The Brain

Complex and poorly understood, the brain is what makes everything work properly. The body may be kept alive, but without the brain, a person can’t truly live. Here are some interesting and weird facts about the brain.

1. 
2. The brain doesn’t feel pain: Even though the brain processes pain signals, the brain itself does not actually feel pain.
3. Your brain has huge oxygen needs: Your brain requires 20 percent of the oxygen and calories your body needs — even though your brain only makes up two percent of your total body weight.
4. 80% of the brain is water: Instead of being relatively solid, your brain 80% water. This means that it is important that you remain properly hydrated for the sake of your mind.
5. Your brain comes out to play at night: You’d think that your brain is more active during the day, when the rest of your body is. But it’s not. Your brain is more active when you sleep.
6. Your brain operates on 10 watts of power: It’s true: The amazing computational power of your brain only requires about 10 watts of power to operate.
7. A higher I.Q. equals more dreams: The smarter you are, the more you dream. A high I.Q. can also fight mental illness. Some people even believe they are smarter in their dreams than when they are awake.
8. The brain changes shapes during puberty: Your teenage years do more than just change how you feel; the very structure of your brain changes during the teen years, and it even affects impulsive, risky behavior.
9. Your brain can store everything: Technically, your brain has the capacity to store everything you experience, see, read or hear. However, the real issue is recall — whether you can access that information.
10. Information in your brain travels at different speeds: The neurons in your brain are built differently, and information travels along them at different speeds. This is why sometimes you can recall information instantly, and sometimes it takes a little longer.

Your Senses

You might be surprised at the amazing things your various senses can accomplish.

1. 
2. Your smell is unique: Your body odor is unique to you — unless you have an identical twin. Even babies recognize the individual scents of their mothers.
3. Humans use echolocation: Humans can use sound to sense objects in their area using echolocation. It is thought that those who are blind develop this ability to heightened effectiveness.
4. Adrenaline gives you super strength: Yes, with the proper response in certain situations, you really can lift a car.
5. Women smell better than men: Women are better than men at identifying smells.
6. Your nose remembers 50,000 scents: It is possible for your nose to identify and remember more than 50,000 smells.
7. Your hearing decreases when you overeat: When you eat too much food, it actually reduces your ability to hear. So consider eating healthy — and only until you are full.
8. Your sense of time is in your head: How you experience time is all about your perception. Some speculate that stress can help you experience time dilation. Apparently, time manipulation isn’t just for superheroes.

Reproduction

How we as a species reproduce offers all sorts of interesting weird facts. Here are some of the weirder things you might not know.

1. 
2. Your teeth are growing before birth: Even though it takes months after you are born to see teeth, they start growing about six months before you are born.
3. Babies are stronger than oxen: On a pound for pound basis, that is. For their size, babies are quite powerful and strong.
4. Babies always have blue eyes when they are born: Melanin and exposure to ultraviolet light are needed to bring out the true color of babies’ eyes. Until then they all have blue eyes.
5. Women might be intrinsically bi: There are sex studies that indicate that women might bisexual intrinsically, no matter how they class themselves, while men are usually either gay or straight.
6. Most men have regular erections while asleep: Every hour to hour and a half, sleeping men have erections — though they may not be aware of it.
7. Sex can be a pain reliever: Even though the “headache” excuse is often used to avoid sex, the truth is that intercourse can provide pain relief. Sex can also help you reduce stress.
8. Chocolate is better than sex: In some studies, women claim they would rather have chocolate than sex. But does it really cause orgasm? Probably not on its own.

Body Functions

The things our bodies do are often strange and sometimes gross. Here are some weird facts about the way your body functions.

1. 
2. Earwax is necessary: If you want healthy ears, you need some earwax in there.
3. Your feet can produce a pint of sweat a day: There are 500,000 (250,000 for each) sweat glands in your feet, and that can mean a great deal of stinky sweat.
4. Throughout your life, the amount of saliva you have could fill two swimming pools: Since saliva is a vital part of digestion, it is little surprise that your mouth makes so much of it.
5. A full bladder is about the size of a soft ball: When your bladder is full, holding up to 800 cc of fluid, it is large enough to be noticeable.
6. You probably pass gas 14 times a day: On average, you will expel flatulence several times as part of digestion.
7. A sneeze can exceed 100 mph: When a sneeze leaves your body, it does so at high speeds — so you should avoid suppressing it and causing damage to your body.
8. Coughs leave at 60 mph: A cough is much less dangerous, leaving the body at 60 mph. That’s still highway speed, though.

