Human’s are a progressive species, and the technologies and methodologies we use are forever undergoing advancements. Like the steam engine developed in 1698, used to transport things across the globe, evolved into the rocket engine. Now transporting things across the final frontier. Medicine is being ushered into a new dawn. Starting out, as all things do, in its most primitive state, medicine operated on an observational basis. Somebody would be become ill, they would then try this plant or root and we would see if it worked or not. Calculated gambling was the name of the game.
But then we started becoming a bit cleverer. We developed something called the scientific method, which allowed us to make calculated improvements to our methods. Ultimately, improving the outcomes or at least making them more predictable. This did not mean that we forget what we learnt before and build something completely new. This meant that we use what we learnt to better what we know now, and in that process, a guided evolution takes place. Medicine evolved from being observational based to being trial based, creating what is modern medicine today. Many important discoveries (such as germ theory, penicillin, vaccines, x-rays etc.) alongside the better recording and processing of information has given us our modern medical edge. These technologies and methodologies have essentially won us the war against bacterial and viral infections. I understand bacterial and viral infections still affect us, and it is a daily battle for humans somewhere across the globe. But the fact the Spanish Flu resulted in 0.03% of the global population dying, compared to the black death killing around 50% of the global population at the time, is a testament to the opportunities and safety modern medicine has brought us. As successful as modern medicine is, it will not be the solution forever because the world and human civilisation is constantly changing. The change into the age of abundance has given rise to new enemies we have to face. These new adversaries are causing this rapid change in the modern medical practice. They are ushering the new age of medicine.
Over the past 100 years, North America and Europe have experienced a substantial decline in mortality and an increase in life expectancy. These trends are replicated in any urbanised and developed economy globally. The “theory of epidemiologic transition” attributes these trends to the transition from “the age of pestilence and famine”, in which deaths were correlated with high rates of infectious diseases, especially among the young, to “the age of degenerative and man-made diseases”, in which deaths from chronic conditions dominate. The Global Burden of Disease study uses a metric called, “disability-adjusted life years lost” to assess the impact disease has on civilisations. Explained simply, it is the collection of years lost due to ill-health, disability or early death. According to the study, infectious diseases account for only 4,1% of all disability-adjusted life years lost, whereas chronic conditions and neoplastic diseases (tumours) account for 81% in established market economies. Although modern medicine does aid in fighting this to a degree, with surgery and other medications, they do not solve the problem. There is not tablet that may cure diabetes indefinitely, there is no tablet that can reduce your chances of getting cancer, there are no tablets to reduce your chances of getting cardiovascular disease, however, there are lifestyle changes that make a substantial difference.
Modern medicine fails to combat these diseases because it is based off a reactive strategy. You get sick, you get prescribed medication and get cured. The problem with these chronic conditions is that they are not caused overnight. They begin many years before the first symptoms show and develop deep roots from which they grow from. Like when dealing with weeds, if you simply cut it off above the surface it will grow back. When you use medication to mask the symptoms, they will forever reoccur because the roots are still embedded. We need to pull the roots out and to accomplish this, we need to change our strategy. Because chronic disease has such an insidious nature, our best tactic to it is a proactive one. Preventing it at all costs. This approach is not a one-time fix kind of show, but instead, a series of choices and habits we fulfil everyday to prevent our bodies from helplessly degenerating. It is not a course of fixing, but instead, one of maintaining. Lifestyle medicine focuses on building these habits and creating a standard of physical performances that have been proven to offset these chronic diseases.
The four main diseases that are prevalent amongst us is metabolic syndrome (e.g: diabetes), cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurodegenerative diseases (e.g: dementia). All of these are unique in their own way, but they all have a common denominator that tends to affect their probability of occurring. Your body’s ability to handle energy, i.e; your metabolism. If you are insulin resistant (type 2 diabetics), your chances of getting cardiovascular disease, cancer and dementia increase dramatically, all due to energy inefficiencies in the body. Insulin resistance tends to increase the amount of free fatty acids in the blood, this fat can deposit into the arteries, thus your chances of CVD are multiplied. Insulin resistance can increase the toxicity within cells, making it a playground for cancer to occur. Lastly, when it comes to Alzheimer’s, they recently discovered that the major cause is actually insufficient blood flow and energy metabolism of the brain. Metabolic syndrome is the tip of the iceberg towards a slow, painful death in old age. But, by maintaining the energy balance of your body, you can easily mitigate much of the doom and gloom.
This article was not meant to scare you, but open your eyes the future that lays ahead. This article was also meant to change your perspective on your healthcare going forward. Medicating for chronic diseases is simply masking the symptoms building it up to a long and painful death in the end. I hope this article has opened your mind to learn more about lifestyle medicine and see how it can help you create the future you want.
