Potato is a very important food today, and it was in the past. This modest food has played an important role in the history of mankind. It has saved people of hunger many times during the war or in areas of bad weather.

In many countries potato has favored population growth and economic development.

Potatoes can be eaten on a daily basis, never to be bored. Baked, roasted, cooked in basket and peeled, crushed in pies or sliced into various types of salads, in addition to bread, cakes, soups. There is no one who does not like potatoes prepared at least in one way.

We bring you 20 interesting facts about potatoes…

Fact: Potato played a very important role in the history of the Irish people. More than a hundred years ago, the Irish people lived exclusively from potatoes, which were their main food. When, in 1846 was annual potato brewery destroyed by unknown fungi, over 600,000 people died of hunger, and many survivors left their homeland. This is known as “Irish Potato Famine”.

Fact: Potatoes, however, are not native to Ireland, ir+t comes from the Ecuadorian and Peruvian mountain regions of South America. Even today in these areas potato grows like a wild plant.

Fact: When the Spaniards arrived in Peru they found and discovered the potatoes and transferred it to Spain at the beginning of the 16th century. Hence the potatoes spread to all European countries and began to be used daily in human nutrition.

Fact: In the beginning, it was bred in Europe as an exotic ornamental plant, and there is the fact that Queen Anne Antoinette had even decorated a hat with a potato flower.

Fact: Potato is a herbaceous plant and belongs to the same family as tomatoes and tobacco come from. In fact, the potato is thickened underground tree.

Fact: Today potatoes are much different than their South American “ancestor”. These changes were made using various methods of potato breeding. Farmers are trying to improve their quality and increase potato yields.

Fact: Potatoes usually does not grow from seeds but from pieces of potato. From these pieces grow a plant that reaches a height of 30 centimeters to 1 meter and the flowera are white or pink. When the flowers are dry, it is a sign that potatoes can be removed from the ground.

Fact: Every inhabitant of our planet eats 33 kilograms / 72 pounds of potato per year. It is still the most eaten in the countries of eastern and central Europe so the record is kept by Belgians with more than 150 kilograms / 330 pounds per person per year. The largest increase in production and consumption is recorded in Asia, especially China. Europeans consume twice as much potatoes as Americans.

Fact: China, along with India, now produces one third of the world’s potato.

Fact: The Incas have been fed by it 6,000 years ago, and in Quechua language they devised around 1,000 words that mean or describe different types of potatoes. The potatoes are also called “bread from the Andes”.

Fact: Potatoes can also be beneficial for minor health problems. Chopped can reduce pain and relieve burns on the skin.

Fact: The potato is rich in vitamin C, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) and vitamin K, and contains minerals rich in copper, zinc, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, manganese … The potatoes also contain high quality starch, protein and dietary fiber.

Fact: The potato is the first food that is grown successfully in space. Thanks to NASA technology and the efforts of scientists from University of Wisconsin, the potato was successfully brewed in space in 1995.

Fact: The year 2008 was proclaimed a year of potato. The UN believes that potato is the food of the future, which could suppress hunger in the world.

Fact: During the golden fever in Klondajk, potatoes were used as a currency. The potato was so appreciated because of the high content of vitamin C that changed it for gold.

Fact: Removal of rust from metal can be done with this plant. Cut the raw potatoes and simply rub it on the rusty surface. The acid in it will dissolve the rust.

Fact: Potatoes are one of the main ingredients used to produce vodka. If you have a surplus of potatoes (at least ten kilos) and a lot of free time, you can make your own vodka!

Fact: The largest potato in the world, weighing almost 4 kilograms / 9 pounds, were grown by an English farmer, by Peter Glazebrook in 2010.

Fact: It is estimated that there are more than 3,000 types of potatoes in Peru and some of them can not be grown outside Peru because they require specific climate and agroecological conditions.

Fact: Potato is also used for the production of important acids; citric and fumaric, and also for ethanol, which serves as fuel and for obtaining bioplastics.

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Brain stroke is one form of brain damage. The professional name is apoplexy.

A stroke occurs when the flow of blood is interrupted in some part of the brain, and in that part the brain tissue is damaged.

There are several causes that can prevent blood supply to certain parts of the brain. The blood vessels may break, causing bleeding in the brain.

Then, blood can coagulate in any part of the brain, causing the bloodstream to stop and stop the flow of blood and oxygen. This is called thrombosis.

