SCIENCE LESSONS ABOUT THE LIVER

The human liver and its functions
The liver is located in the upper right-hand part of the abdominal cavity, below the diaphragm, and on top of the stomach, right kidney, and intestines.
It is cone shaped; it is a dark reddish-brown organ because of the enormous blood volume it carries. In weight it lies between 1.44-1.66kg.
It is supplied with blood from:
a.    the hepatic artery bringing in Oxygenated blood
b.    the hepatic portal vein bringing in Nutrient-rich blood  from the digestive system
The liver consists of two main lobes, and each lobe is made up of thousands of lobules. The lobules are connected to small ducts that connect with larger ducts which join up to form the hepatic duct. The hepatic duct transports the bile produced by the liver cells to the gallbladder and duodenum.

CONSIDER YOUR SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

The living should know that life is lived once and there are no spare parts for it. So whoever wants to live longer should live responsibly. Sexual affairs have claimed and are still claiming so many lives all over the globe. Am very sure you know this but I feel you need to reconsider it. Is your sexual life style healthy? How about the reproductive health?

The World Health Organization(WHO) defines Sexual health as “a state of physical, mental and social well-being in relation to sexuality. It requires a positive and respectful approach to sexuality and sexual relationships, as well as the possibility of having pleasurable and safe sexual experiences, free of coercion, discrimination and violence.” But how many of us meet the recommendations as per the above definition? We even don’t know the how of engaging in sexual intercourse. As a result we also have very poor reproductive health. We are not respectful, we engage in forced sex, we rape.

The science about the mouth and its hygiene

The books of science put it that in the human mouth are the; tongue, salivary glands, and teeth.

The tongue is a very important organ in a way that it aids speech, tasting of food, rolling of food, and swallowing. The tongue has taste buds for sweet, bitter, sour and salty chemicals. The foremost part of the tongue tastes sweet and salty chemicals. Sweet chemicals are also tasted at the end of the tongue toward the throat. Salt is also tasted from the sides of the tongue.

Taste buds for bitter chemicals are located mainly at the inner end of the tongue. There is normally a tendency of vomiting very bitter substance when they get to this region as we try to swallow. Sour chemical substances are tasted from the sides (left and right) of the tongue. Because of the tongue it is easy to sort bad from good foods.

The salivary glands release a fluid called saliva. Saliva is sticky, colorless, and very useful. Saliva has the following functions: softening food as we chew; sticking/binding small food particles together to form a bolus for swallowing; lubricating the mouth cavity; and contains the enzyme called salivary amylase (ptyalin) which chemically digests starch into maltose. Amylase starts the chemical digestion of starch.

The teeth are hard bony structures within the mouth. They are held firmly in the jaws by cement and gums. Their functions are; chewing, cutting, grinding, tearing and sorting food.the teeth also aid speech and prevent the jaws from falling in more so in old age. They have some little gaps in between.

HOW MUCH FOOD SHOULD YOU EAT TO BE HEALTHY?

How much food is enough for you!  For us to be healthy, we need adequate food.

Each day of our lives we depend on food. David Ssemata , a renowned writer and public speaker one day while giving a public speech about the value/ importance of doing work, informed the audience that when he was still young, his mother told him that  “my son, if you feel you should not do work, sell your stomach first and then sit to relax.”

Again, many people have said it, that we work to be able to put food on our tables. This too is true, because no man will save money if their stomachs are demanding food. Food takes a foremost priority in our lives.

But the question is how much food is enough for you? Science teaches that the amount of food we consume depends of several factors including: - Age, sex, job occupation, level of activity, health condition et cetera.

It is known that young children eat more than the adults. The reason is simple; these children are forming new cells to grow, they are very active and restless, thus they have high food demands. Feed them rightly on nutritious food so that they grow healthy.

Blood clots in youths; a public health concern.

The future of any country is invested in youths who are knowledgeable, skilled, energetic and healthy. When youths live rightly, they can surely acquire these things and put their nations on map. The unfortunate bit is that, many of them do not know what to do or neglect what they have studied and thus lose their lives. 

Ms.Joan Kabayambi, from Makerere School of public Health identified a killer, which is claiming so many lives among the youthful age which brings a loss to their families, communities and the country at large. In the words she put it that “Blood clots are claiming lives of the youths.”

Worldwide there is a rise in the number of deaths resulting from blood clots. And in Uganda the levels are alarmingly claiming lives of youths.  This should be taken as a public health concern which must handled immediately; treatment and hospitalization may be necessary. In cases of severe, life threatening pulmonary embolism, definitive treatment may consist of dissolving the clot with thrombolytic therapy.

How much water is enough for you?

‘’Water is life’’ is a common saying that we are all familiar with. We need plenty of water for our brain to work well, as a vehicle to transport the nutrients from the intestines where they are digested to the muscles and other organs where they are metabolized and assimilated and back to the bladder, rectum and skin where wastes are expelled from the body.

Water helps lubricate our body joints. Imagine a mechanical part of any machine without a lubricant: do you think movement would take place? Okay, if it would, how easy would that be?

Our eyes are well lubricated by water, not oil, so the eyes can move about with ease enabling us to see in different angles without necessarily moving the head. If the cornea, the membrane covering the front part of our eyes was left to dry out, within a few days we would be blind. No wander we all blink numerous times in a minute subconsciously to lubricate the eye as well as hydrating it.

The human body is a water machine, designed primarily to run on water and minerals. Every life giving and healing process that happens inside our bodies happens with water. Our body instinctively knows how and strives to sustain youthful longevity, and in its every effort water is the key.

Common accidents on ears, eyes, and nose and their remedies

The Ear

Have you ever got an accident that an insect entered into your ear or someone else’s ear? This is a common form of accident because the ear is always open. And since the ear is a very important sensory center, you feel very irritated due to the continuous movements of the insect. Again because these are normally small insects in the narrow ear canal (Auditory Canal) we cannot simply pull them out with our fingers.

How to handle the insect problem:

Place 4 drops of olive oil into the ear; it will bind the legs of the insect and the wings so it will stop moving which is very irritating. Lie in a way that the ear where you have put the oil faces up so that the oil does not pour out. Since oil is denser, it will go to the underside and after about 10 minutes turn your head so that the oil comes out with the insect.

Caution: Use olive oil or any eatable oil if you can not get olive oil. Do not use petroleum products like paraffin.