Jim,
OUr parents (or at least mine) and especially grand-parents were plagued with infectious diseases. Now today, we're dying from degenerative diseases where our bodies degenerate and cant fight whatever is out there and heart, cancer, dementia, Type II diabetes, etc, are killing us slowly.
First sign of most of these ailments IS the ailment surfacing, but it's been there a long time waiting for a "trigger event".
I swear by nutritional supplements. Stuff isn't in our food anymore that our bodies need to fight off these degenerative stuff...
Sorta like running a Ferrari without changing oil... it'll go a long time, but not as long or well as if we keep the oil changed.
If you're interested, I'll share what I've learned by phone or email. No cure all, but it helps our bodies fight back!