Blood vessels can be clogged with a small fraction, usually a blood clot, an embolus, which is drawn by the bloodstream from other parts of the body. Embolus usually occurs in heart disease, but may occur in other diseases.

When brain damage occurs, it is not so important what the cause of stroke is. If it is a damaged part of the brain through which nerve fibers pass, which control the voluntary movements, feelings of pain, body temperature, touch or vision, then their disorder occurs.

These are some of the interesting facts about stroke:

Fact: About 85% of the stroke is ischemic. They can be caused by a blood clot (thrombus) that prevents sufficient oxygen flow to the brain.

Fact: Brain tissue stops working if oxygen intake is delayed for more than 60 to 90 seconds, and after about three hours there are irreversible injuries leading to tissue death, ie stroke. Read: 7 things you can do to prevent a stroke!

Fact: “Frank’s sign” is a diagonal line on the ears, which can mean an increased risk of stroke. A total of 241 people who had had stroke were examined by scientists. Nearly three-quarters of the respondents had a diagonal line on the ears or Frank’s sign.

Fact: In Western countries, stroke causes more deaths than any other disease. People who experience stroke are on average older than 60 years.

Fact: Stroke is more common in men than in women.

Fact: Every six seconds someone is “killed” by a stroke. Every two seconds a stroke affects one person regardless of age or gender.

Fact: Approximately one third of stroke is fatal. One-third of them cause permanent damage or disability, while the remaining third has no significant consequences.

Fact: In the winter, the number of cases of stroke increases. This was due narrowing the blood vessels and reducing their volume due low temperatures.

Fact: Even 46% of stroke is produced in the most productive age, ie between 45 and 59 years of age.

Fact: During lifetime, one in six people in the world will experience a stroke.

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Mixing silver nitrate and copper is one of the most famous chemistry experiments, with it starring in many a school science lesson around the globe.

The experiment involves introducing copper – typically a copper wire – to a silver nitrate/water solution and suspending it there for a couple of hours.

The combining of both triggers a single replacement reaction, where copper is changed from its elemental form (Cu) to its blue aqueous ion form (Cu2+ [aq]), while the silver ions (Ag+ [aq]) in the silver nitrate solution will be changed into their elemental metallic form (Ag) and deposited onto the wire.

These silver deposits continue to grow off the copper in a series of fractal-like crystals until all reactable copper in the solution is exhausted, leaving the end products of silver and copper nitrate.

The reason this replacement reaction occurs is that the atoms in the copper are oxidised when introduced to the silver nitrate solution, losing electrons and forming copper ions, while the silver ions in the nitrate solution are reduced (ie they gain electrons) into elemental silver.

What’s really cool is that once the silver crystals have grown they can be removed from the copper, dried off and then displayed as funky pieces of fractal art.

What is silver nitrate

The silver nitrate is a silver salt of a chemical formula of AgNO3. Due to its high solubility in water and other polar solvents, much less light sensitivity than silver halides, as well as lower prices due to lower production costs, is used as a universal precursor for the synthesis of many other silver compounds.

Silver nitrate is a crystalline substance of white color. The melting point was 212 ° C (413.6 ° F) and the boiling point at 444 ° C (831.2 ° F) with degradation to elemental silver, nitrogen (IV) oxide and oxygen.

When making a photographic film, the solution of silver nitrate is mixed with a solution of sodium or potassium halide salt to produce an insoluble silver halide in a photographic gel applied on tri-acetate or polyester ribbons.

Silver nitrate is also used to prepare some explosives such as silver fulminate, silver azide and silver acetylide.

Use of silver nitrate in medicine

For the last 120 years, numerous studies have been carried out, taking into account chemistry of nanoparticles of silver and their antimicrobial application.

About silver as antibiotic and sterilizer are the pages of numerous books. All of them have been based on human experience for the past 1200 years.

Silver and silver products have been known for thousands of years due to their impact on hygiene and health. Even Hippocrates, the father of medicine, knew his healing properties.

Medieval pharmacists were selling silver nitrate, which they called lapis, as a means of rubbing or removing warts on the hands. Silver nitrate was also replenished for the treatment of severe burns, and it worked to prevent infection.

In the second half of the 19th century German gynecologist Carl Siegmund Franz Crede found that 1% of silver nitrate solution had a great impact against gonorrhea.