Musculoskeletal System

Find out what you didn’t know about your muscles and bones.

1. 
2. Bones can self-destruct: It is possible for your bones to destruct without enough calcium intake.
3. You are taller in the morning: Throughout the day, the cartilage between your bones is compressed, making you about 1 cm shorter by day’s end.
4. 1/4 of your bones are in your feet: There are 26 bones in each foot, meaning that the 52 bones in account for 25 percent of your body’s 206 bones.
5. It takes more muscles to frown than to smile: Scientists can’t agree on the exact number, but more muscles are required to frown than to smile.
6. When you take a step, you are using up to 200 muscles: Walking uses a great deal of muscle power — especially if you take your 10,000 steps.
7. Your tongue is the strongest muscle in your body: Compared to its size, the tongue is the strongest muscle. But I doubt you’ll be lifting weights with it.
8. Bone can be stronger than steel: Once again, this is a pound for pound comparison, since steel is denser and has a higher tensile strength.

Unnecessary Body Parts

We have a number of body parts that are, well, useless. Here are some facts about the body parts we don’t actually need.

1. 
2. Coccyx: This collection of fused vertebrae have no purpose these days, although scientists believe it’s what’s left of the mammal tail humans used to have. It may be useless, but when you break your coccyx, it’s still painful.
3. Pinkie toe: There is speculation that since we no longer have to run for our dinner, and we wear sneakers, the pinkie toe’s evolutionary purpose is disappearing — and maybe the pinkie itself will go the way of the dodo.
4. Wisdom teeth: This third set of molars is largely useless, doing little beyond crowding the mouth and sometimes causing pain.
5. Vomeronasal organ: There are tiny (and useless) chemoreceptors lining the inside of the nose.
6. Most body hair: While facial hair serves some purposes, the hair found on the rest of body is practically useless and can be removed with few ill effects.
7. Female vas deferens: A cluster of dead end tubules near the ovaries are the remains of what could have turned into sperm ducts.
8. Male Uterus: Yeah, men have one too — sort of. The remains of this undeveloped female reproductive organ hangs on one side of the male prostate gland
9. Appendix: Yep, your appendix is basically useless. While it does produce some white blood cells, most people are fine with an appendectomy.

Random Weird Body Facts

Here are a few final weird facts about the human body.

1. 
2. Your head creates inner noises: It’s rare, but exploding head syndrome exists.
3. Memory is affected by body position: Where you are and how you are placed in your environment triggers memory.
4. You can’t tickle yourself: Go ahead. Try to tickle yourself.
5. Being right-handed can prolong your life: If you’re right-handed, you could live up to nine years longer than a lefty.
6. Only humans shed emotional tears: Every other animal that produces tears has a physiological reason for doing so.

source

I think one of the main reasons it’s so hard to quit smoking is because all the benefits of quitting and all the dangers of continuing seem very far away. Well, here’s a little timeline about some of the more immediate effects of quitting smoking and how that will affect your body RIGHT NOW.

* In 20 minutes your blood pressure will drop back down to normal.
* In 8 hours the carbon monoxide (a toxic gas) levels in your blood stream will drop by half, and oxygen levels will return to normal.
* In 48 hours your chance of having a heart attack will have decreased. All nicotine will have left your body. Your sense of taste and smell will return to a normal level.
* In 72 hours your bronchial tubes will relax, and your energy levels will increase.
* In 2 weeks your circulation will increase, and it will continue to improve for the next 10 weeks.
* In three to nine months coughs, wheezing and breathing problems will dissipate as your lung capacity improves by 10%.
* In 1 year your risk of having a heart attack will have dropped by half.
* In 5 years your risk of having a stroke returns to that of a non-smoker.
* In 10 years your risk of lung cancer will have returned to that of a non-smoker.
* In 15 years your risk of heart attack will have returned to that of a non-smoker.

