Some things are harder to digest

Digestion, whether in the mind or the body, runs a similar route. The tough stuff (greasy food) is harder to digest; more analysis is needed and often times gives you a stomach ache.

The Digestive Process:

• Digestion of food into the mouth
• Movement of food along the digestive tract
• Mechanical preparation of food for digestion
• Chemical digestion of food
• Absorption of digested food into the circulatory and lymphatic systems
• Elimination of indigestible substances and waste products from the body by defecation

Mechanical Digestion - The process of chewing, swallowing and propelling food through the gastrointestinal tract...
Gastrointestinal Tract - A long hollow tube from mouth to anus where digestion and absorption occur.
Chemical Digestion - A form of digestion that involves the addition of enzymes that break down nutrients.

After food has been chewed up, swallowed and has become chyme (semi-liquid mass of partially digested food) in the stomach, it travels to the small intestine. This is the primary site for digestion and absorption of food, including the energy-providing nutrients (protein, carbohydrate and fat), vitamins, minerals and water. Once the chyme reaches the large intestine most of the digestion and absorption is complete. Here the final absorption of water and salt occurs. The resulting semisolid waste is then passed out of the body.

5 foods for a Healthy Digestive Tract:

1. Red beets and beet greens
2. Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes
3. Avocados
4. Oats

10 foods to steer clear from:

1. Fried foods
2. Spicy food
3. Chocolate
4. Citrus juices
5. Mashed potatoes
6. Raw onions
7. Ice Cream
8. Raw broccoli and cabbage
9. Beans
10. Sugar-free gums, candy, etc ( >10 grams of Sorbital)

Just Breathe!

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

MAIN PURPOSE: Replace oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the blood. This gas exchange occurs in the lungs within microscopic air sacs called alveoli.

WE ALL HAVE MAJOR AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL:

1. Air enters either your nose or mouth.

2. The air is warmed and travels through the pharynx.

3. Down the larynx ("Adam's apple)

4. Through the trachea (windpipe)

5. To the right and left primary bronchi

6. To the secondary bronchi, one for each lobe of the lung

7. To the tertiary bronchi

8. Into tiny bronchioles

9. Air continues to branch into terminal bronchioles and then even smaller respiratory bronchioles

10. Travel ends in clusters of alveoli (thin-walled air sacs) 

The lungs contain approximately 300 million alveoli, which provide an enormous surface area for gas exchange. It is estimated that the total surface area available for diffusion in the human lungs is about the size of a tennis court!

HOW CAN YOU KEEP YOUR LUNGS HEALTHY? 

Exercise regularly! By working your respiratory muscles you will increase your oxidative capacity and improve your respiratory endurance. The more your lungs get used to working out the more they will adapt and strengthen, making working out easier and you will experience less shortness of breath! 

So, get off the couch and get moving to work those lungs!

At the Heart of it All

It's not a coincidence when people say  "at the heart of it all" when talking about the most important thing, the hub, the basis for everything else. Without a healthy heart, your rock hard abs or tight calves are pretty worthless. That is why I'm starting with the heart. Once I've covered the basic human anatomy I'll start working through the muscles, bones, basic nutrition and health.

In a healthy human being, with a working cardiovascular system, blood flows through the heart as follows:
1. Blood enters through the Inferior and Superior Vena Cava
2. Enters the Right Atrium
3. Enters the Right Ventricle
4. Travels through the Pulmonary Arteries to the Lungs (picks up oxygen and drops off carbon dioxide)
5. Oxygenated blood returns through the Pulmonary Veins
6. Enters the Left Atrium
7. Enters the Left Ventricle
8. Pumped to the Aorta
9. Blood is then dispersed to the rest of the body

• Along with the respiratory system, the heart and blood vessels deliver oxygen and nutrients to the body's tissues while also removing waste, such as carbon dioxide and metabolic by-products.

Why should you care?
Heart Disease is a leading cause of death. While you can't change your family history, your sex or your age, you can live a healthy lifestyle to help the heart you've got!

Mumford and Sons say: 

In these bodies we will live.

In these bodies we will die.

And where you invest your love,

 You invest your life.

What can you do to maintain or gain a healthy heart?

1. Don't smoke or use tobacco

The nicotine in cigarette smoke makes your heart work harder by narrowing your blood vessels and increasing your heart rate and blood pressure. Carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke replaces some of the oxygen in your blood. This increases your blood pressure by forcing your heart to work harder to supply enough oxygen. Even so-called "social smoking" — smoking only while at a bar or restaurant with friends — is dangerous and increases the risk of heart disease.

2. Exercise 30 minutes a day

BIGGER IS BETTER in regard to your blood vessels!

As you exercise, the blood vessels in your muscles dilate and the blood flow is greater, just as more water flows through a fire hose than through a garden hose. Your body has an interesting way of making those vessels expand. As ATP gets used up in working muscle, the muscle produces several metabolic byproducts (such as adenosine, hydrogen ions and carbon dioxide). These byproducts leave the muscle cells and cause the capillaries (small, thin-walled blood vessels) within the muscle to expand or dilate (vasodilation). The increased blood flow delivers more oxygenated blood to the working muscle.

3. Eat a healthy diet
EAT: Omega-3 fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fat. It may decrease your risk of  a heart attack! (salmon and mackerel)
AVOID: Saturated and Trans Fat. Also anything with "partially hydrogenated" on the label. (deep fried fast foods, packaged snack foods, bakery products, margarines)

4. Maintain a healthy weight
Even a small weight loss can be beneficial. Reducing your weight by just 10 percent can decrease your blood pressure, lower your blood cholesterol level and reduce your risk of diabetes.


5. Go to your doctor 
See them for regular check-ups: blood pressure, cholesterol levels and diabetes screening.


References:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/heart-disease-prevention/WO00041/NSECTIONGROUP=2
http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/exercise/sports-physiology8.htm
ACE. 2010. Essentials of Exercise Science. San Diego, CA.