This discovery is so significant and reliable that even today, when newborns are born, the silver nitrate is poured into the eyes to prevent gonorrhea conjunctivitis.

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Toxic substances include anything that can physically harm us after we inhale, swallow or touch it, from an innocent bee sting to full-blown cyanide poisoning.

Defining toxicity is tricky since almost anything is poisonous at high enough doses – even water. Acute poisoning follows just one exposure, for example, nibbling a death cap mushroom, but chronic exposure – like inhaling cigarette smoke over decades – can be equally, if not more, damaging.

Toxins are toxic substances produced by living organisms. They use toxins mainly to ward off predators or paralyse prey. Small but deadly bacteria produce some of the most potent toxins known, including botulinum toxin A (Botox).

Other toxic substances occur naturally on Earth, such as the hydrogen sulphide produced by volcanic eruptions. We humans have even invented man-made ones for use as pesticides, insecticides (eg DDT) or chemical weapons (eg sarin, VX).

Targeting different parts of the body, toxic substances can damage us in an alarming number of ways. Neurotoxins are some of the most effective, affecting the brain and nervous system and causing muscles to freeze or twitch uncontrollably. Other substances can burst our red blood cells or cause allergic reactions.

But not everyone is affected by toxic substances in the same way. How toxic a chemical is depends on how easily it is absorbed, metabolised and eventually expelled by the body. Children are generally more vulnerable as their bodies are not able to get rid of toxic substances as effectively.

Different species are also more or less susceptible to various poisons – for example, it takes 1,000 times more dioxin to kill a hamster than a guinea pig.

Check our TOP 10 list of most deadliest substances known to man:

1. Botox

This is the most toxic substance in nature: just one gram (0.04 ounces) could kill 14,000 people if swallowed – or 8.3 million if injected!

Produced by Clostridium botulinum bacteria, this neurotoxin is responsible for botulism, a rare but life-threatening illness transmitted principally through contaminated canned food.

Botulinum disrupts communication between nerves and muscle cells, gradually paralysing its victims and finally leading to respiratory failure. Extremely small doses of botulinum toxin can, however, be used to treat muscle spasms and excessive sweating and to paralyse the muscles that cause wrinkles (sold commercially as Botox).

2. Asbestos

Asbestos is the name given to a handful of different minerals which share one common feature: bunches of fibrous crystals. Boasting an array of insulating properties topped off with a low price tag, asbestos was a popular building material until its toxic effects came to light.

With repeated inhalation, asbestos fibres accumulate in the lungs, causing deadly diseases like asbestosis, an inflammatory lung condition, and cancer. These diseases typically don’t develop until 15-30 years after exposure.

3. Ricin

Found in the castor oil plant, ricin is a toxic protein that wreaks havoc on ribosomes, the cell’s protein builders.

The result is severe damage to major organs. Just one milligram of ricin is enough to kill an adult if inhaled or ingested, leading many countries to investigate its use as a biological weapon.

The castor oil plant’s popularity as an ornamental shrub and the relative ease of extracting the toxin from castor beans have also made ricin the poison of choice for many assassins.

4. Carbon monoxide

Colourless and odourless, carbon monoxide gas has a knack for going unnoticed.

It is produced by the incomplete combustion of organic fuels including gas, coal and wood – occurring, for example, when inadequate ventilation deprives a gas-burning stove of oxygen. As a result, carbon monoxide poisoning is the most common type of air poisoning around the home.

Carbon monoxide molecules bind tightly to haemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in blood. Taking oxygen’s place, they prevent blood from delivering oxygen to cells. You can reduce the risk by keeping your home well ventilated and servicing appliances such as boilers every year.

5. Tetrodotoxin

Thrill-seeking Japanese diners are sometimes tempted to try fugu, a variety of pufferfish. The catch? If the chef slips up, they risk being poisoned with tetrodotoxin, a potent neurotoxin contained in the fish’s gonads, liver, intestines and skin.

Opening nerves’ ion channels, tetrodotoxin acts similarly to batrachotoxin to block nerve impulses, causing paralysis and death by respiratory failure.

Although chefs need a licence to serve fugu, mishaps still poison an estimated 200 people each year, with half of them dying. Pufferfish are not the only ones to use tetrodotoxin; it is one of the most common toxins in the marine world, employed by scores of fish, crabs and molluscs, including the blue-ringed octopus.

