Let’s begin with an overview of the body as we will view it in this blog-site.
The human body is an extremely complex, self-repairing organism that consists of trillions of specialized, interdependent cells. The body remains alive so long as its cells are able to metabolize (chemically transform molecules and energy) sufficiently well to sustain the body’s homeostasis (maintenance of an internal environment optimum for cellular metabolizm). So each one of us is an enormous ecosystem that is both sturdy and fragile.
Our cells and our bodies are products of both genetic and environmental influences. Genetic information comes mostly from our parents at the moment of conception. That genetic information changes only rarely as we develop, mature and age. Outside–environmental–influences affect the way that genetic informtion is expressed from the time of conception until death. Such outside influences include what we eat, how much we exercise, other organisms we’re exposed to, the psychological stresses we endure, as well as physical and chemical assaults.
So each body’s structure and function are a result of what we are and what we do. What we do, the habits we develop, strongly influence our body’s to repair and maintain us into a long, satisfying older age. This blog will focus on the underlying biology of the major body systems and habits of health that will sustain those systems over the long run.