Your body is pretty incredible. It coordinates hundreds, if not thousands of specific functions to keep you walking, talking, hearing, digesting, breathing, and more every day. And it does all this without you having to think about it. Here are just a few examples of why you should appreciate the amazing machine that is your body.
1. Your stomach can melt steel.
Well, not exactly. But your stomach acids are so strong that they can dissolve everything you eat, as well as things you really shouldn’t, like metal. Your stomach acids are so potent that your body naturally defends itself against it: your stomach lining renews itself every few days – if it didn’t it would dissolve; and when you vomit you salivate more to protect your throat, mouth, and teeth from the corrosive acid from your stomach.
Keep your stomach healthy and working properly by eating a balanced diet and drinking lots of water.
2. Your lungs are the size of a tennis court.
Your lungs consist of lots of tiny folds and creases which all stretched out would equal the surface area of a tennis court. To absorb as much oxygen as possible, your lungs branch out much like a tree to form tiny alveoli, which fill with air every time you breathe in, and deliver this air to your body’s cells.
Love your lungs! Quit smoking and keep your lungs in good working order.
3. Your ears are like tiny MP3 players.
Your ears are incredible organs of data interpretation. With the use of the three tiniest bones in your body and the tiniest muscle, it effectively translates sound waves into intelligible noises your brain can understand and interpret. But because of the sensitivity of your ears, they are easily affected by the smallest things – for instance, your hearing is slightly impaired after eating a big meal.
Be gentle with your ears by keeping them protected from loud noises.
4. Sleep really is the best medicine.
Humans can survive without food for longer than they can survive without sleep. Sleep is so important that the longest recorded amount of time that anyone has gone without sleep is 11 days – of course, being awake and being functional are completely different things as the 17-year-old who set this record was hallucinating and barely able to complete a sentence. The average human can live without food (with water) for about a month or longer.
Don’t deprive your body or mind of sleep. Make sure you get at least seven hours a night.
5. You have two brains.
Your digestive system is intelligent. So much so that it even has its own brain known as the enteric nervous system. Although it is incapable of intelligent thought, it produces a physical feeling of nervousness, causes you to lose your appetite when you are sad or anxious, and is why certain foods make you happier.
Be happy – eat these healthy foods.
Salmon
The health conscious have long relied on salmon as a source of heart-healthy fats, lean protein, and taste-bud tickling deliciousness. In addition to these undeniable advantages, the healthy fats (omega 3s) in salmon may also help to protect the brain from depression, and can even help to reduce anxiety. Walnuts are also a good source of omega 3s.
Chicken
Lean chicken contains vitamin B12, useful for relaxing the muscles, which can reduce physical, and therefore, mental stress.
Spinach
Free radicals can damage your neurons and consequently, your mood. Spinach contains antioxidants which help to protect the cells from damage from free radicals, but it also contains a B vitamin called folic acid which boosts your mood. They also contain L-tryptophan which is an amino acid that is a building block for serotonin, the ‘happy hormone’.
Avocado
Avocados contain L-tryptophan, and so can boost your serotonin levels, reducing the effects of stress. In fact, avocados are recommended as part of dietary management programmes of depression and chronic stress management plans.
Since tryptophan is an essential building block of protein which the body cannot produce itself, it is important to get enough of it in your diet.
Almonds
Almonds contain tyrosine, which is important for dopamine production in your brain. This makes almonds not only heart-healthy, but mood-improving as well. Sunflower seeds and tofu are also good sources of tyrosine.
Chicken and salmon (mentioned above) are also great sources.
Tyrosine has also been used by researchers in the treatment and prevention of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Apples
Apples contain a compound which helps to protect the neurons from damage from free radicals, protecting your mood in the long term. Berries, like blueberries, also contain nutrients which may help reduce stress and anxiety.
Chocolate
Chocolate contains free radical fighting antioxidants, but it has also been shown to stave off anxiety. Milk chocolate was shown to be helpful for people who suffer from anxiety; and dark chocolate was shown to be helpful for people with no history of anxiety.
Tea
Especially green tea, also contains anti-oxidants which may help to protect your mood.
Dairy
The probiotics in yoghurt and other compounds in milk and cheese have been shown to reduce stress and increase feelings of wellbeing. This may be why a glass of milk before bed is recommended for a restful night’s sleep.
There are many combinations of these foods that you can eat on a daily basis to keep the winter chill out – try grilled salmon with a spinach salad, with a glass of milk and follow it up with a dessert smoothie made with bananas, apples, yoghurt, chocolate, and almonds.
6. Your body has built-in anti-virus.
Your immune system is constantly working to recognise and wipe out threats because almost everything is covered in germs. Your nose hair and mucous are designed to prevent germs in the air from making you sick, but it also allows tiny amounts down the back of your throat so that your immune system can be exposed to a small amount of the germ. Your immune system can then more effectively fight it if it’s exposed to the same germ again – very much like a vaccine.
Keep your immune system healthy and functioning properly by managing the stress in your life, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly.
7. Your brain stores more information than any encyclopaedia.
Your brain has vast digital storage capacity. It is able to store more information than the National Archives of Britain. In fact, one brain cell can store more information than an entire encyclopaedia. There is so much storage capacity in the human brain that scientists haven’t been able to determine exactly what the storage capacity is, but the estimates are anything between 3 and 1000 terabytes. That’s well over 40 000 Blu-ray disks.
Your brain has so much potential – keep it healthy by keeping the number of drinks you have to a safe number.
The best part of the story is that this is only a tiny snippet - your body is an incredible machine and there are many, many more amazing ways that your body works every day to keep you up and running at full pace.
