Homeostasis

The French physiologist Claude Bernard (1813-1878) originated the concept of homeostasis, the tendency of an organism to maintain the constancy of its internal environment (le milieu intérieur). It is the single most important unifying concept in biology, physiology, nutrition, and medicine. Bernard observed that most physiologic parameters of the body like heart rate, temperature, electrolyte concentrations, etc. have discrete ranges of optimal operation, and somewhat wider ranges within which life may be supported. Homeostasis is the process by which maximum ranges are not exceeded and (hopefully) optimal functioning is achieved. The body's homeostatic mechanisms act like feedback dampers which compensate to reduce the ranges of physiologic fluctuations, often increasing their force as a deviation from some hypothetical optimal center point increases. It is essential to life that many environmental parameters (heat, pressure, oxygen concentration, water intake, etc.) not vary so greatly that they long exceed the ability of homeostatic mechanisms to compensate for them. Many important biological parameters are less immediately stressful (environmental contaminants, radiation exposure, noise, etc.) but in doses too great over time can also disrupt homeostasis and health noticeably. While some of these things we can't do anything about, there are others which we have a great deal of control over, if we so choose. Among the most important for top performance is optimal nutrition.

Knowledge of nutrition can be applied with great effectiveness toward maintaining optimal health. MyBiochemistry.com provides detailed knowledge about your own nutrient intakes and can compare them with what current science suggests you should be consuming. It is a resource for nutrition knowledge that can be applied in your daily life for weight control, sports nutrition, and just leading a healthy existence.

Coming soon: an online research experiment that could turn you from a night person into a morning person, or from a morning person to a night person, through diet. If you're interested, email us to let us know, and we'll give it a higher priority on the project development list.