The first step to giving chronic ailments the boot – for good.

Chronic ailments are a silent epidemic in the United States.

To be clear, chronic ailments are those seemingly minor and annoying health issues (like sinusitis, Crohn’s Disease, and just about anything with “syndrome” in the name) that are usually a mystery as to their cause.

While the ailments alone aren’t enough to “level” you (at first blush anyway), they can and often do result in prolonged and compounded misery that is somehow seamlessly configured into one’s existence.

Chronic diseases, on the other hand - like those of the heart or diabetes, arthritis, and cancer - are also an epidemic, albeit a conspicuous one. According to the CDC, chronic disease is “the leading cause of death in the United States…accounts for 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans each year.”

But when it comes to overall attention and awareness, the chronic ailment is the ugly stepchild to the chronic disease. The chronic ailment is not a darling topic for corporate-run media. It’s not the beneficiary of multiple behemoth fundraising machines. It’s not mentioned in popular hip-hop songs. It’s not the focus of a celebrity charity event. It’s not a trending topic on Twitter. And it’s not even popular in Google search results.

Chronic ailments – or what I call “soft diseases” – have become a regular part of every day life for millions of Americans who buck it up and “deal with it” because “there isn’t a cure.” Often these same people are prescribed different pills by different doctors each of whom claims to have the solution – but only the kind that will take the greatest edge off their patients’ misery.

So how many people do you know who have one or more of the following chronic ailments and quietly tolerate their condition because “there isn’t a cure?”

Examples of chronic ailments include:

What would you say if I told you that it’s possible to eliminate multiple ailments at the same time? Without costly procedures? Without pharmaceutical drugs?

Stick with me here. I am not trying to sell you a product.

I want to share what I learned through experience: That I was personally able to eliminate multiple health ailments once I learned about a “root problem” that doesn’t get addressed in the healthcare industry in the United States.

In my case, the chronic ailments were symptoms of another underlying issue and not diseases unto themselves.

So, today, my health “mysteries” (also not-affectionately known as health “miseries”) over the past several years are now gone.

It didn’t take a miracle. But it did take a valuable investment of time to figure out that my health issues were due to a natural cause and effect that occurs in the body…one that most of us don’t think about or know about…or that our physicians don’t address…much to our detriment.

If one thing is off kilter in our bodies, it can throw the whole process of functioning into a tailspin over time. Even worse, the changes leading up to the “tailspin” are often incremental and self-perpetuating. The resulting scenario is not much different than that of a frog in a pot of boiling water…with potential consequences that are equally dire.

The moral of part one of “A true story about wellness” is actually the first lesson I learned on this unforgettable journey: IF YOU WANT TO BE WELL, IT IS GOING TO REQUIRE WORK…from YOU.

That’s right. I went to multiple doctors, talked with friends and family, conducted my own extensive online research (including personal blogs, which were an enormous help), had many tests done, and – of course – was prescribed useless medications (some of which actually exacerbated the problem!). In the end, once my search for a cause and cure began in earnest, it was about six months before I figured out what course of action to take.

So here’s the bottom line: No one is going to figure this out for you. You need to do it yourself. It takes a great deal of work to figure out the causes and cures to health problems. For some reason, I thought that I could simply go to a doctor with my first-rate insurance plan and receive an accurate diagnosis as well as an appropriate cure. But it wasn’t that simple. And, as it turns out, it wasn’t even possible.

If you want to give your chronic ailments the boot, I highly recommend that you collect information from multiple sources and be open to alternative medicine, which – although we call it “alternative” – has actually been around for thousands of years.

COMING SOON: Part 2 – What I discovered

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When I woke up this morning, things were lookin’ bad
Seem like total silence was the only friend I had
Bowl of oatmeal tried to stare me down… and won
And it was twelve o’clock before I realized
That I was havin’ … no fun. —John Prine, Illegal Smile

During the last few months I had the unfortunate opportunity to become intimately acquainted with our health care system, a topic that deserves its own blog post or two in the future.

But, for now, I wanted to share a simple recipe for improving and/or maintaining good health – a different kind of public option.

Solutions don’t have to be flashy, costly or complex. Sometimes the best solutions are humble, boring, and proven.

Oatmeal: The “motherlode” breakfast of champions

• Organic rolled oats in a bowl – Serving size at your discretion
  If you have extra time to prepare breakfast, consider steel-cut oats.
• Soak for 10-15 minutes in Soy, Rice or Almond Milk or other non-dairy option
• Warm in microwave (optional)
• Add a few drops of NuNaturals Pure Liquid Stevia with Singing Dog Vanilla Extract to taste (optional); Stir
• Add 3 tbsp. of raw, organic black walnuts – chopped or whole
• Sprinkle cinnamon
• Top with a generous dollup of Trader Joe’s French Village Vanilla nonfat yogurt

Do you have a simple solution (or recipe) you’d like to share?

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