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- Ben Fuchs
Human beings around the world are sick and are getting sicker. We are immersed in a silent epidemic of chronic degenerative diseases (CDDs) that is gradually enveloping the planet’s population. According to the World Health Organization, from a projected total of 58 million worldwide deaths from all causes in 2009, it is estimated that CDDs, physical ailments whose course worsens over time, account for 38 million or over 60 percent.
Here in the United States, CDD’s impact on mortality is even more significant with 3 out of 4 deaths resulting from long term degenerative illnesses and nearly 50% of Americans having at least one. The elderly are especially susceptible; approximately 80% of all persons older than 65 years have at least one chronic condition, and 50% have at least two. And all that misery doesn’t come cheap. Of the nearly three trillion dollars Americans spend every year on health care, it is estimated that 75 percent of it can be attributed to the costs of chronic degenerative disease. That's over 2 trillion dollars!
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- Ben Fuchs
Our bodies do a lot of work. From a microscopic perspective, each of the 100 trillion cells is a seething, roiling, bubbling dynamo of activity, manufacturing, processing and secreting countless chemicals per second. At the macro level, the various systems and structures of body are endlessly organizing, metabolizing, growing, dividing, respirating, pumping, digesting and excreting.
If you throw mental and emotional activity into the mix, it’s understandable that, after a certain amount of time, the system will just get burnt out. Under normal conditions, that occurs at the end of the end of the day, at which point we’ll head to bed, turn down our blankets, plump up our pillows to renew and refresh with a good’s nights rest. Or maybe, if it’s the middle of the day, we can replenish our energy stores with a little catnap.
But for many people that’s not enough. There are millions of men and women who are always exhausted. They go to bed tired and wake up that way even after a full night’s sleep, remaining weary throughout the whole day. These unfortunate folks are chronically fatigued, sometimes so severely that their ability to participate in life activities can be dramatically reduced. Some are so affected that they have trouble keeping jobs and relationships. Others can be severely disabled and even bedridden. Doctors call this condition Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or CFS, and in addition to feeling persistently pooped 24/7, it’s marked by a complex of health issues including headache, flu-like symptoms, muscle soreness and joint pain.
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- Ben Fuchs
It's been said proverbially, that every man must eat a peck of dirt before he dies. While the metaphorical wisdom which refers to humility and endurance may be undeniable, many people take its meaning literally. That’s the message of filmmaker Adam Forrester, whose movie “Eat White Dirt” tells the story of practitioners of the bizarre behavior. In fact, Forrester claims that hundreds of thousands of people around the world participate in the strange ritual of eating dirt.