6. Cyanide

Whether inhaled or ingested, cyanide is one of the fastest-acting poisons known, sealing death sentences in minutes. Chemically speaking, a cyanide is a compound with a triple bond between a carbon and a nitrogen atom.

Hydrogen cyanide gas and solid sodium or potassium cyanide are highly toxic, preventing the body’s cells from using oxygen and starving the heart and the brain.

Certain fruit pits contain cyanide and small quantities of hydrogen cyanide are present in engine exhaust fumes. Industrial uses include gold mining and pesticides – one of which was used by the Nazis in gas chambers.

7. Sarin

Sarin is a man-made nerve agent, first developed as a pesticide by German scientists in 1938.

A colourless, tasteless but extremely volatile gas, it works by inhibiting the body’s enzyme which breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, causing it to accumulate at nerve endings.

This signals to muscles to contract uncontrollably, triggering a range of unpleasant effects which culminate in death by asphyxiation. Like all chemical weapons, sarin is outlawed and has been used only a handful of times: like during the Iran-Iraq War in the Eighties, and in terrorist attacks on the Tokyo subway in 1995.

8. TCDD

TCDD is the deadliest of the dioxins. These chemicals occur in the natural world but are produced in much larger quantities by industry.

Dioxins persist for a long time, accumulating in the fat cells of living organisms. As a result, small quantities of dioxins may go unnoticed, but over time they can damage the immune and reproductive systems and increase the likelihood of diabetes and cancer.

High doses such as those experienced during the Vietnam War with the USA’s use of Agent Orange – a herbicide contaminated with TCDD – spark an immediate reaction. They are also thought to cause cancer and birth defects years later, although TCDD’s effect on the body is not yet fully understood.

9. Batrachotoxin

Batrachotoxin is the deadliest in ingredient in a lethal cocktail of toxins secreted by certain poison-dart frogs. These darts kill prey almost instantaneously.

The frogs don’t actually produce Batrachotoxin themselves but obtain it by eating poisonous beetles. Batrachotoxin opens nerve cells’ ion channels permanently, preventing them from creating an electric potential. This blocks cell signalling, paralysing muscles.

Heart muscles are particularly sensitive to the toxin, leading to an irregular pulse and, soon after, a heart attack.

10. Digitalis

Digitalis, or foxglove, owes its toxicity to cardiac the glycosides digitoxin and digoxin -compounds with the capacity to both help and harm.

When ingested, glycosides affect the behaviour of heart muscles. In controlled doses, they can regulate the heart beat and treat congestive heart failure. But taking too much digitalis medication, or eating parts of the plant, can trigger a fatal heart attack; that said, eating foxgloves usually induces vomiting which prevents overdose.

US serial killer Charles Cullen poisoned at least 29 elderly patients in nursing homes by administering overdoses of insulin and digoxin.

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When you are on a medical examination, your doctor sometimes asks you to cross your legs and then hit you with a small rubber hammer on your knees.

Your doctor wants to check your reflex. In this case it is a special, so-called patellar reflex, because he hammered into a knee joint called a patella.

What happens when a hammer hits a patella? The stimulus starts from the sensation of the knee cell and goes to the spinal cord. It is transmitted to the motor station, and it sends the action current to the muscles of the leg. The leg twitching.

This action is reflexive. In other words, it is automatic. We have no control over it because it has not started in our brain.

For example, when you lie in bed and close your eyes, you do a voluntary action. But if that dust drift into the eye, you will close it immediately, whether you want it or not. This automatic movement is a reflex.

Accordingly, the reflex can be described as an automatic reaction of the organism, without the influence of will.

Read also: How to Hold Breath Longer!

How does reflex emerge?

When sensitive cells stimulate the skin, it is directed to the spinal cord and is then transmitted to the motor cells.

Motor cells send electricity to certain muscles and cause their work. These nervous impulses do not pass through the brain.

Types of reflexes

Types of reflexes are numerous, but the two main types are conditional and unconditional.

Unconditional reflexes are characteristic of the species. Human is born with them, so they are called innate reflexes.

Conditional reflexes are formed on the basis of one of the unconditional reflexes. This reflex occurs during life and is a characteristic of the individual.

Pavlov’s dog experiment

One of the first investigators of conditional reflexes was Ivan Pavlov, the world’s leading physiologist at the beginning of the last century.

His famous experiment consisted of giving the dog at the same time food, causing an unconditional reflux of stomach juice, and turn on/off light (or ringing), which had nothing to do with stomach juice.

