There is an
epidemic in our society, and it has to do with the
gastrointestinal diseases that we develop within us as a result
of the food that we eat. I am referring to diseases such as
Crohn's, Colitis, Diverticulitis, and other diseases of the
intestinal tract.
The human suffering and the social, medical, and economic costs
of gastrointestinal diseases and disorders that have become so
common in the US and Canada are nothing short of enormous,
representing a huge share of our annual health care expenditure,
as well as being responsible for a large loss of productivity.
Up to 100
million North Americans suffer from intermittent forms of
digestive diseases, and the estimated lost work, lost wages, and
medical costs comes to over 50 billion dollars per year. It is
also estimated that some 200,000 workers miss work every day due
to digestive problems.
Health
statistics also show that more North Americans are hospitalized
due to diseases of the intestinal tract than for any other group
of disorders. The medical costs of these diseases is estimated
to be $20 billion or more per year.
The annual cost
of prescription and over-the-counter drug products used for
digestive tract diseases is approximately $2 - 2.5 billion
dollars per year, and has grown at a steady rate of 10% over the
last decade.
The following
is an estimate of costs, and adequately demonstrates the fact
that these diseases present a significant public health problem,
which contribute substantially to our overall health care costs:
Cancer of the
colon and cancer of the rectum are the second most common forms
of cancer in North America, exceeded only by lung cancer. This
year alone (2003), there will be approximately 150,000 new cases
diagnosed, and approximately 60,000 related deaths. Perhaps as
many as one out of every 10 North Americans will die of these
two diseases.
The following
are some of the other very common diseases and disorders that
are directly related to the Colon: Constipation, Appendicitis,
Diverticular Disease, Hemorrhoids, Benign Tumors, Irritable
Bowel Syndrome, Ulcerative Colitis, and Crohn's Disease.
Here are a
few facts about these diseases:
Evidence
suggests that all of these disorders were very rare in the
Western world less than 100 years ago, and that each of these
has greatly increased during the last 50 years. What's more, for
years now researchers such as Cleave, Trowell, Burkitt, and
others, have known that all these diseases are almost unheard of
in communities which still adhere to their traditional way of
life.
In developing
countries in Asia and Africa for example, documented evidence
has proven the rarity of diseases such as diverticulitis,
appendicitis, bowel cancer, adenomatous polyps, ulcerative
colitis, varicose veins, hemorrhoids and hiatus hernias. In
Africa, this has been the case with appendicitis, ishemic heart
disease, diabetes, obesity, gallstones, varicose veins, venous
thrombosis, and hemorrhoids.
As these
countries develop and begin to adopt Western ways and customs, a
rise in the frequency of these disorders follows almost as
surely as night follows day.
They first
appear and then become common in the upper socioeconomic groups,
which are the first group of people to become westernized. In
Africa, this has been the case with appendicitis, heart disease,
diabetes, obesity, gallstones, varicose veins, and hemorrhoids.
The same kind of thing happened in Japan after World War Two,
especially in the urban communities.
As it turns
out, the result of the investigations by many over the years has
led to a much more specific conclusion than merely some sort of
ambiguous, or mysterious "environmental factor" which is somehow
involved in the cause of these diseases and disorders. Rather,
many have become far more specific about the cause, supporting
what has come to be known as the "F(iber)-Hypothesis".
In the past it
was thought that the large intestine was not really too involved
in absorption (the principal absorptive functions being to
conserve water and electrolytes secreted into the gut during
digestion). However, recent research has demonstrated that,
among other things, the colon does in fact participate in
protein absorption.
As it turns
out, the result of the investigations by many over the years has
led to a much more specific conclusion than merely some sort of
ambiguous, or mysterious "environmental factor" which is somehow
involved in the cause of these diseases and disorders. Rather,
many have become far more specific about the cause, supporting
what has come to be known as the "F(iber)-Hypothesis".
This is extremely significant inasmuch as the colon is
the major side of exposure to the bulk of endogenous
bacterial proteins, enterotoxins, and breakdown antigens,
which may be involved in the pathogenesis of a number of
diseases, including ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease,
food allergies and allergic gastoenteropathy, bacterial
enteritis (from toxins produced by Escherichia coli,
Shigella, Vibro cholerae, etc.), and certain
extra-intestinal immune-complex diseases.
Even more important than protein absorption is the
operation of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) in the
colon. These are nerve endings that are attached to the
colon wall and they provide nerve impulses to stimulate the
operation of the various organs and glands within your body.
The type of stimulation that the ANS is able to provide to
your organs and glands is a direct reflection of the health
of your colon.
For a complete description of the development of
gastrointestinal diseases and the operation of the Autonomic
Nervous System, read the book referred to in the Authors
Resource Box below.
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