Masters of Health Magazine February 2022 | Page 58

Your Brain:

While the brain-to-body size of humans is larger than any other mammal on Earth, it still only accounts for 2% of body weight. However, it uses 20% of the body’s energy. Why? Your brain has approximately 1 billion neurons or cells that transmit nerve impulses. Each neuron creates 1,000 connections to other neurons, totaling a trillion neurons. This means your brain can store approximately 2.5 petabytes, or 1 million gigabytes. Too big to imagine? If your brain’s storage capacity was digital video, it would equal 3 million hours of TV shows. That’s 300 years of nonstop video! But here’s the really amazing part, the brain continues to change, continues to make these connections, throughout our lives, regardless of our age! That’s amazing! That's called 100:100!

Your DNA:

Don’t think about your DNA much? It’s a big deal. According to Dr. Barry Starr, Geneticist-in-Residence at The Tech Museum of Innovation:

Each human cell has around 6 feet of DNA. Let's say each human has around 10 trillion cells (this is actually a low ball estimate).  This would mean that each person has around 60 trillion feet or around 10 billion miles of DNA inside of them.

The Earth is about 93 million miles away from the sun. So, your DNA could stretch to the sun and back 61 times. That is one person’s DNA.

That's an amazing body!

Your Heart and Lungs:

Let’s get right to the heart of the matter. Your heart and lungs make everything happen. Together they make sure that every cell in your body (with the exception of the cornea) gets the oxygen-rich blood it needs to function properly. The system is called the Pulmonary Loop. The right side of the heart gets the oxygen-poor blood from the body and moves it to the lungs for cleaning and re-oxygenating. The left side of the heart then pumps the oxygenated blood back through your body—continuously. That means 24/7 for as long as you live. 

Meanwhile, you breathe about 23,040 times each day. Your heart beats about 100,000 times each day, or about 35 million times each year. It pumps 1.5 gallons of blood every minute or over 2,000 gallons each day. That blood travels through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels in your body—enough to go around the world twice!  Your amazing heart and lungs deserve the best care possible. Start with a healthy, nutritious diet and recommendations found at 100 Year Lifestyle, and don’t forget to exercise!