HEALTH TIPS & GUIDES

Pills Of Health For A Long Life

What do you think when you eat? When you eat a chocolate, do you think what nutrients it has that could aid in the effective `working of your heart? If you don’t, start thinking now. In the wake of the numerous diseases coming into existence in the world today, more than half can be successfully traced to unhealthy eating habits and lack of physical activity. This gives rise to the need for awareness of how the human body functions, what its needs and demands are. To understand this, we must take a deeper look into the various aspects of the functioning of the human body.

When we eat foods such as fruits, vegetables, breads, etc, they are not directly utilized by the body. These foods undergo chemical and mechanical breakdown in our body. This breakdown is called as digestion. The primary organs or body parts that help in digestion are – the mouth, tongue, esophagus, stomach and the intestines. Nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, etc are extracted from the food that is consumed. These nutrients enter into the blood. This process is called absorption of the food. The nutrients are henceforth supplied to the various organs of the body system in order to carry out the vital functions.
The basal metabolic rate is the quantity of energy that the body extracts from the food that we eat, under normal conditions. The basal metabolic rate declines with age and is more in people who have higher muscle tissues. The energy required for processes such as breathing, beating of the heart, digestion and working of the brain forms the basis of the basal metabolic rate. Digestion and weight can be related through the basal metabolic rate. Gender, height, weight and sex are the factors on which the basal metabolic rate depends. It also depends on the exercise that person performs during the day.

It is healthy to have a high basal metabolic rate and a slow metabolic rate must be raised in order to remain healthy. It is seen that generally, people with a slow basal metabolic rate tend to be overweight or obese. Also important is the Body Mass Index. A body mass index lower than 18.5 indicates that the person is underweight and above 27.6 suggests that a person is obese. The solution to this is to eat a breakfast everyday and to eat small quantities of food, throughout the day, at regular intervals of time. This causes a boost in the basal metabolic rate.