The leading causes of death in 1900 were pneumonia, influenza, and tuberculosis. These were infectious diseases, meaning you got sick by coming into contact with a pathogen. If another person was sick, and that person coughed or sneezed on you, that infection could pass to you and make you sick. You “caught” the flu.
These days, the leading causes of death aren’t conditions that are caught, they are earned. The word earnedis defined as “gained or acquired; especially through merit or as a result of effort or action.” (Vocabulary.com) The earning of the illnesses and diseases that plague us today occur over time. It’s not a single sneeze or a cough in the face that threatens our lives today, it’s years of poor lifestyle choices that ultimately lead to our demise.
Think about the person who shows up at the emergency room after collapsing with chest pains. After an exam and some testing, it is determined that there is 80% blockage in three major arteries. Open heart surgery is required, and it saves their life. Just the day before, that person had performed a full day of work and golfed in the evening, had no pain, and appeared to be in great health. That heart attack was sudden and came out of nowhere.
The truth is, that heart condition was building for many years. The clogging of those arteries was occurring over decades. And it wasn’t a virus, bacteria, or fungus that caused it. It was poor lifestyle choices.
Chronic illness is also referred to as “diseases of lifestyle.” They are not caught, they are not contagious, and they usually build up over many years. The foods we eat, how much we move, the quality of our sleep, and our response to stress all play a role. Our current lifestyles, in today’s world, make all of these much more difficult to optimize. We are always in a hurry, choose foods that are highly processed and loaded with sugar, chemicals, artificial flavors and artificial colors. Our days lack adequate exercise, as we sit way too much. We go to bed late and have to get up early. And our days are loaded with running around, trying to catch up, and having stress loads that we are simply not designed to take on.
While infectious disease usually involved contracting an illness, getting very sick, and dying, chronic illness takes its time. It’s not just life or death, because as chronic illness progresses, it slowly sucks the life out of us, adversely affecting our energy, moods, attitude, and happiness. The life we are living suffers.
The guy who suffered the massive heart attack thought he was fine the day before, but he was far from fine. His body was struggling and suffering. And it wasn’t because he missed one workout, had one fast food meal, or one night of bad sleep. His condition, like most conditions these days, occurred because of many poor lifestyle choices, over many years.
Over 80% of Americans struggle with at least one chronic illness, and approximately 50% have two or more. We are not functioning at an optimal level. Our quality of life is suffering. And we are losing a battle that we can absolutely win.
The bad news is that chronic illness is rampant, and not just in adults, but in our children as well. The good news is that we are in much greater control of our health destiny than most people realize. We made huge strides with the infectious disease crisis by improving sanitation, focusing on enhanced hygiene, improving food handling, and creating cleaner living conditions. We can now tackle the chronic illness by choosing healthier meals, moving our bodies more, getting better sleep, managing our stress better, and understanding that every choice we make matters. Sickness/disease today isn’t caught, it’s earned… and so are good health and wellness.
