Sometimes women get bogged down in body image issues. We focus on
what our bodies can't do, how they don't look and how we wish they
looked. In the process, we lose sight of everything they are capable of
and how downright incredible they are, imperfections and all.
Here's a reminder of six of the totally awesome things women's bodies can do.
And if you think of any big causes for celebration we left off the list, let us know in the comments.
1. Create Life
Yes,
it's obvious. But it's also so incredible, we can't leave it off the
list: Women's bodies are capable of growing other people and then
ushering them into the world.
Lots of specific things happen
during pregnancy in order to help babies along - each of them
mind-blowing in their own right. For example, women's bodies grow a
whole new organ (the placenta), which provides oxygen and key nutrients
and also eliminates waste. Plus, overall maternal blood volume increases
by up to 50 percent, while the amount of blood pumped by a pregnant
woman's heart every minute increases by between 30 and 50 percent, the
Mayo Clinic explains.
2. Make Food
Again, another one
that's pretty obvious, but too incredible to ignore: Women's bodies make
their own food. And not just any food, but, like, the original
superfood. Breast milk and colostrum - the thick, yellow fluid women
make early-on before their full milk comes in - is rich in nutrients and
antibodies that can help babies fight off infection and disease for
weeks, months and even years to come.
3. Have Multiple Orgasms
Media
coverage of women and sex often focuses on the elusive female orgasm.
Less touted (celebrated?) is the fact that many women are capable of
achieving multiple big-Os in a row. As WebMD explains, "Some women are
capable of a rapid return to the orgasm phase with further sexual
stimulation and may experience multiple orgasms." Men, on the other
hand, "need recovery time after orgasm, called a refractory period,
during which they cannot reach orgasm again."
4. Remember Things
The
brain is the most complex part of the human body and a growing number
of studies suggest that women's brains are particularly adept at
remembering important bits of information. A 2010 study by researchers
with the University of London found that 50-year-old women were better
at recalling a group of words they'd heard minutes before than their
male counterparts, whilea study published this June found that women
were better than men at remembering faces.
5. Smell (Really Well)
Studies
suggest that women have a strong sense of smell - stronger than men's
overall. And that sense becomes even stronger just before or during
ovulation. "Women have a better sense of smell, especially during
ovulation when estrogen levels soar," Dr. Oz once told Oprah. A
(slightly bizarre) 2008 study even suggested that women are capable of
sniffing out men's sexual intentions by smelling samples of their sweat.
6. Survive
According
to recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates, women
live roughly five years longer than men. Scientists surmise that much of
that is because women are more likely to engage in healthier behaviors
that impact longevity (like eating well, for example), but recent
research also suggests that women's bodies have an innate ability to
fight off infection and disease.
A Japanese study found that
there was a slower rate of decline in key immune-related markers in
women than in men, possibly because of how sex hormones affect the
immune system, MSN reports.
