Your body may seem to be made up of muscles and bones and organs all wrapped in skin, but on a much smaller level, your entire body is composed of trillions of cells. 30 trillion cells to be exact! It is easy to disregard the health of these cells when thinking about healing an injury or overcoming a virus, but wouldn’t it make sense to look at your own health on a cellular level? If the components that made up your body are all healthy, then how could your body be unhealthy? Healthy cells will create a body that has more energy, better immunity, and can even slow down the process of aging! Healthy cells equal a healthy life.
In order to understand the importance of cells, we must first understand what cells are composed of. Think of our cells as little spheres (even though they come in many shapes and sizes depending on where they are found in our bodies) that are surrounded by a sort of waterproof membrane. This membrane has little gates throughout it that allow in certain molecules the cell needs and excretes any waste products it produces. The gate agents are our electrolytes that we get from our diet (see our electrolyte blog post for more info) and they ensure that the cell only gets what it needs to keep it healthy.
Inside of our cells, we have many organelles (much like mini versions of the organs found in our bodies) that do all sorts of important things for the cell’s function. We have a nucleus which houses all of our DNA. A cell’s function and purpose is determined by what genes are turned on in its nucleus’ DNA. Cells have what is called the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This is like the manufacturing plant of our cells that produces proteins, or the building blocks of life. They also have the Golgi apparatus which are like our cell’s post office that package all the proteins and fats created in our cell to send out wherever they need to go. The lysosomes and peroxisomes are like our garbage men who go through the cell, collect waste and detox particles, and break them down so we can recycle most materials (even our cells are eco-conscious!). Arguably one of the most important parts of the cell is the mitochondria. This is the powerhouse of the cell and where our cell’s energy is made in the form of molecules called ATP. Lastly, we have the cytoplasm, which is the goop inside the cell where all of these organelles live. This may feel like a lot of things to cover which is why we are doing a healthy cell blog series where we break down each of these cell components and tell you how to optimize their function. Today, we start with the big picture: the cell itself.
Our bodies, and therefore our cells, can experience immense stress every day. Some stressors include oxidative stress from pollution, radiation, poor air quality in our homes, and pesticide use. Another stress that many people deal with is chronic inflammation. When we have excess inflammation in our bodies, the cell membrane, proteins in our bodies, and even our DNA can be at risk. Working on reducing our bodies’ exposure to stressors can be a great tool for improving the health of our cells. Simple ways to do this are to eat mostly organic foods to limit our exposure to pesticides, have some house plants or an air purifier in our homes to improve the quality of the air we breathe, and use non-toxic body care products. When our cells are under high inflammation, our mitochondria are unable to function properly and produce less ATP, leading to less energy for our bodies to use. This can lead to chronic fatigue, the inability for the body to function optimally, and even cell wasting called necrosis.
There is a big difference between cell necrosis and apoptosis. Necrosis occurs when a cell dies before its lifespan should be up. This is due to severe damage to the cell from lack of oxygen, injury, or another trauma. Apoptosis occurs when the body is in a healthy state and wants to clean out damaged cells, including cancer cells. Cells who undergo necrosis have membranes that burst due to cell swelling, while apoptosis is done in an organized manner and allows the cell’s byproducts to be recycled for later use.
From learning about these two methods of cell death, it makes sense that we would want to encourage apoptosis and discourage necrosis. Let’s learn how.
In terms of encouraging apoptosis, healthy cell death, in order to ensure only our healthiest of cells are what are making up our bodies, there are a few things we can do. The most studied way to encourage apoptosis is by implementing a regular fasting routine. Whether that is more frequent intermittent fasting or a prolonged water fast every few months, all types of fasting has benefits for getting rid of unhealthy cells in our bodies. Other ways to induce apoptosis include:
- Regular exercise encourages the body to get rid of old cells that are using resources, but not providing much benefit to the body.
- Caloric restriction is a way to induce apoptosis without fasting due to the decrease in energy intake allowing the body to focus on cleaning out old cells.
- Having a diet rich in phytochemicals from plant foods is a great way to protect cells from oxidative stress. A few good foods to eat for phytochemicals include green tea/matcha, turmeric, onions, apples, and broccoli.
- Hormesis, otherwise known as good stress, is a great way to induce apoptosis. It does so by increasing the stress response in cells, telling our bodies to prioritize only the healthy ones. Some of the most popular to induce hormesis include exercise, cold plunging/cold exposure, and sauna.
If you are very serious about supporting your cellular health, there are some great supplements you can look into taking. One of our favorite longevity supplements is NMN. This is the precursor to NAD+ which all of our cells use to make energy. The more NAD+ you have, the more energy your cells should be able to produce, and then the healthier your cells should be. Another supplement that can support your cellular membranes is phosphatidylcholine. These are the particles that make up all of your cellular membranes and daily stressors can really impact the health of those cell membranes. The more integrity they have, the less sensitive our cells will be to stress and the more resilient we will be.
In order to address big health issues in your life, it is wise to look to the cells first. If the body has healthy cells then it has a much higher likelihood of being healthy itself. Our next blog post in this healthy cell series will be about mitochondria! Look forward to seeing you there.
Check out our last blog post all about implementing new healthy habits into your life!