Deficiency or Disease?

The Deficiency-Disease Cycle

Intro

A deficiency of any kind hinders optimal function of the human body. This inhibition leads to metabolic stress which, if left unaddressed, leads to a disease. Once dysfunction has progressed to a disease, this very deficiency-driven disease further adds to the overall burden and deficiency in the body. As you can see, this cycle continues to feed each component lowering the health of the person! Address the disease but support the deficiency.

Unfortunately, the commonly accepted belief is that you have a disease due to variables outside of your control. This places you as the victim where you cannot control your health and must therefore rely on pharmaceutical and surgical intervention long-term.

Less than 5% of the population has an actual disease driven by "bad genes," yet 66% of Americans are taking at least one long-term prescription drug* and more than half are taking at least two!

The Question:

Why are we so quick to believe that our body has failed us?

The Answer:

Convenience and Manipulation.

The truth is our relentless pursuit of comfort and convenience comes at the cost of chronic illness and disease. This wasn't always the case for humans. But today, we have built a society that is very incongruent with health; separate from nature, afraid of germs and quick to believe that our body has failed us. Convenience is prioritized due to the high stress pace we subscribe to. And what follows are deficiencies in our diet, lifestyle and health!

All disease starts as a deficiency. Let's explore the different deficiencies as they relate to health and disease.

Nutritional Deficiencies

A 2004 study (old but pertinent) found that nutrients in garden crops are 38% lower than the same crops in 1950*. The decreased nutritional content is due to disrupting the balance of soil health, use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, genetically modifying crops and other disruptive agricultural techniques. These "advances" in agriculture leave us with less nutrition per bite and increases the amount of chemicals and toxins we are exposed to. In 1980, the decrease in nutrition was observed, and the FDA approved the fortification policy in which synthetic forms of vitamins could be added to crops and foods*. Unfortunately, one of the specific vitamins (folic acid) cannot be processed by 40-50% of the population. Folic acid when not metabolized becomes toxic to the body (more on methylation in the Genetic Deficiencies section). Less good and more bad is a recipe for deficiencies and disease!

Additionally, our fast-paced way of life in America increases the reliance of convenient foods. Any and all convenient foods are void of nutrition while containing many harmful preservatives, pesticides and other artificial ingredients. Convenient and healthy cannot coexist. However, I would argue that sickness and disease are quite inconvenient.

The real question is, which inconvenience would you prefer? Inconveniently cooking and preparing your own meals, or inconveniently losing your health and missing out on the joys of life?

Genetic Deficiencies

Gene deficiencies are very real and have significant implications in our health. However, rather than improving the gene function, conventional medicine's efforts are spent on synthetically manipulating the symptom that results from the deficiency. While prescription drugs offer stabilization of certain processes in the body, and sometimes prevent crisis, there is no healing achieved with them, and therefore no improvement in health.

Health is about increased function, and prescription drugs are only capable of synthetically blocking or altering functions in the body. The piece of paper that has blood work results may look better with prescription drugs, but the person is not any healthier. Not only is the deficiency still present that caused the disease in the first place, but now chemicals are used to adjust the body's response rather than improve the deficiency.

Methylation Pathway

In functional medicine, MTHFR gene mutation has gained a lot of attention and popularity. However, this is just one of many important genes in the methylation pathway. Methylation is responsible for many things, including:

With dysfunction in the methylation pathway, the symptoms can present in many different areas! And these areas are the direct implications. Left unknown and unaddressed, these can lead to hypertension, hormone imbalance, skin issues, brain fog, and so much more.

Learning about individual genes and how to support them should be prioritized as a first step before pursuing pharmaceutical intervention. 95% of the time, this is what the body needs anyway! If you would like to learn more about your genes, this is the secondary gene report I use in my practice. It is incredibly insightful, and I would be happy to work together with you to improve your specific gene metabolism!

StrataGene Report

Nature Deficiency

Yes! We need nature to thrive! Humans come from nature, and we rely on its many offerings to be healthy. Nature offers us the electron transfer from soil, the sunlight on our skin and in our eyes, the wonderful bacteria we are exposed to that improves our health and genetic expression, the fresh air that shifts our nervous system state, the alternating temperatures that produce important responses that give us metabolic flexibility, and so much more!

Our society has become so deficient in outdoor exposure. The human body relies on these offerings and cues from nature, and we are not receiving them leading to dysfunction and disease. The average American spends 93% of their life indoors! 87% in a building and 6% in an automobile*.

Worse yet, we incorrectly blame nature for disease. Bacteria and viruses are villainized, yet we have the lowest diversity in our microbiome than in recorded history. The sun is blamed for skin cancer, yet humans have the least amount of sun exposure than ever before. Deficiencies in microorganisms leads to poorly developed microbiomes. In fact, 75% of cells in the human body are composed of microorganisms that drive epigenetics. Supporting these deficiencies is the logical first step in improving health, yet it is often neglected and mocked.

Movement Deficiency

Sitting is the new smoking. Sedentary lifestyles alone are risk factors in cardiometabolic morbidity and all-cause mortality*. Research has linked sitting for long periods to*:

• increased blood pressure

• high blood sugar

• obesity

• unfavorable cholesterol levels

• metabolic syndrome

Humans are meant to move! Movement improves lymphatic flow, circulation, metabolism and offers many other benefits. When we move, we are alive!

Joy Deficiency

The majority of our life is spent either learning or working. Our high-stress lives leave little room for things we enjoy. Working for a company helps with a regular income, but 40 hours per week is spent making the company's dream come true. Prioritizing hobbies, creative outlets and other activities has far-reaching benefits and should be prioritized in one way or another.

Conclusion

Convenience, high-stress routines and the pharmaceutical's influence on health care (sick care) lead us to live deficient lives. The deficiency causes the disease, which the disease leads to further deficiencies - and the cycle continues. It is important to address both initially, but once the deficiency is corrected the disease will fall away. When the above deficiencies are addressed, pharmaceuticals are seldom needed.

Sometimes the root of the deficiency is obvious and other times it is hidden. Working with a qualified Functional Medicine Practitioner or Holistic Health Practitioner is the best way to identify deficiencies and focus support for optimal health. If the root of your deficiency is less obvious, or you are seeking optimal health support, you can schedule a free consultation below to discuss possibilities and investigation.

Schedule Free Consultation

Action

Get outside, move, do something you love, test and support your genes, eat organic/non-GMO foods, and watch your health transform! Health is something you intentionally build and actively maintain.

Sources

1. Prescription Drugs | Health Policy Institute | Georgetown University

2. Why modern food lost its nutrients (bbc.com)Guidance for Industry: Questions and Answers on FDA’s Fortification Policy | FDA

3. Indoor Air Quality | US EPA

4. Sitting risks: How harmful is too much sitting? - Mayo Clinic

5. Sitting is the new smoking: where do we stand? - PMC (nih.gov)