Monday Wellness Reflection

Link to presentation: 
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gdGv6JjOZPt7lqKTUQ7whW3iIPrcPonx-6B8va0njBo/edit?usp=sharing

We chose this topic because we thought it was a form of exercise that resonated well with both of us as we are both interested in stretching and yoga. Pilates is a very popular form of exercise and has deep roots in the history of exercise, all thanks to Joseph Pilates. While preparing for the presentation, I was very surprised to learn that Pilates was started while Joseph Pilates worked in a hospital and came up with it to help with patient fitness. Another thing I found very interesting was that while Joseph Pilates was a sickly child, after he started doing Pilates he was overall much healthier and never was injured nor needed medication. I also found it very interesting that this type of exercise can be done either with just the body, or with equipment.  It is solely about creating resistance to improve fitness. However, with all the available options, there are so many more ways to exercise and so much more variety in workouts.

Our topic is important for health and wellness because with all the new diets and health fads, people tend to forget that there are very simple ways to exercise in a healthful way. There is no excuse not to exercise and to stay fit because Pilates has such easy exercises that anyone can do anywhere, and getting bored is not an option either as the wide range of exercises include a lot of variety. Due to its foundation and history as a form of exercise, people can trust Pilates, and trust that the exercise will be beneficial to them if completed correctly. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would give myself an 8.5. I think that I was well prepared, but I could have read off of the slides less and been a bit more confident. I also think that if we’d done a few more examples of exercises in class our presentation would have been a bit more interesting and been more engaging to our audience.

We asked the class at the end if they would take up Pilates and it was interesting to see what people thought. Many people seemed to like the idea of incorporating it into their fitness regimes, but also seemed to be on the fence about actually doing it. In my opinion, I would definitely consider taking it up more seriously. I do some basic Pilates exercises which are focused on flexibility, muscle toning, and strengthening and they are such simple exercises but so effective. In total I spend about half an hour doing them everyday and I am not planning on giving up anytime soon! It was also interesting to see how people thought Pilates and Yoga were the same thing. The history of the two are very different. Pilates was created (by Joseph Pilates), whereas Yoga has deep roots in ancient India and has been around far longer. It is also much more about keeping the mind calm as well as the body healthy, whereas Pilates focuses a lot more on toning muscles, conditioning the body, and losing weight. It is so much more about staying fit. I genuinely do encourage everyone to consider taking up Pilates/ trying it out because it is not the kind of workout anyone ever regrets!

Sheep Heart Dissection Video

Sheep Heart Dissection

Q1: What is the purpose of the pericardium?

The pericardium is the sac that holds the heart in place. There is mucous on the walls of the pericardium so that if the heart is jostled around, there is no friction.

Q2: Observe the blood vessels connecting to the heart. How do arteries differ from veins in their structure?

The walls of arteries are thicker than those of veins (due to the higher pressure in arteries), and arteries always go away from the heart.

Q3: Place your finger inside the auricle. What function do you think the auricle serves?

Auricles collect oxygenated blood from lungs and deoxygenated blood from the bloodstream.

Q4: Observe the external structures of the atria and ventricles. What differences do you observe?

The walls of the ventricles are thicker than those of the atria. Blood also flows into the right atrium, into the right ventricle, into the left atrium, and into the left ventricle.

Q5: Find the following structures. Use pictures or words to describe each.
             a) Exit from the coronary sinus
             b) Exit from the inferior vena cava
             c) Right Atrioventricular Valve (Tricuspid Valve)

             a) Blood exits from the coronary sinus into the right atrium.
             b) Deoxygenated blood enters the heart through the inferior vena cava, and continues on to the right atrium.
             c) The tricuspid valve stops blood in the right ventricle from back-flowing into the right atrium. 

Q6: Draw a picture of the tricuspid valve, including chordate tendinae and the papillary muscle.

Q7: Why is the "anchoring" of the heart valves by the chordate tendinae and the papillary muscle important to heart function?

They are there to prevent the tricuspid and bicuspid valves from collapsing into the atria when the heart contracts.

Q8: Using pictures and/ or words describe what you see.

The bicuspid and tricuspid valves prevent backflow of blood into the left atrium and right ventricle.

Q9: What is the function of the semi-lunar valves?

