Did you ever wonder why our country seems to be getting sicker by the year?

Given the huge leaps in medical technology and the scientific discoveries made over the past decades, doesn't it seem as though people in civilized countries would be leading longer, healthier lives?

In reality, it's just the opposite.

Everyone is either sick themselves or knows someone who is sick. People are living sicker and dying younger right here in the Land of Opportunity. Chronic illness is now the norm instead of an oddity. A report from Johns Hopkins provides these alarming statistics:

Today, 133 million people, almost half of all Americans, live with a chronic condition. By 2020, as the population ages, the number will increase to 157 million. These people represent all segments of our society – they are of all ages, races, and economic status. Many have multiple chronic conditions, including functional limitations and disabilities. Data show that in the general population, people with five or more chronic conditions have an average of almost 15 physician visits and fill over 50 prescriptions in a year. In the Medicare population, the average beneficiary sees seven different physicians and fills upwards of 20 prescriptions in a year.

According to JHU's study, the top chronic illnesses are:

But it gets even worse than this. The numbers above don't even include cancer. These days, every other person…literally every other person…in America will have cancer in their lifetime.

Nearly half of all Americans will develop cancer in their lifetime. (source) Quick math tells us that is an astonishing 157 million victims.

Over half a million people in America died of cancer in 2012. (source)

In 2011, cancer was the #1 cause of death in the Western world, and #2 in developing countries. (source)

Cancer is the #1 cause of childhood death in the United States. (source)

This is a fairly recent increase.  A hundred years ago, the number was far different.  At that time, 1 in 33 people was stricken with the disease. And despite billions of dollars being spent to find "the cure", the World Health Organization predicts that deaths from cancer will DOUBLE by the year 2030.

Chronic illness is big business.

Here's the kicker. According to the report from Johns Hopkins quoted above, people with chronic illnesses account for 83% of all healthcare spending in the US. EIGHTY-THREE PERCENT.

Now, let these numbers sink in:

 Cancer is a 126.4 billion dollar per year industry.

AND CHRONIC ILLNESS MAKES UP 83% OF HEALTHCARE SPENDING.

Are you beginning to see the epic size of the business of illness? Billions and billions of dollars. An amount of money that is unfathomable to most of us.

Don't look for American "watchdog agencies" to look out for your health. They've proven time and time again that the nature of their protection is to look after the bottom line of large corporations. Their watchdog efforts are not there to protect folks like you and me.

For example, the FDA still allows many of the toxins that have been implicated in cancer, hormonal disruption, and autoimmune illnesses to be in our food and our personal care products. A dizzying array of substances that are classified as "GRAS" (Generally Recognized As Safe) may not be safe at all. The things we put on our skin are quickly absorbed into our bodies, and we may unknowingly be applying hundreds of potentially harmful chemicals per day to our skin.

It isn't just the FDA who is dropping the ball. The EPA is just fine with upping the levels of glyphosate allowed in our environment and sprayed on our food,despite irrefutable evidence that it causes toxicity and death.  There's an immense body of research linking glyphosate to increased cancer risk, neurotoxicity and birth defects, as well as eye, skin, respiratory irritation, lung congestion, increased breathing rate, damage to the pancreas, kidney and testes. Another study links glyphosate directly to the proliferation of breast cancer cells via estrogen receptors. Even the World Health Organization has condemned the use of glyphosate, saying that it "probably" causes cancer.