Have you ever heard the term “Diseases of Affluence”? If not, by discovering this concept through this short video, you will begin to open your eyes and see things in a whole new light. In this video, I share an amazing discovery that certain disease conditions are literally only found in rich countries or countries that are highly westernized. Some of the facts I share will really surprise you!
In this video, You’ll understand the new field in medicine known as “Lifestyle Medicine”. You will be introduced to some of the major leaders and gain an insight as to how we can indeed be hopeful about our future health increasing … rather than allowing our health to continue to decline. There is hope!
Enjoy the video.
If you prefer to read the contents of the video (nowhere near as much fun, though ..), click here: Diseases of Affluence
What Are Diseases of Affluence?
One new group of diseases today have been identified – they are called ‘Diseases of Affluence’. This was originally a term used to refer to a group of diseases whose causes can be traced to the affluent lifestyle in rich countries, particularly the United States. They are aptly named because these diseases are found only in rich countries and very rarely, if at all, in poor countries. These diseases of affluence include: heart disease, prostate cancer, colon cancer, breast cancer, autoimmune diseases, diabetes and obesity among others. Certainly, many countries are being westernized rapidly, with onset of diseases reflecting the spread of affluence. For example, as recent as a few decades ago, medical students in Japan were unable to evaluate the anatomy of a heart attack victim because there were virtually no heart attacks at all in Japan. They literally had to import diseased hearts for the medical students to study! Certainly, times have changed, with McDonalds and western diets spreading with the spread of affluence. In the past, the diseases used to be called the diseases of rich persons but recently they been grouped together under the more serious and accurate term “Diseases of Affluence”.
In order to address these diseases properly, a new breed of doctors rose to the occasion. These doctors included Dr. Dean Ornish, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, Dr. Hans Diehl, and Dr. Colin Campbell among other prominent physicians. These physicians, even if they did not know it yet at that time, gave rise to a new breed of medicine, which directly combats diseases of affluence. This is called Lifestyle Medicine and the focus of this discipline is on lifestyle factors, which are considered causative factors in chronic diseases and other diseases of affluence. Unlike conventional medicine, lifestyle medicine looks at the problem from a more holistic standpoint and, in doing so, it also adopts a holistic attitude towards curing or reversing whatever diseases are present.
Lifestyle Medicine also focuses on the most essential part of medical practice which many of today’s doctors often neglect. This is the part which deals with disease prevention. Today the focus is more on treatment of diseases and the tools of choice are drugs and procedures, particularly for the diseases of affluence. Lifestyle Medicine on the other hand, opts to use diet, exercise, stress management and group therapy as a means to cure, reverse or prevent a wide spectrum of diseases. The tools of lifestyle medicine are utilized as a whole and not as standalone measures.
Even as recent as three decades ago, Lifestyle Medicine was rarely taken seriously. However, because of the advocacies and efforts of the four doctors mentioned previously, case upon case has been presented to the medical community and the public at large, where nearly miraculous cures were achieved with the use of Lifestyle Medicine. This is why today, many major hospitals already have a lifestyle medicine department and it is now considered a regular part of medical practice. In fact, because of its demonstrated power against many chronic conditions, Lifestyle Medicine, along with Integrative Medicine, is becoming the fastest-growing and well-regarded specialty in medicine today.
