subject: Your Three Elimination Organs and How They Work [print this page] Your Three Elimination Organs and How They Work
The three main elimination organs are the kidneys, the liver, and the colon. These organs function every second of every day to ensure that waste is flushed out of your body with the most efficiency. But how much do you really know about how these organs work?
The Kidneys
The basic functions of the kidneys include:
Removing drugs from the body
Removing waste from the body
Balancing the body's fluids
Producing an active form of vitamin D to promote healthy bones
Releasing hormones to regulate blood pressure
Controlling the production of red blood cells
Healthy people have two kidneys, each approximately the size of a fist. The organs are located on either side of the spine and situated at the lowest level of the ribcage. Your kidneys contain up to a million nephrons, which consist of a filtering until of blood vessels attached to a tubule. When blood enters these blood vessels, it's filtered. The leftover liquid travels along the tubule, where chemicals and water are either removed from or added to the fluid according to your body's particular needs at the time. The final product? Urine.
The Liver
The basic functions of the liver include:
Storing iron
Making blood cells
Storing sugars, minerals, and vitamins
Preventing blood clots
Breaking down poisons
Balancing hormone levels
Regulating cholesterol
Filtering excess bacteria from blood
The liver is the largest glandular organ in the body. It's situated on the right, lower side of the abdomen, below the diaphragm. Arguable the most important function of the liver is to filter your body's blood. When you ingest harmful substances such as alcohol, drugs, chemicals, and metabolic waste, the liver does its best to filter out as much of the bad stuff as possible before it can hit your bloodstream. Unfortunately, the liver simply isn't able to filter out all the harmful substances.
Another important function of the liver has to do with digestion. After you eat, the liver is stimulated and produces bile, which is stored in the gallbladder. When the food you ate reaches the intestines, the gallbladder lets that bile loose, which helps to break down the food and make for efficient digestion.
The Colon
The basic functions of the colon include:
Storing bodily waste and/or fecal matter
Absorbing mineral salt and water from food to balance fluid/electrolyte levels
Absorbing and assimilating undigested food
Lubricating fecal matter for easy evacuation
Evacuating fecal waste along with toxic matter, bad bacteria, and parasites present
The colon is the longest part of the large intestine and works in conjunction with the skin, liver, and kidney to flush toxic matter out of the body. The colon measures over five feet in length and has an average diameter of approximately 2.5 inches. It consists of three main sections: the ascending colon, the traverse colon, and the descending colon. When fecal matter moves through the colon, the colon's lining absorbs vitamins, mineral salts, and water from the waste. The fecal matter continues through the colon until the walls of the sigmoid colon begin contracting, pushing the matter into the rectum for evacuation. One reason why so many people try a colon cleanse is because they understand that the colon is one of the most important elimination organs of the bodyand a clean colon functions better than one that's clogged with accumulated waste!
There you have ita brief introduction to each of the main three elimination organs and how they work. Without even one of these three organs, your body would have a very difficult time eliminating toxic matter from your body. They work together to ensure that your body is free of toxic waste and performing as it should.
Katrina Robinson is a freelance writer that commonly focuses on lifestyle, fitness, and natural healing methods such as colon cleansing.
