The Magnificent You

It is not often that we sit and reflect on the internal workings of the body.  When was the last time you thought about your heart beating or your food being digested?  In fact some people never think about it.  I would like to share with you the wondrous internal workings of the body and the daily gift it gives to you so in turn you will have more appreciation for the life it brings to you. I also want to increase your awareness around the many functions taking place and how your attitude, your level of gratitude and your physical (move), chemical (eat) and emotional (think) health can have an impact on your bodies function and it’s ability to keep you healthy in all areas of your life.

As you read through these remarkable facts on the body, stop to integrate them into your daily life. Always remember that your body is a self healing, self-regulating and self regenerating organism which is constantly adapting to its environment…all coordinated through your nerve system.

You were born to express health to its highest level and only YOU can make it happen.

• A nerve can send up to 1000 impulses per second.
• The brain operates on the same amount of electricity as a 10 watt light bulb.
• The adult brain has 14 billion nerve cells and weighs only 3 lbs (1.5kg).
• The brain is 85% water.
• The brain uses 25% of all the body’s oxygen.
• The human brain triples in size during the first few years of childhood.
• The longest nerve is located in the leg and extends from the large toe to the spinal column.
• The pineal gland, in the centre of the skull, tells the body the time of the day and the season of the year.
• The two halves of the brain control opposite sides of the body.
• Semi circular canals in the ear have small hairs (cilia) which detect movement and direction.
• Shiny white enamel on the teeth is the hardest material in the body.
• The average person eats 3 lbs (1.5kg) of food daily.
• Your mouth makes half a quart of saliva daily.
• Mammals have a growth factor in saliva which makes wounds heal faster.
• Saliva is 99% water.
• Enzymes in saliva digest only starchy foods.
• Dental plaque begins to develop within 6 hours of brushing.
• The heart pumps 5 liters (gallons???) of blood through the body and beats over 100,000 times daily.
• The human heart may beat up to 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime.
• The size of your heart is equal to that of your fist.
• The normal adult has an average heart rate of 70-72 beats per minute for men and 78-82 beats for women.
• Lungs are the only organs that float in water.
• Blood outside the body clots in about six minutes.
• A sneeze creates a force of air moving nearly 100 mph (approximately 160km/hr).
• Humans breathe 20 times/minute over 10 million times a year and about 700 million in a lifetime.
• Only one fifth of air breathed is oxygen.
• Breathing is controlled by the muscles of the ribs and the diaphragm.
• The salivary glands pour 1.5 liters into the digestive system daily.
• The digestive system is a 30 foot (approximately 9.15m) long tube, open at both ends.
• It takes 24 hours to completely digest food.
• Surface area of the digestive system is 2,000 sq ft (approximately 186m²).
• The stomach can stretch up to 50 times its empty size and hold about 4.5 quarts (approximately 4.25l).
• Each minute about half a million damaged lining cells are replaced in the stomach.
• Vomiting can empty not only the stomach, but the first foot (just over 30cm) or so of the intestine.
• The small intestine averages 21 feet (6.4m) long while the large intestine is only 5 feet (1.52m) long.
• Water molecules in the gut move at 1500 mph (just over 2,400km/hr).
• It takes 4-8 seconds for food to travel to the stomach.
• 94% of all the food digested is reclaimed by the small intestines.
• The color of feces comes from leftover bits of bile from the liver.
• The colon is home to 100 trillion bacteria.
• The body’s bacteria could fill a soup can.
• Human feces are normally one quarter dead intestinal bacteria.
• 46% of the world population has blood type O, making it the most common type.
• There are about 62,000 miles (over 99,780km) of blood vessels in the body – two and a half times around the world.
• Red blood cells reproduce at a rate of 8 million per second.
• The largest vein is the inferior vena cava, which drains the entire lower half of the body.
• The aorta is the largest artery and is over one inch in diameter.
• Blood supplies body tissues through capillaries, because the walls of the arteries and veins are too thick for nutrients to pass through.
• It takes one full minute for a blood cell to travel through the entire body.
• There are 200 different types of cells in the body.
