The Human Body-An Insider’s Guide to What Goes On Inside

Well, think about it. You possess a body. So, it might be a good idea to find out a bit more about how the thing works. That is what this is about-giving you some idea about what is going on that you can’t actually see-an insider’s guide to what goes on inside.

When you understand more about how the body works inside you may be able to run yours better, and sort out some confusion about what you should be eating to help the body have more energy and last longer.

The body is pretty busy and there is a lot going on. Let’s start with some facts. 

Did You Know? 

The adult human body has about 372 trillion cells.

Cells are the basic building blocks of all living things. They provide structure for the body, take in nutrients from food, convert those nutrients into energy, and carry out specialized functions. Cells also contain the body’s hereditary material and can make copies of themselves. (U.S. National Library of Medicine)

Cells are little factories that take in food and convert that food to energy to perform cell function, and then release waste products.

222-242 billion new cells are produced every day.

300 million cells die every minute.

Adults take 15-20 breaths per minute equaling 20,000 breaths a day.

Cells need oxygen to function, and they get oxygen from air taken in by the lungs, and then cells release carbon dioxide, and that is carried through the blood back to the lungs to be breathed out. So, lungs have an intake and outtake function for getting oxygen to every cell in the body.

Blood vessels are tubular structures that carry blood. There are three types. Arteries carry blood away from the heart. If you cut an artery the blood will spurt out due to the pumping action of the heart. Veins carry blood back to the heart. Capillaries are the tiniest vessels. They carry oxygen and nutrients to the individual cells and receive the carbon dioxide and cellular waste products away from the cells.

There are 60,000 miles of blood vessels in a child and 100,000 miles in an adult. The circumference of the earth is 25,000 miles. So that means that the blood vessels in the adult body could wrap around the earth 2.5 times.

These vessels carry one million barrels of blood in a lifetime.

The average heart is about the size of a fist. The heart beats approximately 115,000 beats per day and pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood per day.

The heart weighs less than a pound. A man’s heart weighs about 2 oz. more than a woman’s but a woman’s heartbeat is slightly faster.

There are four chambers in the heart, and four valves. The sound of the heartbeat is caused by the valves opening and closing.

The average adult resting heartbeat is 75 beats per minute, the same as a sheep. Baaaaa.

For more comparison, the Blue Whales heart is the size of a compact car and only beats five times per minute. A shrew’s heart beats 1,000 times per minute. (Shrews, as one of the smallest mammals, may only be 4 inches long and weigh under a pound. They have grey fur and eat insects.)

The heart has its own electrical system and can beat disconnected from a body.

Blood passes through the lungs and gathers oxygen. That oxygen-rich blood then goes to the heart to get pumped out to the body through the larger veins called arteries. Veins carry blood with carbon dioxide from cell waste back to the lungs for elimination.

The largest artery called the aorta is larger in diameter than a garden hose. The smallest vessels are called capillaries and the tiniest of those are 10 times smaller than human hair. Their function is to carry the oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body from the head to the toes.

Blood takes about 20 seconds to circulate around the entire body.

One drop of blood contains over 5 million red blood cells. Blood cells have a red hue because of a mix of iron-rich hemoglobin with oxygen.

More to come in the next installment!

Easy Detoxification Without Pills!

If you hate taking supplements, there is a new detoxification/purificationh program designed for you! And it was developed by Standard Process, the leader in whole food concnentrated nutrition especially designed for optimum human health

If you read my blogs, you know that I write frequently about the need to detoxify the organs like kidney, liver, and colon. Honestly, with so many environmental toxins and chemicals I think it it almost impossible to get or stay healthy without supporting and enhancing the natural detoxification pathways in the body.

The body is actually much too complex for our modern lifestyles. For example, in order to fully neutralize harmful chemicals like pesticides and chlorine and solvents, the liver uses a first and second phase cycle. The toxins are not broken down to a safe level for elimination until toxins and chemicals have passed through both phases. But the second phase requires sulfur compounds and we modern humans have deficient diets and different degrees of genetic ability to operate a good Phase II detoxification. When toxins and metals are not broken down they can cause cellular damage.