After a large number of repetitions, Pavlov only turned on the light to dog and registered the secretion of gastric juice. When this is repeated several times the secretion of juice decreased to a standstill.

The temporary connection, as its name implies, is lost if not periodically repeated along with classical conditioning.

What is the purpose of the reflex?

In its natural environment, reflexes make an important part of our nervous system. By being very fast and more or less automatically, they save time and mental energy when it is necessary to act at present, often with the goal of saving lives.

In medicine, reflexes are very useful because they allow very precise testing of different types of collisions within the nervous system so that we can locate all the difficulties that arise.

For example, tetanus reflexes are organized in the spinal cord in segments. Your doctor can test each segment in a row and so detect those that are damaged. By this it can be concluded which part of the spinal cord is involved in the disorder.

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The cells, whose role is to keep us informed about the outside world, are called nervous cells.

In less developed living beings nerve cells are found in the skin and directly transmit messages to the deeper parts of the body. In humans and animals, most nerve cells are in the body, although they receive messages from the skin.

The task of nerve cells is to convey the message through the body, each message into the appropriate place. The vibrant fibers along which these messages travel are like “cables” (conductors) and called nerves.

Did you know… Sneezing starts in the nerves …

Four main types of nerve cells

There are four main types of cells whose fibers build nerves. These are independent groups in the body, so they have a special role.

The first type receives messages from the outside world, such as warm, cold, pain, touch, light, taste, and so on, and performs them in the brain. They are called sensory or sensory nerves.

The second type formed motor nerves. They transmit stimuli from the brain centers to different parts of the body, such as the muscles and the glands.

The third type of cells performs a connection job: transmits messages to larger distances in the body and connects motor nerves and sensory.

The fourth type of nerve cell has the task of message or stimulus from the outside world, such as cold, warm or pain, transferred to the brain, to be recognized as feeling of cold, hot or pain.

Did you know… Drugs are stimulants that affect the brain and the central nervous system.

Nervous system parts and functions

The human nervous system is like a wire mesh that starts from the brain and connects all parts of the body. The brain is the center of this system. Out of brain commands go through the nerves and urge us to move, laugh, eat and, in any case, to behave as human beings.

Nerves serve the brain as a connection system. Through a special part of the nervous system, the brain receives information about everything that is happening in the body. The main line connecting the brain with the body is the spinal cord. It’s located in the spinal canal. The spinal cord is actually a group of nerve bundles, similar to the set of wires that make up the “cable”.

Each nerve has two roots that connect it to the spinal cord: the back and front root. Back roots transmit messages to spinal cord, and than from spinal cord to the brain. Front roots transmit brain messages to various parts of the body.

Unwilling actions

But, as you know, the body also performs unwilling actions. All organs have certain and important tasks that are performed without our conscious thinking. For example, digestion and breathing are performed automatically and independently. Heart work is also automatic.

These unwilling actions, and many others, automatically control the other nervous system called the autonomic nervous system. It does not require conscious control. It builds a separate nerve network in the body. To live and work as human beings, we need both systems.

How fast does information travel through the nervous system?

The nervous impulse, stimulus that travels along a nerve, moving at a speed of only 250 kilometers per hour! This means that a message can be sent more quickly outside our body than from one part of the body to another. Television, radio, and phone carry messages much faster than nerves.

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Of all things that man is different from other living beings, the most important is the brain.

Some “lower” animal species do not have a brain, or have a small, or poorly developed brain. For example, the earthworm has a brain as big as the head of a pin, or rabbit’s has a brain like a thimble.

How big is human brain? The human brain weighs an average of 1,350 grams (2.97 pounds) and is around 15 centimeters (5.9 inch) long, but the size of the brain is not the most important thing. The elephant has a larger brain than a man, but its brain is not developed as in human.

Did you know… Theoretically, the brain can “save” same amount of informations as 4.7 billion books…

Major parts of brain

The brain has three major parts: the forebrain, midbrain, and hindbrain.

The forebrain is considered the most important part because it manages all of our voluntary actions. It’s the biggest part of the human brain. It fills almost the entire space at the top and back of the skull.

It is divided into two equal halves or hemispheres, and its surface is covered with grooves and twigs, making up the gray mass formed by the bodies of the nerve cells. Below this surface layer, called the bark (latin cortex), there is a white mass of nervous fibers. Through this mass passage the paths which transmit messages in the brain bark and from it.