They prevent arterial blood from re-entering the heart. 

Q10: Valvular heart disease is when one of more heart valves does not work properly. Improperly functioning heart valves can lead to regurgitation, which is the backflow of blood through a leaky valve. Ultimately this can lead to congestive heart failure, a condition that can be life threatening.
             a) If this valve disease occurs on the right side of the heart, it results in swelling in the feet and ankles. Why might this happen?
             b) If the valve disease occurs on the left side of the heart, what complications would you expect to see?

             a) Blood is not properly flowing in through the inferior vena cava through the heart to get reoxygenated, so blood is staying in feet and ankles and causing swelling.
             b) Swelling of the lungs as blood is backflowing from the the left ventricle into the left atrium into the lungs. 

Q11: Using pictures and/ or words describe what you see.

Cordae tendinae connects papillary msucle to the bicuspid valve.

Q12: Describe how the left and right sides of the heart differ from each other.

The left side of the heart carries oxygenated blood, and the right side carries deoxygenated blood. The walls of the left side are thicker because it needs more power to push blood out to the body.

Q13: Draw and label all structures visible in the interior of the cross-section.

Unit 3 Reflection

sphygmoman 

sheep heart

This unit was about the cardiovascular system - circulation, the heart, the heartbeat, blood, blood vessels, diseases, and respiration. The cardiovascular system transports materials (oxygen,glucose), and removes waste materials (carbon dioxide, urea) from cells by a fluid-filled network of vessels that connect to heart, lungs, kidneys, intestines, and liver. Cardiovascular health is when a person maintains a healthy weight and diet, controls their blood pressure and cholesterol, prevents atherosclerosis and diabetes, and controls inflammation. Heart attacks and strokes can be caused by blockage of blood vessels in heart/ brain. To improve cardiovascular health, a person can exercise, not smoke, minimize stress, and smile/ laugh. I would like to learn more about bleeding out from arteries/ veins.

I am really interested in the heart, so this was a really great unit for me. Some memorization of the difference between blood vessels I struggled with, but the structure of the heart, heart attack/stroke, and the sheep heart dissection were really good and interesting for me.

chalk heart

Since I set my health goals for unit 2, I have been making an effort to get more sleep and relax more when I have a heavy workload or am struggling with something. Since I took this class because of my interest in anatomy and physiology (and my continued interest in it), for the rest of the semester, I am really focusing on fully understanding what we are learning.

Snacking

What was healthy about the snack you just made?

The snack we made consisted of a quarter apple, peanut butter, and almonds. These foods are low-sugar and low-fat, and have lots of vitamins and nutrients that essentially make up a healthy mini-meal. 

How often to snack?

If we are to snack, we should snack before meals, two to three times a day. Snacks should also not be very big - just enough to evade hunger until the next meal.

What's in a healthy snack?

A healthy snack will generally not be sticky and will not have HFCS, high fat, or artificial ingredients. The foods should be nutritious and natural.

Snacks to stay away from?

Ritz bits, Cheetos, beef jerky - they contain a lot of artificial ingredients, empty calories, lots of preservatives, high sugar or fat content.

What did you like/ dislike about the activity?

I liked that their activity was very interactive and made snacking fun. I also liked the video, it was interesting to watch.

Blood Pressure Lab

A typical blood pressure is 120/80 mm Hg. In our lab, subject 1 had a primary reading of 120/60 mm Hg, and a secondary reading of 110/70 mm Hg. Subject 2 had a primary reading of 90/55 mm Hg, and a secondary reading of 90/60 mm Hg.

To measure heart rate, we can use our fingers for radial and carotid pulse rate, and a stethoscope for the heart. To measure blood pressure, we use a sphygmomanometer. A thumb also has a pulse, so it can be confusing when counting pulse rates.

To use a sphygmomanometer (blood pressure cuff), it needs to be put on someone's upper arm, fully deflated. The stethoscope then should be put just under the cuff. Squeezing the cuff bulb, the cuff will inflate quickly, cutting off blood pressure in the blood vessel under the cuff. Stop squeezing at around 150 mm Hg. Then, deflate the cuff by slowly opening the valve just above the bulb. Listening through the stethoscope, you will hear a sound starting - note the reading. When the sound ends, note this reading also. The first reading is systolic blood pressure, and the second is diastolic. 

