Causes of Chronic Degenerative Diseases
It is a relatively simple process to identify the differences between the lifestyles of the people in these remote communities and our current western lifestyles. These differences explain the reasons why they live healthy disease free lives to a ripe old age when westerners are succumbing to chronic degenerative diseases at less than half their ages.

It is also useful to compare our lifestyles now with those of our ancestors a hundred years ago.

Key factors to consider are:

• Western Diets. These have changed dramatically in the past hundred years. The percentages of sugar and fats consumed have increased considerably in relation to the percentages of carbohydrates and protein. These changes in diet throw the biochemistry of our bodies out of kilter and they cannot then operate at peak efficiency.
• Pollution. This has increased significantly in the western world in the past hundred years. Our water and foods are contaminated with poisons and chemical additives and lack nutrients, the air we breathe both in the street and in the home is contaminated with toxins, and we put toxic substances in and on our bodies without realising the consequences.
• Stress Levels. These have increased considerably - not just from time pressures but also from such things as financial and job insecurity, and the high divorce rates and other pressures on family relationships.

The remote communities referred to in the previous section have none of these problems. The people eat healthy natural foods which are highly nutritious and contain no toxic substances, they drink unpolluted water and breathe pure air, they keep physically fit (without overdoing it), they have little stress in their lives, and the elders in those communities are treated with great respect by the younger members of the communities. They have everything to live for.

The increased incidence of chronic degenerative disease has not gone unnoticed by the general public and there is currently an upsurge of interest in health issues which is reflected in the media. In particular, the "baby boomers" born between 1946 and 1964 are realising the importance of doing something positive to protect and improve their health. Unfortunately much of the information available in the media is promoted by vested interests which have profit motives as their central focus.

The basic causes behind all these diseases can be broken down into four fundamental areas:

• Cellular Nutrition. It is easy for an engineer (and most other people in the community) to understand that if you don't maintain a machine properly and supply it with an optimal fuel mixture it will not operate as well as one which is properly maintained, kept clean and receives the correct fuel in accordance with its design specifications. The human body is no different. (I was taught at primary school that the human body is a machine but it took fifty years for the import of this to soak in.) The human body is made up of over 60 trillion cells and the body as a whole can only perform as well as the individual cells are performing These cells are dying and regenerating all the time. They need over 50 different vitamins and minerals in the correct ratios for optimum performance but can only obtain what is actually present in the body at any time. Any deficiencies at this cellular level will produce cells which do not perform optimally and hence decrease the overall performance of the body. Incorrect nutrients or even nutrients in the wrong proportions can adversely affect the biochemistry of the body and hence adversely affect the overall performance of the body. These factors set up a situation which is inviting the onset of disease.
• Inorganic Toxins. Toxins in the body create "free radicals" which have recently been found to be the trigger for the onset of most chronic degenerative diseases. Free radicals are oxygen molecules with one electron missing from the outer shell. This makes the molecules unstable until the missing electron is taken from another cell and so the process goes on. This is an oxidation process (known as oxidative stress). It is a similar process to rusting and to what happens when an apple is cut and it goes brown. Also, toxic metals such as Aluminium, Mercury, Lead and Cadmium lodge in the various organs of the body and reduce the serviceability and life expectancy of those organs. Various toxic metals also accumulate in our organs and gradually poison us.
• Parasites. Various organisms such as viruses, bacteria, flukes, worms, etc, take up residence in the body and cause all sorts of diseases and health problems. A healthy immune system is very good at fighting off these imposters, but activities and substances which decrease the effectiveness of the immune system, and other systems like the endocrine system and the lymphatic system, make it very difficult for our bodies to do this effectively.
• Insufficient exercise, rest, fresh air, sunshine and trauma management. All of these are necessary for optimal health.

Read on and see whether or not modern western medicine is addressing these causes.