Our bodies use approximately 2,500 calories of our daily intake of calorie-laden food to fuel the body. This process, known asoxidation, burns the calories, producing enough heat to bring 25quartsof water to the boiling point. Obviously, our bodies cannot tolerate this heat, which causes the temperature of the blood to rise dramatically, and the cooling center to springs into action.

The cooling center slows the calorie burning process, anddilates, or opens, the blood vessels in the skin to release the excess heat, and the fluid known asperspiration.The release of this fluid cleanses the body, as it pours through ourpores, which consist of millions of tiny openings in the skin. Perspiration emerges on the surface of the skin in the form of tiny,microscopicdroplets, which quickly evaporate, and cool the body to its normal temperature.

Evaporation of perspiration on humid days slows, and requires the assistance of manmade inventions, such as fans and air conditioners, to carry away the moist air, so our perspiration evaporates, and so our internal thermostat returns to it's normal setting of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Apparently, our cooling center is not self-sufficient!