So, you have more immediate things to look forward to if you quit now besides just freaking out about not being able to smoke. Quit now!

source

When I changed from manual labor to a desk job, two things had to change:  my fondness for obscenities and my eating habits.  At sea, one can eat 20,000 calories per day and lose weight as they do it.  But when I brought my unhealthy diet to shore with me, I went from 170 lbs to 220 lbs within six months.  It was obviously time to do something about my diet.  After some research and advice from some good friends, I discovered these foods.  They might not be as yummy as Twinkies, but then again, neither are love handles.

1. Almonds (no salt):

Almonds contain protein, calcium, vitamin E, and monounsaturated fat.  Monounsaturated fat is a “good fat” that your body needs and can help regulate your cholesterol.  Another benefit of Almonds is they are an appetite suppressant that will keep you from overindulging on all of the other junk in your cabinets.  Replace potato chips and Doritos with Almonds and you can put a big positive where there was once a negative.

2.  Coffee (black)

I used to dump three packets of sugar and milk into my coffee.  When I worked on the boat, I had only seconds to get dressed and get out on deck before my watch started.  So I learned to drink my coffee black so I could shave a few seconds off of my morning routine.  As a side effect, I made it just a little healthier.  Black coffee is negative calories.  It takes more energy for your body to process coffee than the drink contains.  Also, the caffeine boosts your metabolism.  Everything in moderation and make sure you drink enough water.

3.  Cranberries

Cranberries are a fruit that is low in sugar (good news diabetics) and is ripe with antioxidants.  These scavenge up the free radicals in your blood, which in a nutshell means they keep the bad stuff from piling up in your fat tissue.  You can get them either as a berry, a juice, or cranberry extract pills.  As a side note, they help to maintain urinary tract health, especially for women.

4.  Olive Oil

Huh?  An oil that’s good for you?  Yes.  Olive oil is loaded with monounsaturated fats.  When used instead of Canola Oil or Vegetable Oil you can save yourself a good deal of bad fats and save yourself an hour on the treadmill.  I personally think Olive Oil is a much better taste as well.  Perhaps I spent too much time at sea and watch too much Popeye.  Which brings me to my next food.

5.  Spinach

Spinach will help you burn fat by boosting your metabolism.  It will also help lower your cholesterol and is an excellent source of Iron and Vitamin C.  Spinach also contains insoluble fiber which gives you a full feeling and will help to clean out the intestines improving their function and also shedding some weight at the same time.

6.  Skim Milk

Talk about an easy way to eliminate some fat from your diet.  Why not trade in that whole milk for skim milk?  I was raised on skim milk and now I can’t stand the taste of regular.  It has calcium and protein which will aid in fat burning.  The real benefit here comes from eliminating the calories you would otherwise take in from regular milk.

7.  Apples

High in fiber and for some reason which I can’t understand, apples make you feel full.  Keep some apples in your house to replace some fatty snacks that you would eat by the box before you feel full.

8. Carrots

One of my favorite vegetables (in the raw form only) Carrots are a fat burner that contain fiber, beta-carotene, and vitamins C, B1, and B2.  I never could get used to cooked carrots, but then again, the raw ones are better for you anyway.  Keep a bag of Baby Carrots in your fridge for both meals and snacks.

9.  Cayenne Pepper

That burning feeling isn’t just coming from your stomach.  Cayenne Pepper boosts your bodies thermogenic processes.  It simply makes you hotter.   That heat is coming from your energy stores i.e. your fat.  If you have no taste for spicy food, then try Cayenne pills.  This will eliminate the taste while you keep the benefit.  Timing is everything of course.  I once took three Cayenne Pepper pills before jogging three miles. To say my entire body felt like the surface of the sun would be an understatement.

None of these are a replacement for exercise.  As usual, a consistent but modest exercise routine is key.  But these foods will all help you to look better and have more energy to enjoy life.  Since I began to workout and watch what I eat, I find myself back down to a sensible 195 lbs.  I could still stand to lose a few, but I feel much better about myself and I have the energy to get out of bed in the morning.

source

Your legs have tan lines from your stomach blocking the sun

Inanimate objects know what you’re thinking

Your neck is wider than your head

6 girls should, but only 5 girls fit in the picture

Your boobs impair your vision on the road

You look like the Michelin Man

No one can tell if you’re a man or a woman

Your penis is sandwiched between your nuts and stomach

You need help putting on your pants

You weigh more than your motorcycle

Even your unitard has stretch marks

Your stomach hangs out from under your dress

In all that cases… you can find solution on our blog… Pick some diet and start loosing your weight!

