Its In Your Blood

It’s In Your Blood

Travelling at close to 4 km/hr after exiting the heart, your blood moves through your body with ease. Your blood travels throughout your entire body and does so every minute of the day. With 96,000 km of blood vessels to travel, it covers a lot of distance with every heart beat! A single blood cell can travel the length of the body and back in about 20 seconds! The blood is the main method of transport in our system. When your food needs to be digested, when your brain needs to think, or when you have a cut on your finger, your blood delivers nutrients where they are needed and takes away cellular waste. We are who we are because of our blood – it is our life, it is what sustains us.  We need to take care of our blood just as we need to take care of our brain, our lungs, and our liver. Heart disease and strokes are the main reason for deaths in America. It is time to notice and take charge of the health of our heart and blood! When you help one, you help both!

Probably the most pronounced symptom of poor sleep is fatigue. Fatigue can manifest itself in many areas. When you are tired or 'fatigued', your body is slower to react than normal. Suddenly you can't think of just the right wording for a work email or memo. Maybe it's something as simple as misplacing your keys or cell phone. Possibly you find yourself just making something 'quick and easy' for dinner because you don't have the energy to make something healthier.

To keep your blood healthy and strong you need to keep your body fluids at optimum levels. Water, good oils, and healthy fats (essential fatty acids) all need to be provided in adequate quantities for you to have sustainable blood health. Keeping yourself hydrated is good for more than just your blood; it is good for your whole body.  Our blood is made up of over 80% water.

Your blood consists of three main parts: red blood cells, white blood cells, and plasma. Looking at each of these three parts individually, a great place to start is with red blood cells. They make up just under half of the composition of blood. Red blood cells, or RBCs, are the vehicles that your body uses to transport nutrient-rich oxygen throughout the body. An important part of RBCs is their hemoglobin. This is the part of the cell that ‘latches on’ to oxygen molecules. Hemoglobin is responsible for the transport of 98% of the oxygen within the body.

Iron is a key mineral in this process. Without enough iron in your body you cannot produce adequate amounts of hemoglobin. Deficiencies in iron can result in anemia (which literally means ‘lack of blood’). People who have anemia can have such symptoms as fatigue, feelings of weakness, general malaise, and poor concentration. Other symptoms can also be shortness of breath, heart palpitations, angina, pallor in the skin and nails, chronic heartburn, and even pica (craving for non-food items). The ability for your blood to deliver nutrients and especially oxygen is absolutely critical for your body’s survival. This is why it is important to make sure you are getting enough good minerals in your diet, including iron.

Read Further - It's In Your Blood Part 2