An Interesting Book

I guess everyone should have this book - It is a cool collections what you should know about your body - Picked up some parts from the CNN Book review section for people to read

The book, subtitled "Hundreds of Questions You'd Only Ask a Doctor After Your Third Martini," is co-authored by humorist Mark Leyner ("Et Tu, Babe" and "My Cousin, My Gastroenterologist").

Some of the intersting questions in the book --

So, then, why do your teeth chatter when you're cold?
Chattering teeth is one way the body tries to generate heat. When the body gets too cold, the area of the brain called the hypothalamus alerts the rest of the body to begin warming up. Shivering, the rapid muscle movement that generates heat, then begins. Teeth chattering represents localized shivering.

Are toilet seats disease carriers?
As for toilet seat-as-disease carrier, during the course of their research, Goldberg and Leyner found reports of gonorrhea, pinworm and roundworm found on toilet seats -- but catching something from it isn't common. The authors discovered that an office setting might be worse for your health than toilet seats. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist at the University of Arizona, found the typical office desk harbors some 400 times more disease-causing bacteria than the average toilet seat.

What causes morning breath?
Goldberg says morning breath results from anaerobic bacteria, the xerostomia (dry mouth) or the volatile sulfur compounds (which are waste products from the bacteria). Other contributing factors to foul oral odor includes medication, alcohol, sugar, smoking, caffeine, and eating dairy products.

Why do beans give you gas?
Beans contain high percentages of sugars that our bodies are unable to digest, Goldberg explains. When the sugars make it to the intestines, bacteria go to work and start producing large amounts of gas.

And the classic why do men have nipples?
While only females have mammary glands, we all start out in a similar way in the embryo, the authors explain. The embryo follows a female template until about six weeks, when the male sex chromosome kicks in. Men, however, have already developed nipples by that time.