Unit 2 Reflection

Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity". I could definitely eat more vegetables and get more sleep, but overall I am quite healthy. I think the majority of people at SHS could get more sleep and have more balanced diets. I see a lot of people who don't eat any vegetables whatsoever, which I find quite scary as they don't seem to realise how detrimental this is to their health. The lack of sleep is also very unhealthy. If people knew how to focus better and procrastinate less, the amount of sleep would greatly improve. Also with nutrition, if people knew how unhealthy they are, they would be more likely to change diets. I also think the cafeteria should offer healthier foods, to encourage people to make better eating choices.

The themes and essential understandings from this unit were that health is the measure of our body's efficiency and overall wellbeing. It includes physical, social, and mental health. Nutrients are necessary to maintain life. Regular exercise reduces risks of many adverse health outcomes, and some physical activity is better than none. Sleep is essential to physical/ emotional wellbeing. We need it to rest and restore the brain. Stress is any event/ demand that causes a predictable physiological response. 

I learnt that the pillars of health is what is necessary to maintain full health. Nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress, and social impact our lives and the way we live them. Hormones play a huge role in our health and affect each pillar. The big 4 hormones are insulin, leptin, glucagon, and cortisol. I understand it all, but I would like to learn more about how important sleep is and how it affects the body. I think I'm interested in it because as a teenager, I struggle to get all the sleep I need, even though I know I need it.

Next unit I will improve my relate & reviews and will make sure not to forget to make any notes. Dieticians, like Ms. Kuehn, focus on helping people improve their lifestyles by helping them sort out the nutrition they need. They are experts on what nutrients are necessary for a healthy, balanced life and are very helpful to not only people who struggle with their diet, but everyone. A lot of people could use help improving their diets.   

Health Power Hour Reading

• Name of Book: Food Fight
• Name of Chapter: Portions the Size of Cleveland
• Summary: This chapter is about how much portion sizes have increased dramatically since around the 1950s. Portions that used to be large, are now smalls and the major cause of increase in calorie intake is the increased portion sizes. It is considered nowadays that bigger is better, and many companies brag about how large they can make their portions. Many restaurants offer competitions for 'how much can you eat' and encourage overeating. Foods in other countries offer much smaller portions, and have generally smaller serving sizes. Even when people are offered larger portions, they eat more, and people do not compensate for the extra calorie intake. The huge American portions do not help anyone except for the companies themselves. Many people assume that the portion they are served is the correct amount - which shows just how difficult it is for a person to judge what is a correct serving. Companies do this because it is a question of value, not health. People want more for their money, and that is exactly what the companies give them. Humans are creatures of habit, and this will not be easily corrected. But people can be educated, companies can relabel their foods, repackage their foods with correct serving sizes, people can be encouraged to make better choices, have reasonable portions in ads, food labeling can be required in restaurants, and being active in society about eating healthily can make the difference. 
•  If I could ask the authors two questions, they would be:

1. Do you feel that people have adapted to the increased portions?
2. Who is more responsible: the customer or the supplier? 

Nutrition Analysis

While tracking my diet, it was helpful to see what I was really lacking and what I was overdoing. While doing the Falcon Market, it was helpful to see what foods that we see on a daily basis in the supermarket are healthy/ unhealthy. I also learnt about which snacks should be avoided, what constitutes a balanced meal, and why in season, local foods are the better choice. According to my food tracker, I went over my Saturated Fat limit by 1%. I think this happened because I ate fast food, which while is not normal for me, I still did.

 I definitely need to keep my vegetables and fruits intake consistent and increased, and I need to watch my saturated fats. In general, I am not eating enough of any category according to the Food Tracker, so I should eat more overall.

If I had the opportunity to help someone improve their diet, I would tell them to base their diet primarily on good proteins - grass-fed, pastured meat, wild-caught fish, and organic free-range eggs. They should then add vegetables, and then fruit. It should be organic, in-season and local. The further a plant has to travel, the more nutrients it loses. I would then add on whole grains and milk, yogurt, and cheese. A balanced diet is vital for healthy, happy living and it influences the rest of one's life.

