Unit 5 Reflection

http://kidshealth.org/en/kids/digestive-system.html

In Unit 5 we learned out the functions of the digestive, endocrine, and lymphatic systems. 

The digestion system does 6 things: ingests food, secretes enzymes and acids, mixes the food, digests, absorbs, and defecates the waste out once the nutrients have been stripped. The entire digestive tract is essentially a very long tube the wraps around itself, connecting the mouth to the anus. Once food is chewed in the mouth, it takes on the name "bolus". After leaving the stomach, the bolus is termed " chyme". Protein digestion starts in the stomach, while carbohydrate breakdown begins in the mouth with the mechanical grind up of food by the teeth but also the secretion of amylase. Most of the food gets digested and absorbed in the small intestine. Accessory organs like the liver and pancreas delivers bile and enzymes to the small intestine to aid the digestion. Any left over food is dried out in the large intestine in preparation for defecation and water is absorbed to rehydrate the body.

In the fed state, the absorbed sugars will mostly be processed for storage. When the body enters fasting state, the stored glucose will be released into the blood to keep the fuel supply up. In addition to sugar, the body will begin to rely more on fats for energy so that the majority of glucose can be saved for the brain and red blood cells to use. If meals are not eaten for 4-5 days, muscles will solely rely on fats and the brain on ketone bodies until proteins become the only source of available energy. This stage is called the starvation state. Too much protein consumption results in organ failure, and eventually, death.

https://fwcdscience.wikispaces.com/Membrane+Proteins--Receptors

The endocrine system is responsible for secreting hormones that control various actions in the body. Steroid hormones can diffuse through cell membranes to affect cells directly, while nonsteroid hormones need to connect to cell receptors on the surface of cells to initiate a signal cascade. We have many different glands all responsible for producing their own specialized hormones. Among those are the pituitary gland, posterior lobe, anterior lobe, thyroid, parathyroid, and adrenal glands. The pancreas is a particularly important gland that secretes insulin and glucagon, which as we learned before, are very important in maintaining blood sugar levels and health.

The lymphatic system is responsible for immunity, lipid absorption, and fluid recovery. Like blood vessels, there are lymphatic vessels that run through the body that collect cellular waste and traps foreign substances to be destroyed by immune cells. 

I think this unit was pretty successful--I learned more about how I should take care of my body and why it is essential to keep the body healthy. I didn't really have any setbacks this units; it went smoothly.

A lab we did for this Unit was looking at how long our digestive system is based on the lengths of other parts of the body. It was surprising to look at how much tubing can fit into your body.

I want to further research the reading we did on resistance training being beneficial and even necessary for metabolism rates. If learn about how I should effectively work out to maintain appropriate type II muscle, I can still have decent muscle mass when I age and live an even more fulfilled life as a result.

My new year's goals was to start running on the weekends again and not slack off on work as a second semester senior. I actually have ran a couple times since the year started, but unfortunately, have not entirely succeeded in keeping myself motivated to work. I'm still doing fine in my classes, but I know I'm not spending as much time as I could on work. I've also watched out for my diet a little more and stayed away from eating unhealthy foods and overcarbsumption.