Add to that the obesity problem, which can mean that the organs themselves have fat deposits in them. The abdomen may have a layer of fat on the outside of the muscles and organs, and that fat may be communicating with the brain through the hormonal system. That is bad enough. But if the fat invades the liver, for example, it will impair normal liver function since the liver was not designed as a fat repository. How does the fat get there? The culprits include high fructose corn syrup (currently added to almost all processed foods) and refined sugars. Fatty liver used to occur only in alcoholics, but not anymore.

Detoxification can be a first step towards handling cravings, losing weight, resetting metabolism, addressing sleep issues, reducing asthma and allergies, banishing foggy thinking, improving energy, clearing skin issues, balancing hormones, addressing Diabetes and low blood sugar, and arresting declining health.

With the new Standard Process 28-day Purification and Detoxification program you eat healthy meals and drink 1-3 shakes per day. No added supplements. The shake powder is designed to help you detox easily and painlessly by supporting the pathways for eliminating toxins.

The program guide has meal plans, recipes and more. Click here to learn about it. https://www.standardprocess.com/Products/Literature/SP-Detox-Balance-Program-Guide

Let me know that you want to try this program and get free shipping on the 28-day kit. If you cannot commit to 28 days, there is a 10-day program so that you can fit it into your schedule and get some benefits without the month-long commitment.

And, if you want more help with weight loss, stay tuned for another program that gives you five days of “foods” that mimic fasting, so you can eat and fast at the same time. You can alternate the five-day program with the Standard Process Purification program and reach your target weight healthier than ever, ending junk food cravings and building lean muscle.

This could be your year to tip the scales in your favor for a change, and be the slim healthy person who is peeking out from behind those extra pounds.

Are You Suffering From Inflammation?

Inflammation can be a defensive response in the body. When bacteria or viruses attack cells, the immune system goes into action, sending Killer T-cells and other white cells that are part of the Lymph system to activate an attack on the invaders. This may cause discomfort, such as when a sudden flu virus makes you feel weak and feverish. The name for this immune response is "cytokine storm" because of the fury of the response.

However, other factors may also cause a cytokine storm, such as autoimmune attacks, when the immune system turns on healthy tissue, causing destruction or inhibiting healing. Hashimoto's Thyroid disease is an example. Any time the immune system under- or over-responds, the health of the organ, gland, or system involved is compromised. The ideal immune system calmly and systematically recognizes all threats to the cells of the body and handles them accordingly. A fever may be an appropriate response to an immune threat, for example.

But an immune system that is over-responsive can cause many uncomfortable symptoms, such as mucus, runny nose, coughing, pain, skin eruptions, bloating, water retention, fatigue, and weakness. The immune system that is on high alert may not respond correctly to a more serious threat and any auto-immune response causes functional impairment a break down of the organ or gland. Some researchers consider many disease states to be an auto-immune response.

Flu shots and vaccinations further tax the immune system, causing a red-alert response that may weaken it in the long-run. Environmental toxins cause cellular damage that may trigger auto-immune destruction as the immune system gets confused by the dying cells and begins to attack healthy tissue.

Medical drugs pump up, by-pass, or suppress the body's immune system. They do not support healthy, intelligent immune response. Look to natural and herbal medicines to modulate, support, and aid the immune system to sort out healthy cells from invaders.

And now there is another way to help calm down inflammation, working through the blood and circulatory system. When inflammation occurs it is like a traffic accident with too many emergency vehicles on the scene. Traffic congestion occurs. With chronic inflammation, it is like the emergency vehicles getting stuck, so normal traffic (circulation of blood and lymph) does not resume. Getting red blood cells that carry oxygen and nutrients to the affected cells is vital for the survival of the cells. And the maximum survival of any type of cell determines the health of the gland or organ.

