An Insight Into Chronic Diseases, Causes, And Prevention

Today, we shall discuss chronic diseases. What exactly is a chronic disease? Let’s start with understanding the concept. Any disease or illness that persists for more than a year falls within the general concept of chronic disease. The person frequently has to manage their disease over a period of years by getting medical attention or altering their lifestyle. Chronic diseases frequently last a year or longer. Additionally, you might require continual medical attention and experience difficulty performing daily tasks.

Most common chronic conditions

The most common chronic conditions are:

Heart failure: a condition where the heart is unable to adequately supply blood and oxygen to all organs of the body. This could lead to nausea and tiredness or ultimately heart failure.
Diabetes: it occurs when the body does not produce enough insulin and it could result in high blood sugar and ultimately other organ dysfunctions.
Asthma: It is a condition where the lungs get affected and a person is short of breath at times along with chest rigidness and wheezing.
Arthritis: a condition where there is inflammation of joints which causes pain and stiffness.
Chronic kidney disease: This occurs when the person suffers from diabetes and high blood pressure. It leads to kidney dysfunction.
Hypertension: also known as high blood pressure, is a condition where the heart pumps excess blood and the arteries are narrow which resists blood flow.
Alzheimer’s: a condition that causes memory loss and difficulty thinking or problem-solving.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD): COPD makes breathing difficult and causes shortness of breath, coughing, and chest stiffness.
High cholesterol: a condition when the body has excess bad fat resulting in clogged arteries.

Common causes of chronic diseases

Today, most people are leading an unhealthy lifestyle that results in chronic diseases. Our lifestyle decisions are the main influencing variables.

Here’s a list of major factors leading to chronic diseases:

Tobacco use and passive smoking
Excessive alcohol consumption
Lack of physical activity and exercise
Poor diet
Raised blood glucose
Obesity
Hypertension (high blood pressure)

Five tips to prevent chronic diseases

Quit smoking: Smoking is one of the main risk factors for chronic illness. The CDC estimates that smoking increases our chance of lung cancer by 25 times and our risk of acquiring heart disease by 2 to 4 times.
Moderate your drinking: Alcohol abuse can have a significant negative effect on the body, harming the liver and kidneys and increasing blood pressure. Additionally, it raises the chance of stomach, mouth, and throat cancer as well as heart disease and stroke.
Maintain a healthy diet: Eating a nutritious diet and losing weight are two major lifestyle adjustments that people can do to lower their risk of developing chronic diseases.
Regular exercise: It is an important approach to lower risk in addition to eating a healthy diet. We should strive to engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day and stay active.
Checking up with a doctor: Scheduling routine checkups is another approach to lowering your chance of developing a chronic illness. Early detection is often the key to managing and treating diseases like cancer and heart disease.

Conclusion

One of the major challenges in modern healthcare is treating chronic disorders. A functional medicine approach focuses on what actions can be taken to manage a specific disease after it has been diagnosed or lessen the chance that it will develop in the first place. The cause of chronic disease must be addressed and taken care of.
A poor diet, bad habits like smoking, as well as underlying hereditary factors that have a significant impact, can all be fundamental causes.
Consulting a medical expert can be a better way to approach the treatment of chronic diseases.

An Insight Into Chronic Diseases, Causes, And Prevention