Chronic Illness and Holistic Wellness

What does the cardiovascular system entail? The lungs, heart, arteries, and veins. In an average lifetime the heart will beat about 3 billion times and 42 million gallons of blood. Cardiovascular disease is also the leading cause of death in the United States and other developed countries.  What causes cardiovascular disease? Fatty build-up in the artery wall is the main culprit, causing about 85% of cardiovascular disease. The fatty build-up can also cause strokes, the third leading cause of death.  The fatty-build up can be reversed with intense lifestyle changes. These changes may or may not be accompanied with the use of medication to lower cholesterol. Risk factors that can attribute to the fatty build-up include the use of tobacco (including smoking), high blood pressure, high cholesterol, physical inactivity (less than 30 accumulative minutes of moderate to intense activity a day. Moderate can be gardening or a brisk walk), obesity (BMI over 30), and diabetes. Physical ...

  How does nutrition affect health?  There is a range of health issues, ranging from purely genetic to completely diet based, with diet influenced genetic disposition in the middle. There are 5 components of a healthy diet. These five components are adequacy, balance, calorie control, moderation, variety. Adequacy means the food provides nutrients your body needs. These nutrients include carbohydrates, protein, fat, vitamins, and minerals. Balance means consuming foods from all food groups. The food groups include dairy, fruit, vegetables, protein foods, and grains. Calorie control means to only eat as much as you burn. It is better to eat slightly under burned calories than to eat more, as obesity leads to many chronic health conditions. However, too little is also a concern and may be indicative of an unhealthy food relationship and will also lead to chronic health conditions such as anemia or osteoporosis. Moderation means not eating too much of one food, for example only...