But why?
What has changed over the past century?
Well, we've increased:
- our weights - we're now heavier than ever, overtaxing our pancreas
- caloric intake - closely tied to excess weight, but a separate factor nonetheless
- protein intake - we now eat more protein than ever before (Eskimos have always eaten a largely meat diet though)
- how much we sit - sitting does increase blood sugar and cause some other metabolic changes in the body, maybe this effects things?
- how clean we are - killing the microbes that may condition our immune system at a young age
- environmental toxins - these things cause all kinds of problems
While we've decreased:
- activity - we're more sedentary than ever
- vitamin D - less activity means less sun, which means less of this vital vitamin
- intestinal parasites - some tapeworms actually cause our immune system not to attack our own cells as much
An unknown virus could be another cause too.
Odds are that the cause behind the rise is a myriad of these factors put together. The cause behind disease can often be complex, but like in the case of mono, Ebola, or TB, it can often be pretty simple as well. Avoid this virus, avoid this problem. Figuring out what the root cause behind the increase is going to take a lot more research.
My bets are on environmental toxins, but hey, what do I know? I'm just a student.
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