9/15/15

9/16/15

9/17/15

What is Health? Collage

Unit 1 Reflection

This unit taught us the basics of human anatomy and physiology, and about tissues. We learnt about cell biology, macromolecules, anatomical terms, and histology. The anatomical terms taught me a lot about describing where something is on the body. The four macromolecules were cool because they all had such a vital role in the function of the body. The tissue section was very interesting and it helped a lot to see the different tissue cells through the microscope. I think cell biology goes a lot deeper than we learnt, so it would be interesting to learn more about it. Next unit, I want to continue to improve my relate and reviews, because I firmly believe that these will help me understand the material better and help me do better in temp checks and tests.

Pathologists look through microscopes at tissues to help diagnose a patient for illness. When we looked through the microscope, we were doing the same thing that pathologists do on a daily basis. This is such an important job because by diagnosing disease, it helps the doctor bring a patient back to health. 

Left: Human nerve cells, nervous tissue

Middle:  Sweetness Lab

RIght: Ground bone cells, connective tissue

Tissue Lab

Today in our tissue lab we looked at all four tissue types: epithelial, connective, muscle, and nervous. Through a microscope, we looked at several different cells for the tissues. After looking through the microscope and sketching the cells, I could classify what type of tissue the cells were from what we had learnt in class. 

Epithelial tissue cover a body surface or line a body cavity. The are made up of closely packed cells in at least one layer. Connective tissue is made up of many diverse cell types, and they provide the body with a structural framework. Connective tissue has two main parts - cells, and extracellular matrix.

Muscular tissue has three parts: skeletal, cardiac, and smooth muscle. It is made up of actin and myosin fibers. Nervous tissue transmit electrical signals from sensory receptors to effectors. There are two types of nervous tissue cells: neurons (excitatory cells) and supporting cells(neuroglial cells).

The cells that were in the same tissue categories had many similarities for the most part. Blood and heart cells looked quite similar, and muscle cells all looked quite similar through the microscope. The anatomy of the cells from what we saw through the microscope and what we learnt in class correlated very closely and I could tell what tissue type the cell was. Skeletal muscle cells are striated, which could be seen through the microscope, and human epithelium cells were stratified columnar, and through the micrscope the layers were visible.

Left: human nerve cells
Right: ground bone cells

Cardiac Muscle Cells

Cardiac Muscle Cells (Cardiocytes, Cardiac Myocytes) are short, rectangular, striated fibers that make up the heart. Because the cells are branched, they have intercalated discs that connect the different branches. Cardiac Myocytes are regular eukaryotic cells, with one nucleus that is generally centered.

They are autorhythmic cells, which means that they contract rhythmically without stimulation from the brain. This is possible because of pacemaker cells that stimulate the cardiac myocytes into contracting.
Cardiac Muscle cells are what keeps the heart beating properly, which allows us to sustain life.


Get Body Smart - "Cardiac Muscle Tissue | Cardiac Muscle Fibers | Cardiac Muscle Cells."Cardiac Muscle Tissue | Cardiac Muscle Fibers | Cardiac Muscle Cells. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
Inner Body - "Cardiac Muscle Tissue." InnerBody. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
Pearson - "Pearson - The Biology Place." Pearson - The Biology Place. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.
Livestrong - "Cardiac Cell Functions." LIVESTRONG.COM. LIVESTRONG.COM, 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 31 Aug. 2015.

Sweetness Lab

Today we did a lab where we experimented with the tastes of different carbohydrates. Included in our carbohydrates were sucrose, glucose (dextrose), fructose, galactose, maltose, lactose, starch, and cellulose. The listed carbohydrates are a combination of monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. We found that for the most part, monosaccharides taste sweetest, and polysaccharides taste the least sweet. The more rings the sugar structure had, the less sweet it was.

I found that the fructose tasted a lot like a lot of candy, maltose tasted like malted candy (Maltesers, Whoppers), lactose tasted like milk, and galactose tasted like frosted cornflakes. Cellulose tasted like paper - which makes a lot of sense as paper comes from trees, which are made of cellulose.

According to Kids Health, we can taste foods because of our taste buds - sensory organs that completely cover the tongue. Live Science says that in every taste bud, there are between 50 to 100 receptors for each taste, which allow us to taste.