Chronic Illness Solutions

Chronic illness is becoming more and more common in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC, 2018), “One in two adults in the U.S. has a chronic disease, and one in four adults has two or more.” This means that half the U.S. population is suffering from chronic illness. If it wasn’t so prevalent in years past, why is chronic illness becoming such a huge problem today? Let’s explore chronic illness including what it is, examples, symptoms, causes, and how it can be addressed naturally.

What Is Chronic Illness?

Chronic illness is defined differently by different entities. The CDC states the following: “Chronic diseases are defined broadly as conditions that last 1 year or more and require ongoing medical attention or limit activities of daily living or both.” Interestingly not too long ago, the CDC defined it as a condition lasting 3 months or more, so even in recent years the definition has changed within the same organization. Others define chronic illness more generally. Frontiers in Public Health, a journal published in the National Institutes of Health US National Library of Medicine defines chronic disease more broadly:

“Rather than adhering to a specific list of diseases and a specified time period, we advocate for a simpler approach. According to Merriam Webster, “chronic” is something that is “continuing or occurring again and again for a long time.” Using this simpler view, we would exclude something like a broken leg as a chronic condition, but would include recurring lower back pain, or hormone-related migraine headaches, for example.”

Regardless of the definition, many people suffer from chronic illness and may not be finding solutions within the conventional medical community.

Common Examples of Chronic Illness

Some of the most common chronic illness may include, but are not limited to the following:

Symptoms of Chronic Illness

Symptoms of chronic illness can range from brain fog to general malaise, to chronic fatigue, to cancer. Each person’s body reacts differently to the underlying cause of the chronic condition and the resulting symptoms vary widely. What is important for each patient to know is that there is an underlying cause to their chronic condition, it is real, and conventional medicine may not address the underlying cause but rather the symptoms. The only way to actually eradicate a chronic illness is to find out the root cause and address that.

Here is a list of some of the symptoms of chronic illness:

Causes of Chronic Illness

The CDC identifies the following as risk factors for chronic disease:

• Tobacco Use
• Secondhand Smoke
• Poor Nutrition
• Lack of Physical Activity
• Excessive Alcohol Use

Certainly these factors could cause or contribute to chronic illness. However did you also know that for example, the incidence of Lyme disease increased by 57% from 2003 to 2013, rising to 11.62 new cases per 100,000 people? (CDC, 2015) This statistic is alarming and we are seeing more and more patients who never suspected they could have Lyme disease, coming back positive on their Lyme disease tests.

At LifeWorks Wellness Center we believe that there are three main causes of chronic illness:

1. Deficiency: The body needs something it doesn’t have. This could be a vitamin or mineral deficiency or other nutritional deficiency.
2. Toxicity: The body has something that it shouldn’t have. This could be a low grade chronic infection, Lyme disease, chemicals or pesticides present in the body, or heavy metal toxicity.
3. Allergy: The body is allergic to something, meaning it has a reaction to something that it should not have. Allergies cause inflammation and inflammation is an underlying cause of disease. Many people don’t realize food allergies are a main cause of chronic illness.

In addition, genetics may play a role in that each of us may be more susceptible to one of the three main causes than others.

Possible Causal Factors in Chronic Disease

Following is a list of possible underlying causes of chronic illness from these three categories that we have identified:

Overcome Chronic Illness at LifeWorks Wellness Center

We believe that discovering and treating the underlying cause for the chronic condition is the only workable solution. Often the resulting symptoms or disease are caused by a deficiency, toxicity, or allergy.

At LifeWorks Wellness Center one of our doctors meets with you to determine exactly what you suffer from, and then does a thorough examination and testing to determine the underlying cause(s). From there an individualized plan of treatment is developed to move you down the road to healing and better health.

For more information and to schedule an appointment with our expertly trained doctors, call us at our Clearwater clinic at (727) 466-6789 or submit an online patient inquiry.