Chronic Disease Reversal
According to the World Health Organization, 63% of deaths around the world in 2016 came because of chronic illness conditions. Cancer, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disorders, and obesity proved to be the most frequent culprits. A major part of primary care at the Lam Clinic is not just managing your chronic disease symptoms, but working towards chronic disease reversal. People live longer because of advances in medicine, but often spend the last half of their lives dealing with chronic illness. Many of these chronic illnesses come about because of poor choices in diet. The National Council on Aging reports 77% of Americans dealing with two or more chronic illness conditions as they age. Many of these chronic conditions get much better or resolve with better nutrition. Inflammation lies at the root of many chronic conditions. And inflammation often begins in your gut. Poor nutrition leads to imbalances in your gut, called dysbiosis. Once this condition takes hold, changes occur in your gut that lead to foreign particles, viruses, and bacteria getting through the lining of your gut and into your bloodstream. This triggers your immune system to begin activating to protect your body from the invasion. As you continue eating poorly, the invasion grows. As a result, this often makes your immune system go into a hyperactive mode in order to counter the growing threat to your body. When this happens, inflammation grows as well. All too often, your immune system begins attacking healthy cells as well as unhealthy ones in its attempts to defend your body. This is the beginning of many chronic illnesses. Healing your gut through better nutrition can be a critical step in the process of dealing with a hyperactive immune system and increased inflammation.