fitness

During digestion, the body releases a number of hormones and chemicals to deal with the food. Everything eaten is converted to blood glucose and then burned immediately for energy, converted to glycogen, and stored in the muscles to be burned later or converted to fat for longer term storage in the body. One of the major components of the digestive process is the release of insulin, which decides how much of the food is burned and how much is stored. The higher the level of blood sugar in the body, the more insulin is released and the more that fat storage will occur. In diabetes, the pancreas does not release enough insulin and the body is not as able to deal with the blood sugar.

Celiac disease affects the small intestine, one of the major components of the digestive system. The intestine itself is over twenty feet long, starting at the stomach and ending at the beginning of the large intestine, also called the colon. The small intestine is divided into three sections: the duodenum, the jejunum and the ileum. Each section performs a different role in the digestive process.

Despite the increased interest in the disorder, depression is not a new thing and has been treated for as long as there have been doctors. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, diagnosed depressive symptoms referred to as melancholia. It is thought that many of the world’s most famous artists, musicians and others were suffering from one form or depression or another. Van Gogh was thought to have had bipolar disorder in addition to have epileptic syndrome, having seizures especially after drinking absinthe. (Source: Sarason, Sarason, 2008)

We all know that protein plays a vital role in our survival, from providing energy to promoting muscle growth and recovery. But, did you also know that there are a number of serious diseases that are caused by not having enough protein in our diets?

Medically known as steatosis, fatty liver is an accumulation of fat cells in the liver which can be caused by many factors. There are many types of fatty liver, including alcoholic and non-alcoholic. Each type of fatty liver is typically asymptomatic and is usually found in the course of normal or routine blood screenings or in the course of ruling out another disease or condition. It is thought that fatty liver sometimes occurs as a result of a faulty fat transfer from one part of the body to another, but may also be caused by increased fat extraction of fat presented to the liver from the intestine. Another cause for fatty liver is a decrease in the rate at which the liver breaks down and removes fat from the system.

The average diet has more than enough protein to meet daily needs, however, there are often times when the average diet becomes less than normal and may not be as adequate as it should be. Between the busy life that the average person leads and constant yo-yo or fad dieting, the fact is that what we should be eating quickly becomes what we do not eat and what we sorely miss.