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MOST COMMON DISEASES IN THE UNITED
STATES
Modern medical science blames
almost all "discovered" diseases on a "single cause" such as bad
gene, virus, bacteria or fungi. If it is a chronic condition or
cancer or MS or eczema, or psoriasis ... than the most common
answer given by established medical science is: "we don't know".
Why? Why don't we know? Because
we are hunting for a single cause, while in reality there is a
whole "forest" of causative agents and cofactors. The truth is,
no illness or syndrome is caused by a single factor, not even by
3 cofactors. There are many causative agents such as poor
immunity, poor health, accumulation of toxins inside the body,
poor thoughts that promote disease.
The game called illness is played
by three major players: our spirit, our mind, and our body which
are actually one ... and the cofactors that influence these
players: ancestors, family, lifestyle, diet, environment, and
our mind. When one of the players is disharmonious, it usually
influences the other two and as the result the disease occurs.
HYPERTENSION
Blood pressure is the result of
two forces, one created by the heart as it pumps blood into the
arteries, and the other created by the arterial blood vessels as
they exert resistance to the blood flow from the heart.
Hypertension, or elevated blood
pressure, indicates that the heart is working harder than
normal, putting both the heart and the arteries under a greater
strain. This may contribute to heart attacks, strokes, kidney
failure and atherosclerosis. If high blood pressure isn't
treated, the heart may have to work progressively harder to pump
enough blood and oxygen to the body's organs and tissues to meet
their needs.
ASTHMA
Asthma is a chronic lung disorder
that causes airways (the tubes that carry air into and out of
the lungs) to become inflamed, which means that they swell and
produce lots of thick mucus. The muscles surrounding the airways
also tend to tighten, which makes the already clogged airways
even narrower. This results in asthma symptoms, which can
include coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. In a person
with asthma, the airways are overly sensitive to certain things
(such as allergies, viral infections, cold air, exercise, and
smoke) that can "trigger," or bring on, asthma symptoms. People
with asthma often find that their symptoms come and go - when
the symptoms are present, it's known as a flare, flare-up,
episode, exacerbation, or attack.
DIABETES
Type 1 diabetes,
formerly called juvenile diabetes, is usually first diagnosed in
children, teenagers, or young adults. In this form of diabetes,
the beta cells of the pancreas no longer make insulin because
the body's immune system has attacked and destroyed them.
Type 2 diabetes,
formerly called adult-onset diabetes, is the most common form.
People can develop it at any age, even during childhood. This
form of diabetes usually begins with insulin resistance, a
condition in which muscle, liver, and fat cells do not use
insulin properly. At first, the pancreas keeps up with the added
demand by producing more insulin. In time, however, it loses the
ability to secrete enough insulin in response to meals.
Gestational diabetes
develops in some women during the late stages of pregnancy.
Although this form of diabetes usually goes away after the baby
is born, a woman who has had it is more likely to develop type 2
diabetes later in life. Gestational diabetes is caused by the
hormones of pregnancy or by a shortage of insulin.
Cancer begins in
cells,
the building blocks that make up
tissues.
Tissues make up the
organs
of the body.
Normally, cells grow and divide to
form new cells as the body needs them. When cells grow old, they
die, and new cells take their place.
Sometimes this orderly process goes wrong.
New cells form when the body does not need them, and old cells
do not die when they should. These extra cells can form a mass
of tissue called a growth or
tumor.
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Tumors can be
benign
or
malignant:
-
Benign tumors are not cancer:
-
Benign tumors are rarely
life-threatening.
-
Generally, benign tumors can be
removed, and they usually do not grow back.
-
Cells from benign tumors do not
invade tissues around them.
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Cells from benign tumors do not
spread to other parts of the body.
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Malignant tumors are cancer:
-
Malignant tumors are generally
more serious than benign tumors. They may be life-
threatening.
-
Malignant tumors can often be
removed, but they may grow back.
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Cells from malignant tumors can
invade and damage nearby tissues and organs.
Cells from malignant tumors can spread to
other parts of the body. The cells spread by breaking away from
the original cancer (primary
tumor) and entering the
bloodstream or
lymphatic system.
