You’re a saliva machine

You’re a saliva machine
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You probably don’t think much about your dribble, but you produce on average 640 millilitres of saliva a day. That’s a good thing since saliva plays an important role in washing away the nasties in your mouth. People with low saliva levels are more vulnerable to cavities and oral infections.

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You’re pretty brainy

You’re pretty brainy
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Give it up for your noggin. There are at least 100 trillion neural connections in the human brain, Discover magazine reports. Keep them all firing by following these brain-boosting habits. Whether you tutor others or learn to play an instrument, you can protect against cognitive decline and stay sharp for the long haul.

Plus, make sure you’re not falling for any of these human body myths, which could damage your health.

Toenails lag behind fingernails

Toenails lag behind fingernails
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Ever wonder why you need to clip your toenails less often than your fingers? It’s because they grow at a snail’s pace. While fingernails grow 0.1 millimetres per day, toenails only grow one millimetre a month, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

You’re pore-fection

You’re pore-fection
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Magnifying mirrors are the worst for revealing every imperfection on your face, but even they can’t see just how many pores dot your features. Adults have about 20,000 pores on their face, per L’Oreal Paris.

There’s a hidden network in your body

There’s a hidden network in your body
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Blood vessels are tiny, but line them all up and you’ve got something really big – really big. Your body boasts a network of 96,560 kilometres of blood vessels, notes the National Institutes of Health. One way to keep them healthy is by eating right.

Certain body parts have standard sizes

Certain body parts have standard sizes
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For men wanting to know if they measure up, the average penis is 12.7 to 17.7 centimetres when erect, according to the Kinsey Institute. They also note that the average circumference is 10.16 to 15.24 centimetres. If you have diabetes, your risk for erectile dysfunction is three times higher compared to healthy males.

You’re built to be a foodie

You’re built to be a foodie
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Salty, sweet, bitter, sour, and savory: Your tongue boasts 2,000 to 8,000 taste buds, and each has 50 to 100 taste receptor cells. (The number and location of these taste buds varies widely in each person.) That’s a huge opportunity to love every bite of food you eat.

Ovaries house a lot of eggs

Ovaries house a lot of eggs
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Women are born with one to two million eggs in their ovaries. But you won’t continue making them throughout your life: A woman’s supply decreases throughout her years until menopause. As many as 500 mature throughout the reproductive years, with the rest being simply destroyed by the body.

Your noggin’s kind of hefty

Your noggin’s kind of hefty
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As big as your brain is, it’s a mystery why you’re losing your keys all the time. The average human brain weighs in at about 230 grams. And it can do some pretty impressive things – even the average person can train themselves to remember hundreds of words or numbers – here’s how.

Everybody poops

Everybody poops
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No seriously. The average human passes 163 kilograms of poop per year. (A rather fun but unofficial calculator can estimate how many times you’ve pooped in your life.)

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Source: rd.com 

 

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