Chronic diseases like diabetes can have a profound effect on your life, even leading to death in extreme cases. More than half of U.S. adults have at least one chronic condition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Twenty-seven percent of adults have more than one chronic condition.
The most common chronic diseases in the U.S. are:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Diabetes
These three diseases drive the $3.8 trillion in annual health care costs in the U.S., the CDC reports. They also are leading causes of death and disability.
Other examples of chronic diseases include:
- Asthma
- Autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis
- HIV/AIDS
- Multiple sclerosis
- Neurogenerative diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s disease
- Stroke
You probably know several people with the chronic diseases above, or you may have one or more of them yourself.
What Really Causes Chronic Disease?
With chronic diseases so prevalent, what truly causes them? As you may imagine, the answer is a complex. Chronic disease can have several causes:
- Genetics. Your genes can place you at a higher risk for certain chronic diseases. If your parents or a sibling have or had chronic diseases like Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, or certain types of cancer, your own risk is higher.
- Nutrition. It’s true: You are what you eat. The right food choices can help shield you from many diseases while poor food choices increase the risk that you will develop chronic diseases.
- Not enough exercise. Physical activity can protect you against chronic disease, but not getting enough exercise raises your risk for various chronic diseases.
- Toxins in the environment. We are surrounded every day by chemicals and toxins, some of which are in our control and others that are not. These can often unknowingly raise our chronic disease risk.
- Alcohol and tobacco use. Over time, alcohol and tobacco can increase the chance of developing high blood pressure, heart disease, and liver disease, just to name a few.
- Stress. Too much stress combined with the other risk factors pings your chronic disease risk higher.
Preventing Chronic Disease: How Reveal Vitality Can Help
It’s a good idea to reduce your risk for chronic diseases to live a healthier, more vibrant life.
At Reveal Vitality, we take a functional medicine approach to preventing chronic disease rather than just treating it after it happens. Here are just some of the services we offer than can help you focus on wellness instead of sickness:
- Advanced diagnostic testing so you know your risk for various health conditions and can help get them under control
- Detoxification to help rid the body of toxins and waste
- Hormone optimization, to help you understand how hormones may have a role in chronic disease and find solutions
- Vitamin therapy and nutrition counseling to get you on a better nutritional path
Contact Reveal Vitality to discover how we can guide you toward better health and a future with less chronic disease.