Chronic and Infectious Diseases

Chronic and Infectious Diseases Paper

Chronic and infectious diseases can be detrimental to a person’s health and life. Becoming educated and understanding the reasoning behind chronic and infectious diseases and how to prevent them from occurring can save a person’s life. This paper will first explore chronic illnesses and its characteristics. This paper will also focus on the importance of nutrition and physical activity and the effects they have on cardiovascular disease and the immune system. Last, this paper will focus on the importance of awareness and education as it relates to the health environment and chronic illnesses.

Characteristics of Chronic Illness

Chronic illnesses are diseases that begin and proceed slowly. Chronic illnesses can be caused by many factors such as heredity, lifestyle factors, environmental factors, or physiological factors (CNS, 2011). Chronic illnesses often are caused by a person's lifestyle. For example, heart disease and strokes can be caused by habits such as tobacco smoking and poor eating habits. Poor eating habits can cause a variety of problems such as high blood pressure, obesity, diabetes, and hypertension; these problems will then further lead to a stroke or heart disease.

Relationship between a Healthy Nutritional Program and Cardiovascular Disease

A healthy nutritional program can help to prevent cardiovascular diseases. High blood cholesterol levels are key factors in chronic heart disease, therefore, diet and exercise and extremely important to reduce blood levels (Powers & Dodd, 2009). Decreasing the intake of saturated fats and cholesterol can significantly reduce blood cholesterol levels (Powers & Dodd, 2009). Saturated fats are known to stimulate cholesterol synthesis in the liver, therefore, increasing blood cholesterol (Powers & Dodd, 2009). Minimizing the intake of certain meats and dairy products high in saturated fats such as bacon, beef, sausage, cheddar cheese, and butter can help to...