Don’t Be In A Hurry To Rip Out Your Appendix

About Michael John Scott
Mr. Scott is the owner and publisher of Mad Mike's America. He is a U.S. Army veteran, career law enforcement executive, and dog trainer. He is a university professor, and criminal justice consultant, holding several degrees, including a master's in criminal justice and human services. He has completed the requisite coursework toward his doctorate, and is still working on his dissertation.
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I had my appendix removed when I was 12, and that was a couple of years ago.  I never gave it much thought until today, when I read the following:

A new study lends weight to the theory that the appendix has been getting a bad rap for centuries. Researchers determined that the organ had evolved independently in at least 32 different mammals, which wouldn’t make a lot of evolutionary sense if it served no purpose, reports Science. Conventional wisdom, made popular by Darwin himself, holds that the appendix was important eons ago when human ancestors ate mostly leaves, but fell out of service when our diet and digestion needs changed. The new research refutes this theory, finding scant evidence of a link to the appendix and diet in the mammals studied.

So what might the appendix do? The article floats an interesting “safe house” theory that’s been around for a few years: On the rare occasion when beneficial bacteria in the gut is overrun by its dangerous brethren, the good stuff can “retreat to the safety of the appendix, which remains unaffected,” it says. “Once the immune system has beaten the infection, the beneficial bacteria emerge from the appendix to quickly recolonize the gut.

Well, it’s a little late to turn back now, and anyone who has suffered from appendicitis will know what I mean when I say I doubt a different decision could have been made as to whether or not to remove that pesky little organ.

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