It is amazing what the medical profession will write. These are actual statements taken from medical interview records written by various paramedics, emergency room receptionists, and (we are afraid) a consultant or two at major hospitals. Here comes some funny doctor quotes:

* The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
* The baby was delivered, the cord clamped and cut and handed to the paediatrician, who breathed and cried immediately.
* The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of gas and crashed.
* I saw your patient today, who is still under our car for physical therapy.
* The patient lives at home with his mother, father, and pet turtle, who is presently enrolled in day care three times a week.
* Exam of genitalia was completely negative except for the right foot.
* While in the emergency room, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
* The skin was moist and dry.
* The lab test indicated abnormal lover function.
* Coming from Detroit, this man has no children.
* Patient was alert and unresponsive.
* When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
* Rectal exam revealed a normal size thyroid
* By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped, and he was feeling better.
* Patient has chest pain if she lies on her left side for over a year.
* On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it had completely disappeared.
* She has had no rigors or shaking chills, but her husband states she was very hot in bed last night.
* The patient has been depressed ever since she began seeing me in 1983
* Patient was released to outpatient department without dressing.
* I have suggested that he loosen his pants before standing, and then, when he stands with the help of his wife, they should fall to the floor.
* The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
* Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
* The patient will need disposition, and therefore we will get Dr. Blank to dispose of him.
* Healthy appearing decrepit 69 year-old male, mentally alert but forgetful.
* The patient refused an autopsy.
* The patient has no past history of suicides.
* The patient expired on the floor uneventfully.
* Patient has left his white blood cells at another hospital.
* The patient’s past medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
* She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
* The patient experienced sudden onset of severe shortness of breath with a picture of acute pulmonary edema at home while having sex which gradually deteriorated in the emergency room.
* The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
* Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.
* The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of gas and crashed.
* Since she can’t get pregnant with her husband, I thought you would like to work her up.
* She is numb from her toes down.
* While in the ER, she was examined, X-rated and sent home.
* The skin was moist and dry.
* Occasional, constant, infrequent headaches.
* Coming from Detroit, this man has no children.
* Patient was alert and unresponsive.
* When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the room.
* MD during a physical exam, stated, in my ears, “I am unable to arouse this woman”, personally, I really don’t think he should have bragged about it.

Man should be always strong and healthy enough to feed family. Or maybe smart enough to think about helping other (the real man do so). All these physical and moral abilities come from good food. So what foods every man should have in fridge?

1. Frozen orange juice concentrate
The vitamin C content of OJ plunges as soon as it leaves the factory — if it’s in a carton. Buy the frozen kind, and you stay ahead of your daily C needs.

2. 1% milk
Loaded with Vitamin D and calcium. Sport your milk mustache with pride.

3. Almonds or walnuts
An ideal midday snack high in vitamin E and fiber.

4. Berries
Fresh or frozen, berries – choose your favorite kind – are loaded with antioxidants. Add them to a bowl of low-fat yogurt for a healthy, refreshing snack.

5. Cranberry juice
The all-purpose mixer can keep your internal plumbing clean, thus helping to prevent urinary tract infections. When you’re not thirsty, go for dried cranberries..

6. Romaine lettuce
Sounds ridiculously simple, but it’s an ideal base for your salad, especially if it’s of the Caesar variety. And this phytonutrient-dense leaf makes a great bread substitute if you’re cutting down on carbs.

7. Eggs
The least expensive, most easily digested, highest-quality protein source out there: egg whites.

8. Avocado
They’re high in total fat, but it’s mostly the good kind: monounsaturated. They’re also a great source of vitamin E.

9. Canned anchovies, sardines or herring
A cheap, quick source of omega-3 fatty acids. Add the little fish to a salad or stuff them into a whole wheat pita sandwich. Good food, fast.

10. Broccoli
This salad stalwart is a key cancer fighter and is loaded with fiber and phytonutrients.

Source: revolutionhealth.com

These and other functions fall to serum cholesterol, which is a waxy, fat-like compound, that circulates in the bloodstream (also called lipid). Your liver makes about a gram each day, which is all your body needs.

Dietary cholesterol is found only in animal products. Your body doesn’t need this cholesterol, and with the exception of strict vegetarians you’ll eat varying amounts of it.

