US HEALTH CRISIS 

                          Since 1990:

                           -  20 diseases tripled

                           -  2.1 chronic conditions per American

                           -  170 million affected.

                         Annual Cost: $2.7 trillion. 

36 diseases have more than doubled at a cost of $2.7 trillion

There has been a sudden increase in unexplained disease and chronic health impacts in the US. Since 1990, thirty-six chronic conditions have more than doubled. Twenty have tripled. Sixteen have more than quadrupled. 170 million Americans are affected. The average American suffers from 2.1 of just these 36 diseases. The US has entered into a new era of chronic disease.

Four new Classes of Disease  

While most cancers and heart disease are growing modestly, four new classes of diseases have exploded in the US. 

• Neurological Disorders
• Auto-inflammatory Disease
• Metabolic - notably Obesity
• Sleep-related Disorders 

• Auto-Inflammatory: we've combined autoimmune and inflammatory disease into one category. Among the 36 fast-growing diseases, 11 are classified as inflammatory and 12 as autoimmune. As a group these diseases create immune system impacts as well as impose high levels of inflammation. The immune system creates inflammation as a defense against environmental toxins. Inflammation, in turn, triggers oxidative stress (free-radicals), which then can trigger more inflammation. Autoimmunity and inflammation are intricately related.
• Neurological: we've aggregated a combination of neurological diseases and mental illness into one category. All these conditions share 7 core biological factors but more than that these are diseases which attack the central nervous system (CNS), the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and the brain all show imbalances of neurotransmitters and severe neuronal damage. Symptoms differ but the high degree of commonality across biological systems is significant.
• Metabolic: the three big metabolic conditions - obesity, diabetes I and thyroid dysfunction may affect as many as 130 million people, depending on the overlap of these conditions. These conditions concern energy and metabolic processes. Mitochondrial dysfunction, which entails damage and poor function of the electron transport chain in the mitochondria is likely at the heart of obesity and likely a factor in diabetes I and thyroid dysfunction as well.
• Sleep: sleep apnea, insomnia, and other sleep disorders make up the invisible modern disease, which in turn, may influence dozens of other diseases and medical conditions. Insufficient or disrupted sleep has been associated with practically every one of the 36 diseases discussed here.