They invade other organs, forming new tumors and damaging these
organs. The spread of cancer is called
metastasis.
Women experience incontinence
twice as often as men. Pregnancy and childbirth, menopause, and
the structure of the female urinary tract account for this
difference. But both women and men can become incontinent from
neurologic injury, birth defects, strokes, multiple sclerosis,
and physical problems associated with aging.
Older women, more often than
younger women, experience incontinence. But incontinence is not
inevitable with age. Incontinence is treatable and often curable
at all ages. If you experience incontinence, you may feel
embarrassed. It may help you to remember that loss of bladder
control can be treated. You will need to overcome your
embarrassment and see a doctor to learn if you need treatment
for an underlying medical condition.
Incontinence in women usually
occurs because of problems with muscles that help to hold or
release urine. The body stores urine--water and wastes removed
by the kidneys--in the bladder, a balloon-like organ. The
bladder connects to the urethra, the tube through which urine
leaves the body.
During urination, muscles in the
wall of the bladder contract, forcing urine out of the bladder
and into the urethra. At the same time, sphincter muscles
surrounding the urethra relax, letting urine pass out of the
body. Incontinence will occur if your bladder muscles suddenly
contract or muscles surrounding the urethra suddenly relax.
During the past year, nearly 90%
of men and 95% of women have had at least one headache.
Most people with headache use
nonprescription pain relievers to treat their symptoms.
Store shelves hold a remarkable
array of pain relievers, so you need more facts than ever to
select one that best meets your needs.
In light of the growing trend
towards self-care, you have more responsibility than ever in
safeguarding you and your family's health and well-being.
There are two main types of
headache: primary and secondary.
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Primary headaches
include tension-type, migraine, and cluster headaches and are
not caused by other underlying medical conditions. More than
90% of headaches are primary.
-
Secondary headaches
result from other medical conditions, such as infection or
increased pressure in the skull due to a tumor. These account
for fewer than 10% of all headaches.
Reprinted from the web site of the American
Council for Headache Education (www.achenet.org)
At least 40 million Americans each
year suffer from chronic, long-term sleep disorders each year,
and an additional 20 million experience occasional sleeping
problems. These disorders and the resulting sleep deprivation
interfere with work, driving, and social activities. They also
account for an estimated $16 billion in medical costs each year,
while the indirect costs due to lost productivity and other
factors are probably much greater. Doctors have described more
than 70 sleep disorders, most of which can be managed
effectively once they are correctly diagnosed. The most common
sleep disorders include insomnia, sleep apnea, restless legs
syndrome, and narcolepsy.
Arthritis literally means joint
inflammation, and it can affect joints in any part of the body.
Joints are places in the body where two bones meet.
Many people use the term arthritis
to refer to rheumatic diseases; however, the different kinds of
arthritis comprise just a portion of the rheumatic diseases.
Arthritis is often a chronic
disease, which means that it can affect you over a long period
of time. Many forms of arthritis cause swelling, redness, heat,
and pain. The 3 most common are:
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Osteoarthritis
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
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Gout
Osteoporosis, or porous bone, is a
disease characterized by low bone mass and structural
deterioration of bone tissue, leading to bone fragility and an
increased susceptibility to fractures, especially of the hip,
spine, and wrist, although any bone can be affected.
Osteoporosis is a major public
health threat for an estimated 44 million Americans, or 55
percent of the people 50 years of age or older. In the U.S.
today, 10 million individuals are estimated to already have the
disease and almost 34 million more are estimated to have low
bone mass, placing them at increased risk for osteoporosis.
Of the 10 million Americans
estimated to have osteoporosis, eight million are women and 2
million are men.
One in two women and one in four
men over age 50 will have an osteoporosis-related fracture in
her/his remaining lifetime.
Significant risk has been reported
in people of all ethnic backgrounds.
While osteoporosis is often
thought of as an older person's disease, it can strike at any
age.
