Monday, April 1, 2013

What in the World is an Alimentary Canal?

     Well, the alimentary canal is the system in your body that takes the food in and eliminates what isn't absorbed. So from mouth to butt and everything in between is the alimentary canal.

     So why am I telling you about this? I'm certainly not an expert. I heard a very interesting interview on the radio this morning with Mary Roach who has written Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal.

     The interview began with the topic of hot dog eating contests and how such enormous amounts can be consumed without damage. Answer? The whole system can stretch enormously. 

   Roach got interested in the system when she was a little kid and didn't wan to eat her vegetables. She told her mother that the Inuit didn't eat veggies because they couldn't grow any. They researched the topic. Inuit survive because they eat all the organ meat which is rich in vitamins. Roach didn't tell us that Inuit eat the stomach contents . Many animal the harvest eat vegetation so in this way the Inuit do get veggies. One caution. Don't eat polar bear liver as it's so high in vitamin B content that it's poisonous.

    The forty minute interview continues with all kinds of off the wall info about the alimentary canal.

     At one time people believed that stomach noises were caused by frogs. They thought that the water they consumed contained eggs that hatched in their body.

    Study of the alimentary canal has gone on for ages. Only recently have they been able to see inside the canal and understand what goes on. At one time bags with food were consumed so that the contents had to be eliminated. They then tried to find out what happened to the food. 

    They found out that contents could be removed and digestion continued as the amazing number of chemicals kept on with their work. 

   So it was a very humorous and informative interview... so much so that I had to do a blog post on it.
     

25 comments:

  1. Mary Roach has written some other books that I've enjoyed, like Bonk and Stiff. She's an amazing author who tackles some very interesting topics. I'll have to check this one out1 :-)

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    1. I noticed that she has other books. I'm sure they're amusing and informative...a good combination.

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  2. eek! first, i'll eat my vegetables the regular way, thanks (bless the inuits!) second, LOVED the idea that the frogs were in the stomach! makes perfect sense to me! :)

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    1. Apparently it's not a bad as it sounds. Frozen stuff doesn't have the ick factor.

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  3. Who knew that you could make the human digestive system sound interesting!

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    1. She has all kinds of examples of sayings etc. that she gives the meanings of.

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  4. Very interesting...I learned a lot.

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    1. Lots of complicated stuff goes on inside us.

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    2. We have a complicated inside.

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  5. How about that. She was just interviewed by Jon Stewart on the Daily Show. She was very entertaining.

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    1. This must be a new book that she's out promoting.

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  6. This is brilliant....It cheered up my breakfast.

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  7. A questionable trip through the Alimentary Canal - leave it to you Red. Great read - I am familiar with the "frogs in the stomach" - I remember hearing that when I was a kid. My brother had "frogs in his stomach". ha,ha

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  8. Every day, I try to learn a little something, and here it is!

    Pearl

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    1. She made things pretty easy to understand.

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  9. i think i will get my veggies at the store. I don't eat much organ meat.

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    1. Now I'm not so sure that store veggies are all that safe. However, what options do we have.

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  10. How about a 'frog in the throat' for a dry throat.

    Great post!!! I enjoyed very much!

    Linda
    http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

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    1. I'm sure there is a story behind frog in the throat.

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  11. This must have been a interesting interview - but I have a feeling that if the Inuit sold a diet book, it wouldn't be hugely popular here in the bottom 48.

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    1. There traditional diet was amazing. Today they have an extremely poor diet as they live on store food.

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  12. Red this is interesting but ewwww, I think that I'll pass on how the Inuit consume their veggies! Where do the polar bears get all that vitamin B from?

    The interview sounds like it would have been interesting, amusing as well, thanks for sharing it with us!

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  13. You have such interesting posts!

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