Unit 5 Reflection

     This unit was about the digestive system, fuel metabolism, diabetes, obesity, metabolism, the endocrine system and the lymphatic system. For the digestive system, we learnt about the functions and the anatomy. We did the digestive system lab, where we got to see how long our digestive systems really are. It was fascination to see my height in comparison to what was inside me. Fuel metabolism was a bit more confusing for me. The body has different stages to convert food to energy so it can meet its daily needs/ requirements. There are also 3 states after eating: fed state, fasting state, and starvation state. The body uses different types of energy to keep going and ultimately survive when food is not available for a prolonged period of time. Diabetes was quite closely related to fuel metabolism as it is listed as a disruption in fuel metabolism. The body uses insulin to regulate the blood glucose level, and it happens when either the body does not make enough insulin (type 1), or it does not respond to insulin (type 2). Diabetes affects nearly 25 million Americans and staying healthy with diabetes is about correctly managing it. The endocrine system primarily controls the processes involved in movement and physiological equilibrium. There are hormones for nearly every gland and they all have different functions, whether it be growth, or regulating metabolism. Hormones are released to maintain homeostasis in the body. The lymphatic system helps immunity, lipid absorption, and fluid recovery. Lymph is a clear fluid similar to blood. It goes from lymphatic capillaries, lymphatic vessels, to lymph nodes. Lymph capillaries are nearly everywhere in the body except for CNS, bone marrow, cornea, and cartilage. Lymphocytes are white blood cells, and include T cells, B cells, and natural killer cells. The largest lymphoid organ is the spleen and the surprising thing about it is that people can live without it. A ruptured spleen is a very common abdominal trauma, and the liver and bone marrow will take over functions.

     As I previously said, I found the fuel metabolism section quite confusing but the more I read over it the better I understand it. Also the fact that obesity and diabetes is so prevalent in our society made me all the more interested to learn about it.
     We did a digestive system lab, where we learnt how long the digestive system really is. We read about the role of stress in metabolism, and several other metabolism readings. Seeing how much longer my digestive is than me was cool but also weird to think how it fits inside of me. I remember Mr. Orre saying that if the small intestines were fully unfolded, it would be around the same size of a tennis court, which is insane! The readings were cool to see how stress, our metabolism, and even diabetes and stress eating are all related. 
     I think this unit covered my questions really well -- I'm still interested in further research to do with diabetes but I think what we have learnt in class has motivated me to keep up with it and continue to look into news about it. A lot of the articles we shared in the Canvas discussion were really interesting and it's the kind of topic that I am keen to read and learn more about.

I checked into my New Years Goals and this is what I have so far. I am still struggling to go out of my comfort zone and raise my hand, but when I speak in class it is already feeling more natural, so to me that is a step in the right direction. I am doing much better with sleeping enough and procrastinating less, and the effects feel great. I feel nowhere near as tired as I used to and I feel overall healthier and happier. Show season for horse riding has not yet started, but I am being consistent in my lessons and the jumps are progressively increasing in size, which is another step in the right direction! I am going to try to push myself to participate more actively and just continue to get enough sleep. With riding I just have to stay consistent and on top of my game so my trainer sees my progress and will let me try moving up. So far, my progress is great, but it is nothing compared to where I could be when I really lock down and focus on what I want to improve on. 

The Digestive System Lab

1. In this lab we measured parts of our body, such as the mouth, esophagus, and hand, to find out just how long our digestive system really is. It was really interesting to see how much longer my digestive system is compared to my height.

2. My digestive system is (9.25-1.73) 7.52m longer than me. I think it is able to fit inside my abdomen due to the fact that it is so tightly packed and folded up. The small intestine is very long (mine is 6.9m), and I think that it fits because it is very compressed and packed in. Because there are so many folds, it manages to squash in.

3. I'm guessing it takes around 12-14 hours for food to move through the entire digestive system, especially since the small intestine is so long. I looked it up, and it turns out it takes 24 to 44 hours, depending on the food. I was pretty far off, it's pretty surprising how long food stays in our body. It turns out that most of that time is spent in the large intestine, where nutrients that weren't absorbed during its' time in the small intestine are absorbed, and water is removed.

4. While digestion is the breaking down of the food, which occurs in the mouth, esophasgus, and stomach, absorption is when the nutrients are taken into the blood stream, which happens in the small and large intestines.

5. I'm interested in what foods mean a shorter/ longer time to pass through the digestive system and why. 

New Year's Goals

1. This semester, I will participate more actively in this class by raising my hand more frequently and discussing topics more in depth. I will go out of my comfort zone a bit by initially participating one or two more times than usual and then as I become more comfortable, active participation will become more natural.

2.  I will get more sleep, at least 8 hours a night. My previous health goals included me getting more sleep and relaxing more in order to be less stressed. I will procrastinate less, in order to finish my workload earlier on in the day so I can sleep earlier, and improve my performance at school and overall.

3. By the end of this semester, 5 months from now, I will move up to the Low Junior jumpers. This means that I will have to work hard and regularly place well in competition in order for my trainers to feel comfortable moving me up. Low Junior's is 1.10m to 1.15m, and I am currently at 1.0m to 1.05m, so I feel that this is an attainable goal if I keep working.