Most of the degenerative diseases are caused by too much acidic wastes somewhere in our body that slows down blood circulation. Depending upon where our body accumulates the acid, disease symptoms are different. However, the causes are the same: too much acid. Modern medicine is concerned with the treatment of symptoms rather than the elimination of the causes of diseases. In the treatment of social ills, we seem to do the same thing. We address the symptoms of crimes caused by firearms by building more jail cells rather than outlawing gun sales and teaching morals in public schools to prevent youngsters from committing crimes.

The primary place where we accumulate solid acidic wastes in our body may depend on the individual's genetic makeup. This may explain why some of the degenerative diseases are hereditary. Diabetes itself is not hereditary. What is hereditary is the accumulation of solid acidic wastes around the pancreas. If we do not allow wastes to accumulate around the pancreas, there will not be diabetes in that family even if family members reach the age of 50 or 60.

 Cancer cells are acidic while healthy cells are alkaline. Cancer is clearly the result of acidic wastes accumulation. Cancer and acidic environment will be discussed in other articles on Science and Health Series. Uric acid crystals in the joints cause gout. Uric acid comes from nitrogen in proteins. In Korea, gout is referred to as "the rich man's disease". Only rich men could afford to eat meat in the old days.