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UNDERSTANDING THE URINARY SYSTEM
The urinary system consists of two kidneys, each having a ureter connecting it to the bladder. The
bladder is then connected to the urethra, which ultimately leads to an
opening out of the body. The function of the urinary system is to
produce and remove a waste product called urine, and to regulate the amount,
alkalinity or acidity, and consistency of body fluids.
Kidneys filter blood. Every minute, one quarter of the blood in the
body enters the kidneys, which are composed of about 2 million
microscopic filters called nephrons.
Nephrons are responsible for absorbing
nutrients and eliminating toxins and other waste materials from the
blood. In addition, the kidneys help regulate other bodily
functions by secreting the hormones renin, erythropoietin and prostaglandin. Renin helps control blood pressure, while erythropoietin helps stimulate the body to produce
more red blood cells.
Prostaglandin is not limited to the kidneys. In other tissues and
situations, it causes smooth muscles to contract or relax, is involved in
abnormal fluid collection in the body, is responsible for some types of
fevers and pain, and is heavily involved in the process of
inflammation. But in the kidneys, prostaglandin causes dilation of
the veins and helps with the urine-making process. The bladder is a
sac-like organ located in the pelvis. Its function is to store
urine until it is excreted. It is made up of three layers of
involuntary muscles that provide it with the ability to expand and
contract. When empty, the bladder shrivels up to the shape of a
small prune, but it swells and stretches as needed to hold urine.
Most people's bladders can hold about a pint of urine. Then, when
the bladder is full, the walls expand and send impulses to the brain
telling it to urinate.
Urine is 96% water. The other 4% includes a mix of urea, salt,
sugar, proteins, fat, vitamins and colouring from bile pigments.
Its colour is usually
clear or yellow, though this depends upon the diet and health of the
individual. Urine has a distinct, ammonia-like smell that is
primarily due to the nitrogenous wastes it contains.
Factors in urinary health
Kidneys are designed to keep the blood clean. They spend every
minute of the day filtering out impurities. However, like any
intricate structure, they have limitations. Even so, modem society
seems to dictate that they must deal with more and more abuse.
Drinking water frequently during the day can alleviate some potential
problems by helping the kidneys flush toxins from the body.
Healthy cells need the proper concentration of salts. That's why
potassium and sodium are crucial to the body's fluid balance. More
than half of the water in the body is located inside the cells. The
rest is mixed with salt, rather like diluted sea water, that bathes the
cells.
The kidneys are the major regulating mechanism for maintaining proper
sodium and potassium balance. They are designed to excrete extra
potassium and save sodium. In times past, there was plenty of
potassium in foods, but not as much sodium. Today, people eat more
foods that contain sodium (mainly processed foods with added sodium) and
not as many fresh foods with natural potassium.
Unfortunately, even with a high-sodium diet, the kidneys
still save sodium and excrete potassium. Obviously, we can't change
the way our kidneys function, but we can change our diet. Since
food processing lowers the potassium content of foods, we should eat
plenty of fresh foods.
Herbal supplements, vitamins and minerals can also help provide the
urinary system with the nutrients it needs to effectively perform its
delicate chemical balancing act.
Copyright Nature’s Sunshine Products Inc
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