To understand what’s going on with human health, we might consider the difference between the following two types of disease:
- Infectious Disease
- Degenerative Disease
A hundred years ago and more, people mostly died of Infectious Diseases such as Tuberculosis, Influenza (the flu) and Pneumonia. A combination of improved sanitation, hygiene and the good work of those who have found cures and advanced medical science means that Infectious Diseases are no longer the major cause of death in the developed world.
Today, the more common causes of death and suffering are Cancer, Heart Disease and Stroke, Osteoporosis, and forty or fifty other Degenerative Diseases.
Whilst such things as fortune and accidents of birth do play a part, the essence of Degenerative Disease means that there is definitely a role to play for the individual.
I was first taught the important distinction between Infectious Diseases and Degenerative Diseases by Dr Myon Wentz, Founder of Sanoviv Medical Institute. In the same lecture, he disclosed statistics stating that the primary contributing factor to Cancer is diet: What we eat and drink. The second contributor is smoking.
These are things we have some control over as individuals. As the saying goes, we are digging our graves with our teeth. Society cannot expect all of the responsibility for tackling Degenerative Disease to lie with the doctors the way it did with Infectious Disease. It’s simply not the same kind of scenario.