raqhaelia
“The Flinch” by Julien Smith
Reblogged bogbodybarbie
Reblogged bogbodybarbie
Erika Lee Sears, City Night Lights, 2025, Oil painting on cradled birch wood panel
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octave denis victor guillonnet / gordon mortensen / santiago rusiñol / raoul dufy / albert marquet / henry moret
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honkin yappin
Reblogged bogbodybarbie
Susan Hertel.
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arsvitaest-deactivated20260111
Vincent van Gogh, Wheat Fields after the Rain, 1890, oil on canvas Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA
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'In the Winter Dusk'. David Grossmann. 2022.
Reblogged boudicasdaughter
Most interesting scientific facts I learned reading Starre Vartan's 'The Stronger Sex - What Science Tells us about the Female Body'.
I don't have page numbers because I read an epub version taken from a PDF that was all over the place.
- Women's muscles are significantly less subject to fatigue in tests of isometric muscle endurance (i.e. when lifting lower weights, women can do more reps than men, and can also hold these weights in a static position for longer).
- Women's muscles take up oxygen about 30% faster than men's which "scientifically speaking, indicates a superior aerobic system"
- Women have a higher proportion og "slow twitch" muscle fibres which are good for endurance exercise and confer a health advantage when it comes to diabetes by increasing insulin sensitivity.
- After an hour of exercise at the same level of intensity, women's muscles burn more fat (and less carbs) when compared to men's. This keeps women going in endurance exercises.
- Menstrual blood contains mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). Remnant cells in the uterine lining that heal the uterus each month without scars could also contain stem cells. This could contribute to endometriosis because during menstruation, some menstrual fluid travels up through the fallopian tubes and into the peritoneal cavity. If this fluid carries stem cells associated with the endometrium, it could explain how endometrial cells grow outside the uterus.
- In the 1920s, there was debate about whether menstrual blood could harm plants and animals. It was discussed as a "menotoxin" into the mid 20th century and in 1936, research was published about whether menotoxin caused a child's asthma.
- Male bodies have 50-100% higher fasting blood glucose levels, and men clear glucose 15% slower than women. Glucose uptake in men can be up to 50% slower. This is one reason why men are more than twice as likely to develop diabetes as women.
- Estrogen comes from two sources: the ovaries and the subcutaneous fat on the hips and buttocks. Once a female body goes through menopause, the hip/buttock fat becomes the only source of estrogen, which is important for maintaining bone strength
- During pregnancy, the body's energy use increases to 2.2x the basal metabolic rate which is close to the limit of what the human body can handle.
- Female small intestines are significantly longer than males, which might explain how women are better able to withstand life stressors like starvation or disease.
- Sex hormones influence the gut microbiome, and the microbiome impacts how sex hormones are metabolised. Similarly, vigorous exercise is helpful for gut microbial diversity.
- Women's bodies devote more energy to continually educating their b-cells (antibodies) and therefore produce the best-fitting antibodies and fighting infections more effectively than males.
- Female sex hormones strengthen the immune system and testosterone suppresses it.
- Women have stronger immune systems into old age, allowing them to fight off diseases better than older men, although this ability does decline over time.