Many factors like exercise, genetics, gender, and other components of your diet contribute to how your body processes dietary cholesterol.

Some people can eat large amounts and have normal blood levels, while others eat very little and have high blood cholesterol.

What you eat seems to account for about 20% of the cholesterol in your body, with the remaining 80% produced by your liver.

Good Vs. Bad Cholesterol

The two major transporters of cholesterol are low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) and high-density lipoproteins (HDLs).

LDLs tend to drop cholesterol in your artery walls, which leads to atherosclerosis (hardening of your arteries) and an increased risk of heart disease.

HDLs, collect cholesterol from the artery walls and other tissues and take it to your liver to be metabolized and eliminated from the body.

This is why LDLs are called the “bad” cholesterol and HDLs the “good.”

Eating To Keep Your Cholesterol In Check!

There’s no surprise that what you eat influences the levels of cholesterol and other fats in your blood.

Dozens of studies state that a diet high in animal products and other saturated fats tend to elevate cholesterol levels, when compared to the low levels found in people whose diet are largely made up of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.

Foods That May Raise Your Cholesterol

• Hard margarine and vegetable shortening, which are high in saturated fats and trans-fatty acids.
• Cookies, cakes, pastries, and chocolates, especially those made with saturated tropical oils, or partially hydrogenated oils.
• Full-fat dairy products, such as cheese, cream, and butter; all are high in saturated fats.
• Fatty meats and meat products, such as marbled beef, pork and lamb chops, hamburgers, bacon, frankfurters, salamis, and other cold cuts.

source: marcilall

I have to say as a dietitian, I don’t like focusing on “how many calories do I need?” with my clients. I think there’s a certain value in knowing what you need for daily activities and exercise and determining how many calories you should cut to lose weigh safely.

However, my clients have been very successful with losing weight with behavioral changes that don’t involve counting calories. In this post, I’ll give you a few tips for calculating your calorie needs (because I know you want to know) and I will give you a few suggestions that have really helped my clients drop a few pounds without needing a calculator and a math degree.

Grams Per Kilogram
A rough estimate is to figure out your weight in kilograms (body weight in pounds / 2.2) and then multiply it by a range (25 – 35). So a 175-pound (79.5 kg) person needs about 2,000 – 2,800 calories per day, plus calories for daily activity.

Simple Equation
Weight in pounds X 10 + (50% of the sum). So a 175 pound person needs:
175 X 10 = 1700 + (1700/2) = about 2,600 calories, plus calories for daily activity.

There are several other ways of “calculating” calorie needs. But as you can tell from these examples, there are variations and it can make anyone confused, especially if you are trying to find “perfection”. Dietitians can help get an accurate estimate in a nutrition assessment after screening for your current lifestyle and exercise activities.

One free resource is the Health Calculator here:

Not into numbers? No problem. My clients have found the most weight loss success with some of these important changes.

•    Eating during the day, and starting the “ diet ” late afternoon.
•    Mindful eating
•    Having meals off of smaller plates
•    Making half of all meals veggies
•    Eating one meal a week outside the home
•    Increasing exercise and calories (yep, many people cut too low and the body refuses to lose weight)

I will blog about these in the future because there’s a lot more to explore than what I can do in just one post.

source: wellsphere

• Clean the outer surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
• Clean the inner surfaces of your upper teeth, then your lower teeth
• Clean the chewing surfaces
• For fresher breath, be sure to brush your tongue, too

What Type of Toothbrush Should I Use?
Most dental professionals agree that a soft-bristled brush is best for removing plaque and debris from your teeth. Small-headed brushes are also preferable, since they can better reach all areas of the mouth, including hard-to-reach back teeth. For many, a powered toothbrush is a good alternative. It can do a better job of cleaning teeth, particularly for those who have difficulty brushing or who have limited manual dexterity.

How Important is the Toothpaste I Use?
It is important that you use a toothpaste that’s right for you. Today there is a wide variety of toothpaste designed for many conditions, including cavities, gingivitis, tartar, stained teeth and sensitivity. Ask your dentist or dental hygienist which toothpaste is right for you.

How Often Should I Replace My Toothbrush?
You should replace your toothbrush when it begins to show wear, or every three months, whichever comes first. It is also very important to change toothbrushes after you’ve had a cold, since the bristles can collect germs that can lead to reinfection.

source: colgate