discuss how the colon maintains water and electrolyte balance?
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It's very similar to the nephron in the kidneys. Basically, the colon absorbs water along with sodium and can secret potassium if need be.
1148935
Eat more fruit, vegetables and drink more water and eat more fiber.  Take in less meat and reduce your sodium (salt) intake.  Avoid bread and pasta.  If you must, take a laxitive from time to time, not regularly.
1087593
Well, Na+ and Cl- are very important in the human body, as well as other ions like Ca2+, K-, etc. It's important in cell to maintain an osmotic pressure inside the cell (so that it doesn't loose or gain too much water). It is also important in the transportation of molecules to the inside the cell.  That's all I can think of at the moment.
948225
to maintain the concentration level of the cell
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Balance Your Body Chemistry.\n\nIf you've ever taken chemistry in high school you're familiar with this simple experiment to test the conductivity of salt. Two ends of an electrical wire are attached to a light bulb. The other ends are submerged in a glass of water. Because water alone is not conductive, the bulb does not light up. But when we add a little salt to the water the bulb starts to glow.\n\nIt's the same with our body. When we lack the natural elements in salt we suffer from a chronic energy deficit, or deficit of information. Salt is a core essential nutrient with exceptional abilities and qualities fundamental for keeping us alive.\n\nScience and medicine have tried to define the precise roles of salt in the healthy and diseased human organism. Blood, sweat, and tears all contain salt, and both the skin and the eyes are protected from infectious germs by the anti-bacterial effect of salt. When salt is added to a liquid, particles with opposite charges are formed: a positively charged sodium ion and a negatively charged chloride ion. This is the basis of osmosis which regulates fluid pressure within living cells and protects the body against excessive water loss (as in diarrhoea or on heavy sweating).  Sodium and chloride ions, as well as potassium ions, create a measurable difference in potential across cell membranes. This ensures that the fluid inside living cells remains separate from that outside. Thus, although the human body consists mainly of water, our "inner ocean" does not flow away or evaporate. Sodium ions create a high pressure of liquid in the kidneys and thus regulate their metabolic function. Water is extracted through the renal drainage system. The body thus loses a minimal amount of essential water. Out of 1500 litres of blood which pass daily through the kidneys, only about 1.5 litres of liquid leave the body as urine. \n\nSalt is "fuel" for nerves. Streams of positively and negatively charged ions send impulses to nerve fibres. A muscle cell will only contract if an impulse reaches it. Nerve impulses are partly propelled by co-ordinated changes in charged particles.
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Your blood keeps its pH range stable.
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Homeostasis \nHomeostasis is the physiological process by which the internal systems of the body (e.g. blood pressure, body temperature, acid-base balance) are maintained at equilibrium despite variations in the external conditions. \nThe body can maintain the fluid levels using the kidneys, these organs filter out harmful chemicals and excess liquid into the bladder from which the urine is then expelled.  Body temperature is regulated somewhat by the skin, example, if you are hot you begin to sweat and this helps to cool the body, if you are cold you shiver this helps to raise, the body temperature.
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Excretory systems regulate the chemical composition of body fluids.\n\nhttp://www.fi.edu/biosci/systems/excretion.html
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Drink lots of water.  By the way, salt is a natural expectorant as well as a natural antihistamine. Histamine is the body's response to dehydration since the role of histamine is to act as the master conductor of water management during dehydration.
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Sodium (Which retains water in the body and is an electrolyte), sugar, probably some potassium, and lots of water. \n\nElectrolytes are ions, such as sodium, potassium, or chloride, required by cells to regulate the electric charge and flow of water molecules across the cell membrane. -Which means they make it easier for your cells to work, process things, and remove waste with water.
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There are many ways in which these two systems work together to maintain homeostasis but let's keep it simple if we can...\nBy excretory system I imagine you are referring to the kidneys, ureter, bladder, etc. This system receives about a quarter of the blood volume from each stroke of the heart, and filters out the impurities and excess water from the bloodstream. By doing this the kidneys (along with the lungs) help to maintain the pH of the blood (maintain the acid to base balance.) If the pH varies too much then the person's life could be in danger. By removing excess minerals from the body the kidneys also prevent potential life-threatening problems from occurring. For example, if you have too much potassium in your body, even though it is necessary to have some, your heart could stop. \nBy removing excess water from the blood, along with producing certain hormones, the kidneys also help blood pressure from getting too high or low. A healthy heart and blood vessels also contribute to maintaining blood pressure by constricting and expanding the vessels, and by changing the rate of your pulse. Hope this helps some...
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They increase the Contractions in the GI tract. some Even increase the water content in the GI tract.
879024
drink a probiotic - called Kerfir - found at grocery stores and health food stores.  more powerful than yougurt - great for getting your bowel back to the "right" chemical balance.  drink lots of water and becareful if you eat a lot of fiber - slowly add fiber ( and you must drink plenty of water with any food containing fiber)
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"fiber-roughage-bulk-stool softener;" also to help absorb toxins out of the colon tissues-wall and the food we eat so it is not absorbed into the bloodstream, and also acts like a "roto rooter", helps keep us "regular" and moves the feces thru faster and with higher water content, thus keeps LI muscles exercised (better muscle tone) and prevents colo-rectal cancer, constipation, diverticulosis and diverticulitis (3 bowel movememnts a day if we eat vegetarian diets and have a healthy colon); great for lowering cholesterol and blood sugar too.  Ideally we have 35-40 g a day, but most Americans have less than 10g a day, thus higher colorectal cancer here.
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Fiber >>> Bowel Movement >>> Feel Healthy
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Avoid salt!  There are many foods that can make you retain water.  Pickles are a big one!  If changing what you eat doesn't work, see your doctor.  You may have a serious health condition.  Don't mess around with over-the-counter diuretics.  They are not good for you.  Ultimately, get off of your feet and elevate them!
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because your body is retaining more water