I Heart Guts » colon

Your Heroic Appendix

gutsy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 17:45:06 +0000

Your guts bugging you? Turns out that’s a good thing. Until recently, the appendix has had a reputation as a shiftless organ with no known modern function, but evolutionary biologists now have a different idea — that it functions as a storage unit for good bacteria. They argue the good bacteria hangs out in the appendix until needed to replace ones flushed out by diarrhea or other nasty gut-bug killers. When the gut gets flushed out, the appendix — which is lined with immune system tissue — releases the good bugs back into the intestine. Today’s improved sanitary conditions leave our immune systems twiddling their thumbs to some extent, so the appendix is not needed as often as in the days when our ancestors were, say, eating raw meat and drinking water from streams. Without enough immunity battles to fight, and perhaps too much exposure to anti-microbial hand washes, the body begins picking battles with allergies and autoimmune disorders. Hence all the recent studies that say eating dirt is good for kids.

Gut Lovin’ Bugs

gutsy — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 20:25:54 +0000

Is your gut bugging you? Sometimes that can be a good thing, especially when it comes to the heathful bacteria that lives in your digestive system and helps you to digest food. There are about 300 – 1000 different species of guts bugs living in your large intestine, some good, some bad. Recently you may have noticed that probiotics are all the rage, sneaking into all kinds of food, from yogurt to cereal. Last weekend I came across the pictured sticker in a promotion for phd, a new probio beverage on the market, check out their gut bug blog for more info.

Sleeping in Guts

gutsy — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 19:30:38 +0000

Snuggling down into a pile of intestines doesn’t sound appealing until you see this fabulous tauntaun sleeping bag from Think Geek. Pretend to be Luke as he warms up inside this poor slain snow lizard on Hoth. The bag also comes equipped with a light saber zipper pull so you can also pretend to be the sexy Han Solo. Better to keep the thing alive for future Rebel patrol missions, we think.

Totally Boweled Over

iheartguts — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:26:14 +0000

More brand-new tees in stock, including men’s and women’s intestine “I Heart Your Guts” t-shirts and our fancy new “Gall of the Wild” gall bladder shirt for men and women. Be the first on your block to wear your bowels on the outside! I have finally caved to consumer trends and have made separate colors for men and women’s tees. Apparently real men don’t wear pink.The new gall bladder tee also means we’ve got the goods for a Gall Bladder Gift Pack. Woo hoo! And for those of you waiting for the Smells Like Spleen Spirit t-shirt, we’ve got that back in stock, this time in Kelly Green, in all sizes, finally. Thanks for being so patient!