A medical device that is FDA cleared for pain, inflammation, and arthritis has been developed to get the blood flowing into areas of congestion and inflammation, bringing symptomatic relief as the cells are revitalized. The device is called the Avacen and nothing will help inflammation more. The Avacen is a treatment, not a cure, but can make some dramatic changes. I have seen pain reduction, significant improvement in stress and sleep, hair re-growth, reduced sinus congestion, skin healing from acne and eczema, and great improvement in spider veins and circulation. The Avacen will increase microcirculation in those with desk jobs and sedentary lifestyles, which affect so many of us. Check out the video here 

https://avacen.idevaffiliate.com/15450.html

Emaill me at anne@annedunev.com to learn more about the Avacen, and how to try a treatment for yourself. The Avacen device is available for home use, as well. 

Getting nutrition and oxygen to the cells is the key to robust health, and the key to keeping the body young and fit. Living forever is not possible, but living longer and stronger certainly is. The Avacen can be an effective tool in the crusade to stay ahead of the health game.

Where Does the Fat Go When You Lose Weight?

Since we talk about fat “melting away” you might think it just turns to liquid. But the truth is that fat is broken down into carbon dioxide and water. Lose twenty-five pounds and 18 of those pounds will leave the body as carbon dioxide, through the lungs. You didn’t know that your lungs were such an important part of any weight loss program! https://www.livescience.com/49157-how-fat-is-lost-body.html

So, you might say that you need to breathe to lose weight. Of course, you need to breathe to live, so it works out. And working out, or at least moving around a lot, is one of the best ways to lose weight faster, and to stay in shape in general.

This may explain why people with Sleep Apnea, which means they stop breathing a few times during the night, tend to be over-weight. And it explains why aerobics and stretching exercises that emphasizes breathing, such as Yoga, are effective.

Can adding more oxygen help? There is some evidence of that, but you can’t just suck oxygen through a breathing tube and work off a Big Mac or donuts. The body has evolved over thousands of years and its habits are deeply ingrained. Eating real food, doing a moderate to strong exercise program, and getting plenty of deep, refreshing sleep, is still the most effective way to be at your best weight. https://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/fitness/weight-loss/does-oxygen-therapy-help-with-weight-loss.html

How else can you use this information? One way is to make sure that you are breathing well at night and sleeping deeply. I have found that many people have sinus congestion, and some don’t realize it because they are so used to being slightly congested. Taking some homeopathic or herbal remedies to clear the congestion can help. Digestion is also an important component of good sleep. Food or environmental allergies may be affecting you more than you realized. Digestive enzymes, pro and pre-biotics can assist. Detoxification programs are generally very helpful for sleep. Don’t eat for a few hours before bed, and eat lightly at night. If you tend to get hungry before bed, eat some fat and protein in the evening to keep blood sugar level during the night. You should start to get hungry in the morning. If you don’t you may be eating too much at night.

Ask me about trying the Avacen microciruculation device in my office. FDA cleared for inflammation, it can clear the sinuses and get blood into the muscles that may have difficulty relaxing. The result for many is deeper sleep. One friend was getting up six times a night, every night. Doctors could find nothing wrong. His first two nights of using the Avacen he was able to sleep through the night for the first time in years. Another friendswoke up without lower back pain, and was able to get up and touch her toes in the morning, something she had not done in years.

Breathing properly might help. A physical therapist at our office taught me how to breathe more deeply, into the lower part of my lungs. It takes practice to undo old habits and I am trying to remember to breathe so that my belly expands with each breath. I have not noticed any weight loss, but I do feel that body relax more when I am breathing properly.

Breathing and exercise is all part of weight loss. But the best plan is to develop the lifestyle so that you don’t gain weight in the first place, and you have a default method for losing fast when you do, so the pounds don’t pile in. It is really too simple-eat like a healthy thin person. And that means eating less non-food and eating mostly real live food in moderate amounts. For most Americans there is simply too much non-food around us constantly. Spring is a great time to break old habits and turn over a new leaf on lifestyle, just when the trees are in bud.

Maybe it won’t be so hard to lose weight knowing that fat is just hot air and water, and not nearly as solid as it seems!