Disclaimer: This article is reproduced from another source. I am not advocating consumption of any of the food items prescribed here.
1. Your stomach can melt steel.
Well, not exactly. But your stomach acids are so strong that they can dissolve everything you eat, as well as things you really shouldn’t, like metal. Your stomach acids are so potent that your body naturally defends itself against it: your stomach lining renews itself every few days – if it didn’t it would dissolve; and when you vomit you salivate more to protect your throat, mouth, and teeth from the corrosive acid from your stomach.
Keep your stomach healthy and working properly by eating a balanced diet and drinking lots of water.
2. Your lungs are the size of a tennis court.
Your lungs consist of lots of tiny folds and creases which all stretched out would equal the surface area of a tennis court. To absorb as much oxygen as possible, your lungs branch out much like a tree to form tiny alveoli, which fill with air every time you breathe in, and deliver this air to your body’s cells.
Love your lungs! Quit smoking and keep your lungs in good working order.
3. Your ears are like tiny MP3 players.
Your ears are incredible organs of data interpretation. With the use of the three tiniest bones in your body and the tiniest muscle, it effectively translates sound waves into intelligible noises your brain can understand and interpret. But because of the sensitivity of your ears, they are easily affected by the smallest things – for instance, your hearing is slightly impaired after eating a big meal.
Be gentle with your ears by keeping them protected from loud noises.
4. Sleep really is the best medicine.
Humans can survive without food for longer than they can survive without sleep. Sleep is so important that the longest recorded amount of time that anyone has gone without sleep is 11 days – of course, being awake and being functional are completely different things as the 17-year-old who set this record was hallucinating and barely able to complete a sentence. The average human can live without food (with water) for about a month or longer.
Don’t deprive your body or mind of sleep. Make sure you get at least seven hours a night.
5. You have two brains.
Your digestive system is intelligent. So much so that it even has its own brain known as the enteric nervous system. Although it is incapable of intelligent thought, it produces a physical feeling of nervousness, causes you to lose your appetite when you are sad or anxious, and is why certain foods make you happier.
Be happy – eat these healthy foods.
Salmon
The health conscious have long relied on salmon as a source of heart-healthy fats, lean protein, and taste-bud tickling deliciousness. In addition to these undeniable advantages, the healthy fats (omega 3s) in salmon may also help to protect the brain from depression, and can even help to reduce anxiety. Walnuts are also a good source of omega 3s.
Chicken
Lean chicken contains vitamin B12, useful for relaxing the muscles, which can reduce physical, and therefore, mental stress.
Spinach
Free radicals can damage your neurons and consequently, your mood. Spinach contains antioxidants which help to protect the cells from damage from free radicals, but it also contains a B vitamin called folic acid which boosts your mood. They also contain L-tryptophan which is an amino acid that is a building block for serotonin, the ‘happy hormone’.
Avocado
Avocados contain L-tryptophan, and so can boost your serotonin levels, reducing the effects of stress. In fact, avocados are recommended as part of dietary management programmes of depression and chronic stress management plans.
Since tryptophan is an essential building block of protein which the body cannot produce itself, it is important to get enough of it in your diet.
Almonds
Almonds contain tyrosine, which is important for dopamine production in your brain. This makes almonds not only heart-healthy, but mood-improving as well. Sunflower seeds and tofu are also good sources of tyrosine.
Chicken and salmon (mentioned above) are also great sources.
Tyrosine has also been used by researchers in the treatment and prevention of neurological diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Apples
Apples contain a compound which helps to protect the neurons from damage from free radicals, protecting your mood in the long term. Berries, like blueberries, also contain nutrients which may help reduce stress and anxiety.
Chocolate
Chocolate contains free radical fighting antioxidants, but it has also been shown to stave off anxiety. Milk chocolate was shown to be helpful for people who suffer from anxiety; and dark chocolate was shown to be helpful for people with no history of anxiety.
Tea
Especially green tea, also contains anti-oxidants which may help to protect your mood.
Dairy
The probiotics in yoghurt and other compounds in milk and cheese have been shown to reduce stress and increase feelings of wellbeing. This may be why a glass of milk before bed is recommended for a restful night’s sleep.
There are many combinations of these foods that you can eat on a daily basis to keep the winter chill out – try grilled salmon with a spinach salad, with a glass of milk and follow it up with a dessert smoothie made with bananas, apples, yoghurt, chocolate, and almonds.
6. Your body has built-in anti-virus.
Your immune system is constantly working to recognise and wipe out threats because almost everything is covered in germs. Your nose hair and mucous are designed to prevent germs in the air from making you sick, but it also allows tiny amounts down the back of your throat so that your immune system can be exposed to a small amount of the germ. Your immune system can then more effectively fight it if it’s exposed to the same germ again – very much like a vaccine.
Keep your immune system healthy and functioning properly by managing the stress in your life, eating a healthy diet, and exercising regularly.
7. Your brain stores more information than any encyclopaedia.
Your brain has vast digital storage capacity. It is able to store more information than the National Archives of Britain. In fact, one brain cell can store more information than an entire encyclopaedia. There is so much storage capacity in the human brain that scientists haven’t been able to determine exactly what the storage capacity is, but the estimates are anything between 3 and 1000 terabytes. That’s well over 40 000 Blu-ray disks.
Your brain has so much potential – keep it healthy by keeping the number of drinks you have to a safe number.
The best part of the story is that this is only a tiny snippet - your body is an incredible machine and there are many, many more amazing ways that your body works every day to keep you up and running at full pace.
Disclaimer: This article is reproduced from another source. I am not advocating consumption of any of the food items prescribed here.
