The Hindu Business Line : Body Works

Our urge to eat resides deep in the brain. A walnut-sized lump of tissue is the brain’s want centre. The brain consumes nearly a fifth of the energy we take in, but the want centre responds to the needs of the whole body for nutrients, including vitamins and other minerals. When the body runs short of anything, the brain drives us to mind-boggling lengths to fill the gap. Unconsciously, with death looming, the yachtman consumes the nutrients that can keep him alive. Realising something’s missing in his diet, his want centre generates intense cravings, driving him to eat anything to satisfy them.

Too often we take our bodies for granted. But under pressure, our bodies can show how extraordinary they truly are. This complex machine that grew out of millions of years of evolution is so intricate that many of the things going on inside mystify us. This hidden world can now be explored in three-dimension.

Discovery Channel airs a series portraying the human body — Human Body: Pushing the Limits on Tuesday at 8 p.m. and Sunday 2 p.m. The series, broken into four episodes — sight, strength, sensation and brain — also features people who have pushed their bodies to the maximum.

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