Chronic Diseases (CNCDs) & The Paleo Diet

Chronic Diseases (CNCDs) & The Paleo Diet

By Mark Zuleger-Thyss/Garden of Healing

 

"Diseases of lifestyle" are the primary threat to human health outpacing infectious diseases for the first time in human history. These chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCDs) have risen sharply in the last two decades and account for 73% of deaths and 60% of the disease burden we see today. A Paleo Diet will help you reduce many of the risk factors of CNCDs by moving you towards foods that support better health like increased vegetable and fruit intake.

CNCDs is a broad term for groups of diseases that are non-infectious.

Types of noncommunicable conditions are cardiovascular diseases (like heart attacks and stroke), cancer, chronic respiratory diseases (such as chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and asthma), diabetes and other metabolic disorders, and autoimmune diseases.

CNCDs are categorized as "chronic diseases" because of the lengthy duration of the condition and how much they can limit your routines and daily activities. An inadequate lifestyle promotes the development of these chronic noncommunicable diseases. Prominent risk factors include smoking, excess alcohol consumption, low intake of fruits and vegetables, and high salt and sugar intake.

Most of us know that what you eat, how much you exercise, and lifestyle factors like poor-quality sleep and stress are significant influencers in these diseases' pathogenesis. Weight gain is another critical factor strongly associated with health complications and increased mortality.

Chronic diseases can be improved by switching to a Paleo Diet.

The Paleo Diet has shown benefits for metabolic syndrome - a group of conditions that occur together. Together, they can increase your risk of CNCDs like heart attack, stroke, type-2 diabetes, and many cancers. Metabolic syndrome is characterized by a group of symptoms, such as high blood pressure, excess body fat around the mid-section, high blood sugar, and abnormal triglyceride levels or cholesterol levels.

Weight loss is a keystone of reversing chronic disease progression. Overweight and obese individuals benefit the most from weight loss resulting in a normalization of glucose levels and reduced body mass index and waist circumference.

Adopting a Paleo Diet is an effective strategy for weight loss and reversing or preventing chronic diseases. Eliminating ultra-processed foods like cereals and confectionaries, commonly laden with excess sugars and processed fats, goes a long way to restoring health.

A Paleo Diet also excludes soft drinks, beer, and added salt. Reductions in these foods and additives can dramatically reduce caloric intake and results in healthy weight loss. There is a mistaken idea that The Paleo Diet is an all-meat diet – it is not. It is primarily plant-based by volume; it is a balanced diet based on eating natural, minimally processed foods from both plant and animal sources. The Paleo Diet also appears to play a role in satiety, making mealtime a satisfying experience instead of worrying, guilt, and regret.

 

© 2020 Mark Zuleger-Thyss, Garden of Healing LLC. All rights reserved.

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