A depressive disorder is an
illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects
the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about
oneself, and the way one thinks about things. A depressive
disorder is not the same as a passing blue mood. It is not a
sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or
wished away. People with a depressive illness cannot merely
"pull themselves together" and get better. Without treatment,
symptoms can last for weeks, months, or years. Appropriate
treatment, however, can help most people who suffer from
depression.
HIGH CHOLESTEROL
Your
blood cholesterol level has a lot to do with your chances of
getting heart disease. High blood cholesterol is one of the
major risk factors for heart disease. A risk factor is a
condition that increases your chance of getting a disease. In
fact, the higher your blood cholesterol level, the greater your
risk for developing heart disease or having a heart attack.
Heart disease is the number one killer of women and men in the
United States. Each year, more than a million Americans have
heart attacks, and about a half million people die from heart
disease
ALLERGY
When the immune system
malfunctions, it can unleash a torrent of disorders and
diseases. One of the most familiar is allergy. Allergies such as
hay fever and hives are related to the antibody known as IgE.
The first time an allergy-prone person is exposed to an allergen
- for instance, grass pollen - the individual's B cells make
large amounts of grass pollen IgE antibody. These IgE molecules
attach to granule-containing cells known as mast cells, which
are plentiful in the lungs, skin, tongue, and linings of the
nose and gastrointestinal tract. The next time that person
encounters grass pollen, the IgE-primed mast cell releases
powerful chemicals that cause the wheezing, sneezing, and other
symptoms of allergy.
Crohn's disease causes
inflammation in the small intestine. Crohn's disease usually
occurs in the lower part of the small intestine, called the
ileum, but it can affect any part of the digestive tract, from
the mouth to the anus. The inflammation extends deep into the
lining of the affected organ. The inflammation can cause pain
and can make the intestines empty frequently, resulting in
diarrhea.
Crohn's disease is an inflammatory
bowel disease (IBD), the general name for diseases that cause
inflammation in the intestines. Crohn's disease can be difficult
to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to other intestinal
disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome and to another type
of IBD called ulcerative colitis. Ulcerative colitis causes
inflammation and ulcers in the top layer of the lining of the
large intestine.
Crohn's disease affects men and
women equally and seems to run in some families. About 20
percent of people with Crohn's disease have a blood relative
with some form of IBD, most often a brother or sister and
sometimes a parent or child.
Crohn's disease may also be called
ileitis or enteritis.
Ulcerative colitis is an
inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), the general name for diseases
that cause inflammation in the small intestine and colon.
Ulcerative colitis can be difficult to diagnose because its
symptoms are similar to other intestinal disorders and to
another type of IBD called Crohn's disease. Crohn's disease
differs from ulcerative colitis because it causes inflammation
deeper within the intestinal wall. Also, Crohn's disease usually
occurs in the small intestine, although it can also occur in the
mouth, esophagus, stomach, duodenum, large intestine, appendix,
and anus.
Ulcerative colitis may occur in
people of any age, but most often it starts between ages 15 and
30, or less frequently between ages 50 and 70. Children and
adolescents sometimes develop the disease. Ulcerative colitis
affects men and women equally and appears to run in some
families.
AIDS
AIDS - acquired immunodeficiency
syndrome - was first reported in the United States in 1981 and
has since become a major worldwide epidemic. AIDS is caused by
the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). By killing or damaging
cells of the body's immune system, HIV progressively destroys
the body's ability to fight infections and certain cancers.
People diagnosed with AIDS may get life-threatening diseases
called opportunistic infections, which are caused by microbes
such as viruses or bacteria that usually do not make healthy
people sick.
More than 830,000 cases of AIDS
have been reported in the United States since 1981. As many as
950,000 Americans may be infected with HIV, one-quarter of whom
are unaware of their infection. The epidemic is growing most
rapidly among minority populations and is a leading killer of
African-American males ages 25 to 44. According to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), AIDS affects
nearly seven times more African Americans and three times more
Hispanics than whites.
The term AIDS applies to the most
advanced stages of HIV infection. CDC developed official
criteria for the definition of AIDS and is responsible for
tracking the spread of AIDS in the United States.
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