Did you know… Humans have the largest brain in size compared to the size of the body…

Special parts of the brain bark control some of the functions of the organism, and the other parts with other functions, so that each part of the bark is different. Science has revealed in which parts of the bark there are centers for the sight, feeling, hearing or movement of some muscles. Therefore, when only one part of the brain is injured, it loses a certain function, such as speech.

Did you know… One half of the brain controls one side of the body, and the other half controls the other side. For example, the right half of the brain controls the left leg, left arm…

Midbrain and hindbrain

The midbrain is complex, with a mixture of white and gray masses, the center of which connects the quarter with the third cerebral chamber.

The midbrain or mesencephalon is part of the central nervous system associated with the senses of hearing, hearing, motor control, sleep, excitement and temperature regulation.

The hindbrain is located in the back of the skull, beneath the forebrain and midbrain. It controls the maintenance of balance and muscle coordination. If a hindbrain is hurt, a person may become incapable of walking right or standing upright.

Did you know… The brain works for a while when the “body dies”. The activity of brain cells of people on deaths lasts for a few minutes after heartbeat stops…

The extended spinal cord is large as a tip of the thumb and is located at the upper end of the spinal cord. It controls breathing, heartbeat and many other actions that seem to be doing it by ourselves. It intersecting nerve fibers that go from the brain to the spinal cord.

5 crazy facts about the human brain

Your brain is capable of having more ideas than the number of atoms in the known universe.

The brain produces enough energy to power a bulb of 10 to 23 W.

Brain size and weight have absolutely no connection to the intelligence coefficient (IQ).

The brain without oxygen can survive for 4-6 minutes.

The brain can create a fake memory, ie, create an event in your childhood that has never really happened.

Read also How Do Comas Affect The Brain

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When we look at some body organs, its structure and way of work look incredible.

The liver is no exception. It is the largest gland in the body and, in addition to the brain, the largest organ of the body. The normal liver is heavy about 1.5 kilograms (30 pounds).

The liver is so large because of the role it is performing. Not only does it produce digestive juices, it is also a strain for food that comes from the bowels (except fat). It accepts food digested in the intestine and in a series of chemical processes continues to be processed.

One of its tasks is to process the proteins that are found in food in the protein of the human body. The liver converts toxic substances into non-toxic. When a person consumes alcohol and caffeine, the liver turns these poisons into harmless substances. The liver cells also destroy some bacilli that fall into the body.

How does the liver work in digestion

The food and the fluid that we put into the body arrive from the intestine through the blood in the liver. Blood from the intestines brings nutrients into the liver for processing. Then, out of the liver, the blood goes to the heart, and from the heart it is spreading all over the body.

The liver actually lies between the intestines and the heart, as some sort of liquid damper that would burden the heart’s work. If you drink large amounts of fluid, retaining fluid, the liver will soon increase.

How does alcohol affects the liver

The liver has to process all harmful substances like high-fat, pesticide and eliminate them from the body. Inadvertent consumption of alcohol can greatly contribute to its impairment.

Alcohol breaks down in the liver, and any excessive drinking of alcoholic beverages will have harmful consequences not only on liver health but also on the brain, pancreas, diacritics and the central nervous system. (Read also How does the pancreas work).

Too much alcohol in the liver interferes with digestive enzymes in the liver and leads to reduced absorption of fat, protein and fat-soluble vitamins and vitamin B, especially vitamin B1 and folic acid.

Ultimately, the toxic effect of alcohol can result in the appearance of fatty liver, inflammatory changes in liver cells or hepatitis, and the occurrence of cirrhosis. But one glass of wine after the main meal will not harm either women or men.

Can a piece of your liver grow back

The liver is the only organ that can regenerate and grow back. Even if 90% of its mass is destroyed, it will be regenerated and all functions performed smoothly. That remaining healthy part will completely replace the missing and return to its original state.

To get the same liver as it was before removal, it takes between four and six weeks. Therefore, it is perfect for a transplant, because piece of liver regenerate to full size liver.

Read also What is the Function of the Umbilical Cord

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Most people have a vague idea of having thin and thick hose intestines somewhere in their womb, strange tunnels through which foods pass through the digestion. Also, there are not many people who know how the intestines work.

