Profe Claudio Nieto: What are homeostasis and allostasis?

• Profe Claudio Nieto talks to us about homeostasis and allostasis.
• These are ways in which our body responds.
• Moreover, some key points on this topic are highlighted.

In Profe Claudio Nieto’s show, he talks about science and explains ideas like balance in our body.

Using easy words and clear examples, Claudio tells us how our body acts in different times and why we should know about it.

He also asks us to think: Why do we see some things as «good» and others as «bad»?

The reason is in how our body changes. Now, let’s understand this better.

Body Reponse

The first thing to think about is that «good» and «bad» might just be different ways to look at how our body works.

How our body acts can be good, like losing weight, getting strong, or having more energy.

But, it can also be not so good, like gaining weight, getting hurt, blood problems, or getting sick.

But, what we think is «good» or «bad» can change, because the body wants to be okay. So, losing weight isn’t always good, and gaining isn’t always bad; it depends on the person.

Homeostasis

Two big ideas are talked about: keeping balance and changing. First, we talk more about keeping balance.

Keeping balance is an important idea that talks about how living things keep steady, even when things change around them.

The word «balance» means «to stay the same.»

It’s important for all living things to be okay because it makes sure everything works right inside.

Body’s Balance

Balance means we try to keep some things the same, like how our blood is, sugar amount, how warm we are, and other important things.

If something changes a lot, our body acts to make it right again. It’s a normal thing that happens every day.

Like, if it’s very hot and we get warm, we sweat to cool down and feel okay.

Simply put, homeostasis is to go back to a «normal» way. Now, let’s talk about another big idea.

Allostasis

This isn’t as known as balance but is very important.

Changing is how our body acts when things are hard or when things change a lot.

Different from balance, which wants things to stay the same, changing does different things when needed.

For example, if someone is very worried or needs a lot of energy fast, the body lets out things that make the heart go fast and give more sugar in the blood.

Changing is important

Allostasis helps us act right when things are scary.

It helps us act fast in scary times, but if we’re always scared, it’s not good.

If our body is always acting, it can cause health problems.

To end, Profe Claudio Nieto tells us that while balance tries to keep everything the same, changing helps our body deal with different things.