Health / Organs

All about health and organs

General Information

Supplements are not only primarily intended to improve muscle building or strength performance. Many supplements aim to support important bodily functions or to contribute to maintaining the health of the organism. For a healthy and efficient body, perfectly functioning organs as well as resilient joints, tendons and ligaments are necessary.

In general, it is important to ensure a healthy diet through a balanced and varied mixed diet. A healthy diet includes the intake of macronutrients (fat, proteins, carbohydrates) as well as micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, trace elements).

However, the problem with today's world is that factors such as stress and hectic pace make a healthy diet difficult. For example, very few people should be able to eat the 5 portions of fruit and vegetables recommended by the DGE (German Society for Nutrition). Also the recommendation to eat 1 - 2 portions of fish per week is not likely to be implemented regularly by many people. Due to this problem, food supplements are popular that can be taken quickly and easily to prevent deficiency symptoms.

The heart - the most important muscle in humans

In the course of a lifetime, a person's heart beats about 3.5 billion times. This beating power is accompanied by a pumping capacity of about 250 million litres of blood, which the heart transports through the human body during this time. This is an insane performance for a muscle that is only the size of a fist and weighs an average of 300g. Together with the blood vessels, the heart forms the cardiovascular system.

A closer look at the anatomy of the heart reveals that the heart consists of two pumps beating at the same rate. These two pumps are separated by the so-called cardiac septum. While the right pump is responsible for supplying the pulmonary circulation, the left pump supplies the body's circulation. In this way all body cells are supplied with nutrients and oxygen. In addition, metabolic end products, such as carbon dioxide, are removed again.
The structure of both halves of the heart is identical: two cavities, an atrium and a ventricle. While the right atrium collects the oxygen-poor blood from the body's circulation, the left atrium contains the oxygen-rich blood, which comes from the pulmonary circulation. A strong muscle layer surrounds the left ventricle, which pumps the oxygen-rich blood from the left atrium into the entire body circulation and has to bear the main burden. The oxygen-poor blood is pumped from the right ventricle from the right atrium into the pulmonary circulation. Both heart chambers have in common that they are closed by heart valves which are responsible for regulating the blood flow in the heart.

The four heart valves manage to do this by directing the blood in the right direction and also making it impossible for it to return to the atria. This task requires precision mechanics, because on the one hand, the heart valves must open sufficiently wide to allow enough blood to enter the circulation. On the other hand, however, a tight closure must also be guaranteed so that no blood can flow back. In summary, the heart is the central organ of the blood circulation, which is essential for a healthy and long life.

Sufficient exercise is one of the best ways to keep the cardiovascular system healthy. Classic cardiovascular training is endurance training, also known as "cardio". This refers to coherent training units that are run for at least 30 minutes. Endurance training is usually done in the gym on a treadmill, bicycle, stepper or cross-trainer. Through endurance training itself, it is not only possible to improve the performance of the heart. It can also influence risk factors that promote cardiovascular disease. These include obesity and high blood pressure (hypertension).

Nutrition also plays a major role in heart health. In particular, the supply of the omega 3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) should be emphasized. In combination and in a daily intake of at least 250mg each, these two fatty acids have been proven to support normal heart function. In the daily diet these omega 3 fatty acids are, however, rather scarce for most people. This is especially true for the "fish refusers", as especially the fatty fish salmon, mackerel and herring are rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). For all those, there are supplements that provide these valuable fatty acids in a highly concentrated form.

The liver - the detoxifier of the human body

The liver is the largest of the internal organs of the human body, without which we would not be viable. The liver plays a central role in the metabolism of fats, carbohydrates and proteins and is also considered a "detoxifier". In this function it is able to remove dangerous substances from the blood. These include alcohol, harmful substances ingested with food and medicines. The liver is therefore regarded as a large filter station that filters the body's entire blood volume about 500 times a day. The liver also produces bile for the digestive process.

The liver also plays a role in energy production, as it is able to absorb excess glucose. There the glucose is converted into glycogen and stored as such. If there is a glucose deficiency in the blood, the liver is able to convert the stored glycogen back into glucose and make it available to the bloodstream. Vitamins and trace elements are also stored in the liver.

Liver-supporting supplements contain choline, which has been proven to contribute to normal liver function, as well as plant extracts from milk thistle. These extracts are said to have a liver-protecting and liver-regenerating effect, but this has not yet been scientifically proven. The most important active ingredient here is silymarin, which is a mixture of different flavonoligans.

Healthy joints, tendons and ligaments – A&O for human mobility

They are indispensable for every movement, however small, and in this context they are permanently in use: joints, tendons and ligaments.

Joints are the flexible connection between two bones. A tendon, on the other hand, is a fixed strand that connects muscles and bones. Ligaments, in turn, are responsible for connecting bones.

During strength training of the musculature, the joints, tendons and ligaments are stressed. Incorrect loads or overloading can lead to the joints, tendons and ligaments being injured and suffering damage. If too much pressure is placed on the joints during weight training, this can wear away the joint cartilage.  Although the joint cartilage is no more than a few millimetres thick, it plays a crucial role in joint function. Articular cartilage, which is made of strong and elastic tissue, forms a coating over the joint surfaces of the bones and is important because it reduces friction between the bones and acts as a kind of "shock absorber".

Articular cartilage also depends on a sufficient supply of nutrients. However, since the cartilage has no direct connection to the bloodstream, it must absorb all essential nutrients through the synovial fluid. The lack of connection to the bloodstream is also the reason why cartilage injuries are more protracted and generally heal less well than injuries to other types of tissue.

The synovial fluid (synovia) is also known as synovial fluid and is released from the inner skin of the vessels into the joint cavity. The synovia primarily contains hyaluronic acid, proteins, sugar and water. The distribution of nutrients takes place by diffusion. Diffusion is understood to be the mixing of interrelated substances, which is created by their random natural movement. This process also removes waste products, which is why this process can be regarded as the body's own transport system. Increasingly, the transport of nutrients and waste materials is driven by movement (e.g. by walking). The principle is similar to that of a sponge: During the load phase, the pressure created ensures that the cartilage is pressed out. During the subsequent relief phase, nutrient-rich joint fluid is absorbed into the cartilage. The consequence of this is that sufficient movement is essential for cartilage and joint health.

In addition, a healthy and balanced diet with joint-active nutrients supports the health of cartilage and joints. This includes above all the needs-based intake of vitamin C, which has been scientifically proven to be able to support normal collagen formation for normal cartilage and bone function. Vitamin D also plays an important role, as this "sun vitamin" has been proven to support the maintenance of normal bones. It is important to know that especially in the dark season many people in Germany have a vitamin D deficiency! Also zinc contributes to the receipt of normal bones.

Glucosamine sulphate, chondroitin sulphate, hyaluronic acid and collagen are considered to be particularly important cartilage components. These substances are contained in the cartilage tissue or in the synovia and are closely linked to each other in the cartilage metabolism. Supplements that provide "joint nutrition" are based on these cartilage building blocks and also provide other special nutrient substrates.

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