• The body is made up of around 100 trillion cells.
• Only 1% of human genes differ from those of the chimpanzee.
• Fat cells are liquid at body temperature.
• There are 700 different enzymes in the body
• The body is more sensitive to pain in the afternoon.
• Shivering is the body’s way of keeping warm.
• Body temperature rises by 2 degrees late in the day.
• Yawning can be the result of not breathing deeply enough.
• The “hip bone” is actually six bones joined to the sacrum to form the pelvis.
• There are 230 joints in the body
• The oldest human lived to be over 120 years.
• More babies are born between 3:00 a.m. – 4:00 a.m. than at any other time of the day.
• Fraternal twins are the result of two eggs in the womb, while identical twins grow from a single egg.
• Fingernails grow four times faster than toenails.
• Over one hundred muscles of the face are used to smile.
• The strongest muscle of the body is the masseter muscle, located in the jaw.
• The femur is the longest bone in the body.
• You shrink half an inch during the day, due to compression of the spinal column.
• Eyes at birth are ⅔ of their mature size.
• Blue or green eyes have less pigment than brown eyes.
• One in 12 men is color blind.
• There are 6 million cones (color light-receptors) and 120 million rods (black and white light-receptors) in each eye.
• Blinking causes the eyes to be closed for an hour each day.
• Straight hair is round while curly hair is flat.
• Tiny holes on the inside of the eye carry tears into the nose.
• The average head has 100,000 hairs; each lives about 2-4 years.
• There are over 5 million hair follicles on the body ― none on the lips, palms and soles of the feet.
• 50-100 scalp hairs fall out daily.
• One square inch (6.45cm²) of skin on the back of your hand has 12,000 nerve endings.
• “Goosebumps” are the body’s way of adding an extra layer of insulation.
• Fingerprints form 6-8 weeks before birth.
• 500 million dead skin cells fall off daily due to ordinary wear and tear.
• The skin is the largest organ of the body.
• There are 30 times more pain receptors than cold sensors.
• Blushing is the body cooling itself by dilating small blood vessels below the skin.
• There are 650 sweat glands in a square inch (6.45cm²) of skin.
• Your arm span is usually equal to your height.
• There are 20 muscles located in the hand.
• All the body muscles pulling in one direction would equal 25 tons (over 22,600kg) of force.
• The kidneys filter 180 quarts (more than 170l) of blood daily.
• Fresh urine is 95% water and 5% urea.
• One quarter of all blood is filtered in the kidneys every minute.
• Urine’s yellow color comes from bile, not salt.
• Bones are 1/5 of the total body weight.
• Muscles normally account for 40% of body weight.
• The average adult liver is the heaviest organ in the body at around 3lbs (1.5kg).
• Calories burn fastest when exercise occurs within 3 hours of a meal.
• There are 26 bones in the foot.
• The last bone to mature is the collar bone.
• One in 20 people has an extra rib.
• 98% of the body is replaced every year.
• Skin cells are replaced every month.
• We receive a new stomach lining every four days.
• Bone cells are replaced every three months.
• Liver cells are replaced every six weeks.
• It takes 17 muscles to smile and 43 to frown.
• A sneeze can exceed a speed of 100 mph (almost 161km/hr).
• There are 206 bones in the body.
• Each square inch of human skin consists of 20 feet (over 6m) of blood vessels.
• Every square inch of the human body has an average of 32 million bacteria on it.
• We shed about 600,000 particles of skin every hour and about 1.5 pounds (almost 700g) per year.
• The brain has approximately 100 billion nerve cells.
• Nerve impulses travel as fast as 170 miles per hour (almost 274km/hr).
• It takes the interaction of 72 muscles to produce human speech.
• Average life of a taste bud is 10 days.
• The skull is made up of 29 bones.
• The average surface of the human intestine is 656 square feet (almost 61m²).
• Human skin surface is 6.5 square feet (approximately 0.6m²).
• 15 million blood cells die every second.
• Human body comprises of 80% water.
• Every year approximately 98% of the atoms in your body are replaced.
• Human heart creates enough pressure to squirt blood 30 feet (over 9m).[i]

Our Vital Wellbeing Truth:

• You are a self healing, self-regulating organism that is constantly adapting to your environment.
• The power that made your body has the power to heal it.
• Health exists on a continuum along which we are constantly oscillating.

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[i] The Incredible Anatomical Body Maze Poster, Copyright: 1992 Anatomical Chart Company, Skokie, Illinois, USA

The Vital Truth, Chapter 18