Patricia – You are not being crazy but wise enough to understand much of what has happened over the years. Wisdom truly comes with older age.
We all need to eat healthier foods, not over eat, exercise several times a week, sleep properly each night, and most importantly be in close relationship with God! Pray and read the Bible.