ARE CHRONIC DISEASES A MYTH?

This article will challenge and change your understanding of chronic disease.

What is a myth?

A myth is a well-known story that was made up in the past to explain natural events or to justify religious beliefs or social customs. This is the Collins dictionary definition of myth. From this definition, one thing stands out clearly: a myth is an invented story. So, does it mean that chronic diseases are a myth? My answer is a big Yes. But is this not a medical “blasphemy”?

Well, my humble response is to follow my line of thought, and I have just put on my teaching hat. Remember, my dad was a British-trained teacher, so I strongly recommend you follow me closely. Now that we have defined what a myth means,

What are chronic diseases?

According to the Centre of Disease Control, chronic diseases are broadly defined as a condition that lasts 1 year or more and requires ongoing medical attention, limits activities of daily living, or both. This definition is from the Center for Disease Control (CDC, US ). Most chronic diseases are non-communicable, which means that they cannot be transmitted from one person to another. This, therefore, means that non-communicable diseases are not caused by an outside factor or agent, like bacteria, fungi, or viruses.

Heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and arthritis are common examples of chronic diseases. Now, this is where it gets very interesting: chronic diseases are not diseases per se. They are your body’s adaptive countermeasures. Let me explain. Remember, your body is the most amazingly beautiful, highly complex biological machine that is designed to regulate, repair and heal itself. I want to quickly introduce an important word before I continue.

This all-important word is called “homeostasis.”.

What is homeostasis? It is a state of balance among all the body systems needed for the body to survive and function correctly. The most important function of your body is to maintain homeostasis. When your body is in perfect homeostasis, it means you are healthy. When your body is out of balance, it means sickness. So the moment, for whatever reason, your body is out of balance, which means you are out of homeostasis. Your body’s regulating and healing program is activated to bring you back to homeostasis. With this understanding, let’s go back to take a look at chronic diseases.

Chronic diseases are a result of the many ways your body is trying to restore balance. Let’s look at high blood pressure, for example. Your heart is the pumping machine that pumps blood through your arteries and the blood comes back to your heart through your veins. So, your circulatory system is a closed system, which means the same blood that is pumped out through the artery returns back through the veins. If all your arteries, veins, and capillaries (tiny blood vessels) are stretched out, your heart will pump blood to blood vessels measuring more than 63,0000 kilometres.

Imagine, every second of the day, your heart pumps blood to flow through more than 63,0000 kilometres. Do you have an idea of what the distance is? It means going round the earth twice and a half. Now, here is the tricky part: This blood flow must maintain a certain pressure so that every part of your body gets adequate blood supply. Imagine what happens if these tens of thousands of kilometres of arteries become either narrower or less elastic. So, if your arteries become either narrow because of deposits on the arterial wall (atherosclerosis) or the arteries become hardened and less flexible (arteriosclerosis),. Yet, your heart will still ensure that blood gets to every cell, tissue or organ of your body. So, to maintain homeostasis and ensure adequate blood supply, the brain will instruct your heart to increase the pressure of pumping to overcome the resistance of the narrow and hardened arteries. When your heart increases its pressure, the result is high blood pressure. High blood pressure is, therefore, your body’s adaptive countermeasure to ensure you are alive. If your body, I mean your heart, does not increase the pressure, some parts of your body will not get blood. And without a blood supply, those parts will die. If it is your brain, you will have a stroke.

The truth is this: without high blood pressure, and if your arteries are narrow or less elastic, you will die. Do you now agree with me that your high blood pressure is a survival strategy for you to be alive today? So why did the medical system call it a disease? The answer is simple: You must give it a name so you can get drugs for it. I have many things to say, but time and space are my constraints. Does it mean that high blood pressure is a good thing? It depends on how you look at it. But if you understand that high blood pressure is a survival strategy for your survival, it will change your perspective about high blood pressure. Your question should be, “How can I fix the high blood pressure?” For your information, high blood pressure is a deficiency disease. This is a story of another day.