The length of the intestine in the animal depends on the type of food to be fed. Carnivores have shorter intestines because the foods they take are digesting faster. It is assumed that people who are mostly fed on plant foods have longer intestine than people who mostly feed on meat.

The length of the intestine in a man is about 6.5 meters. When a man dies, intestines lose elasticity, so that their length reaches 8.5 meters.

The thickest part of the intestinal wall is composed of muscle fibers, so that the intestines can push the food that passes through them. Intestines mixes food with digestive juices and pushes it further. To accomplish this task, the small intestine has many curves.

In each curve, the food is slightly retarded and processed, mixed and digested for about 30 minutes; then switches to the next curve. Read also How do Gastric Bands Work!

The small intestine wall contains about 20 million of small glands, which secretes about 6 to 10 liters of digestive juice in the small intestine. It nourishes and softens the food so that it reaches the colon in the semi-liquid condition.

If you watched the wall of the intestine through a magnifying glass, you would see that it is not smooth, but is like velvet. It is covered with millions of small pepper-like resins, who participate in the process of digestion and absorb nutrients.

The food that can not be digested by juices, broken down in the colon by bacteria that live there. Billions of bacteria devastate the harsher parts of food, such as fruit shells, and recover from it substances that are beneficial to the organism.

This was just a superficial description of our intestine. They are the most important organs of our body.

5 unusual facts about intestine and digestive system

For 70 years of our lives through our intestines pass about 100 tons of food and 40 thousand liters of liquid.

Laundry detergents are very similar to our digestive system. At least as far as enzymes are involved, to break down stains. Among these enzymes are proteases, amylases and lipases.

Small intestine can be stretched to the surface of a whopping 250 square meters!

The winds stink due to bacteria from the digestive system. They are produced by a combination of swallowed air and gases created by fermentation of bacteria in the digestive tract.

Sword swallowing man helped to perfect the modern endoscope. Until 1868, endoscopes were inflexible, so German physician Adolf Kussmaul called for a professional sword swallowing man who could swallow nearly half a long instrument designed by Kussmaul.

Read also How Does Our Stomach Digest Food

Read also How does the Pancreas Work

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To live and grow, we take food. For the body to use it, it must undergo a series of chemical and physical changes. This process is called food digestion.

Digesting starts by putting food in the mouth, chewing and swallowing. It is done in a digestive system.

All parts of this system are interrelated, and differ in their actions. It goes out of the mouth into the throat, which serves as a passage of food and air, and then into the esophagus, which connects the throat with the stomach.

The stomach continues to the duodenum, which passes into the small intestine. The digestive system ends with a large intestine and anus.

The spit in the mouth helps to dispel starch which is, for example, found in potatoes or grains – the ingredients of the food we take. When the food in the mouth is moist, softened and slim, it goes down the throat and along the esophagus and then enters the stomach. Most of the process of digestion is carried out there.

Gastric juices, which excite the glands in the stomach wall, are mixed with food. Salt (hydrochloric acid) is one of the gastric juices, and there is still pepsin, which helps the growth of protein chewing on more complex ingredients and thus speeds up digestion.

The starch is also stirred with juices for digestion and when the food passes into the liquid state, it is ready to pass from the stomach into the duodenum, through the opening in the bottom final section of the stomach called the pylorus.

Read also Is It Good to Be Hungry!

The worst food for digestion

Highly fat and fried foods – both types of food can cramp the stomach, which can result in acid uptake and heartburn. Fatty foods can also lead to a pale stool, which is actually a sign of excess fat in the stool. People with irritable bowel syndrome must be kept away from fatty foods, including butter and cream, as they will cause digestive problems.

Chilli peppers can irritate the esophagus and lead to heartburn, which may be a problem for those who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome or chronic heartburn.

Alcohol relaxes the body, but relaxes the esophagus sphincter. This can lead to acid reflux and heartburn.

It can also lead to inflammation of the stomach lining, hinder certain enzymes and prevent absorption of nutrients. Too much alcohol can cause diarrhea and cramps.

The best food for digestion

Yogurt – in the intestines you have millions of bacteria that help digest, and yogurt contains some types of good bacteria.

Cabbage improves the growth of healthy bacteria in the colon. It also helps eliminate waste from the intestines.

Chicken and fish – if you eat meat, choose chicken, fish and other unleavened meat, as you will digest it easier than a juicy steak.

Whole grains – like whole wheat bread, oats and brown rice, are a good source of fiber, which helps digest.

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