Where Symptoms Lead 

Heart Disease:  When you're 20, it begins with elevated cholesterol.  At 30, it becomes discernible with small plaques on an arteriogram.  At 40, it's subclinical, with larger plaques.  At 50, it has arrived at the threshold of "disease" with leg pain during exercise.  At 60, it becomes severe with angina pectoris.  At 70, it ends with a stroke or heart attack.

Cancer:  It begins at 20 with exposure to carinogens.  At 30, it may be detectible as cellular metaplasia, meaning abnormality.   At 40, it's still considered subclinical, but metaplasia is still increasing.  At 50, it's a carcinoma "in situ," or too small to be detected.  At 60, it becomes a "clinical cancer" showing up through cancer detection processes.  At 70, it ends with metastasized cancer.

Osteoarthritis:  At 20, it begins with what's clinically known as abnormal cartilage staining.  At 30, there's a slight narrowing of joint space.  At 40, it shows up as bone spurs.  By 50, it's mild articular pain.  By 60, it's moderate articular pain.  By 70, you're disabled.

Diabetes:  At 20, it begins as obesity.  By 30, it shows up as abnormal glucose tolerance.  At 40, it's elevated fasting blood glucose.  At 50, it's sugar in your urine.  At 60, you're requiring insulin.  By 70, you're blind, and experiencing diseases of the peripheral nervous system, and kidney disease.

Emphysema:  It begins at 20 for smokers.  By 30, there are mild airway obstructions.  By 40, x-rays show hyperinflation.  At 50, the individual experiences shortness of breath.  By 60, recurrent hospitalization is common.  By 70, the individual needs oxygen to breathe at all, and gradually suffocates, unable to breathe deeply enough to meet his or her need for oxygen.  

Cirrhosis:  It begins at 20 for heavy drinkers.  By 30, a biopsy would show a fatty liver.  By 40, the liver is enlarged.  By 50, an upper GI hemorrhage might be experienced.  By 60, ascites, excessive fluid accumulation in the peritoneal cavity or abdominal cavity might occur.  By 70, jaundice, or a hepatic coma are the conclusion. 

This information is based on a chart, "The Increments of Chronic Disease" from Jeffrey Bland, Ph.D.'s  The 20-Day Rejuvenation Diet Program, pg. 11.  The chart was created to communicate that each "disease" is a progression the individual experiences with symptoms that are detectable, but not to the level that the medical profession calls a disease.  These progressions can be interrupted and reversed if lifestyle changes, including changes in diet, are undertaken before symptoms become severe.