How CELLS work (I)

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At a microscopic level, we are all composed of cells. Scientists estimate that our bodies contain anywhere from 75 to 100 trillion cells of 200 different types.


Basically, to ­understand how your body works, you need to understand cells. Everything from reproduction to infections to repairing a broken bone happens down at the cellular level. This study can also provide vital new insights into the basis and treatment of numerous human diseases, including among others - cancer, diabetes, retinal degeneration, muscular dystrophy, cystic fibrosis and mental retardation.


Functions

Cells perform vital roles of breaking down complex molecules to provide structure and stability, and generate energy to facilitate various biological functions for our continued existence. Hence, it is known as the building block of life.



Types


To elaborate further, these cells are divided into about 200 differen­t types. For examples, our muscles are made of muscle cells, our brains of brain cells, and there are even very specialized types of cells that make the enamel for our teeth or the clear lenses in our eyes.

To start off, each cell consists of trillion of molecules. Components such as DNA, RNA, proteins, glycans and lipids have defined molecular properties and interactive biological activities. Is hard to visualize how microscopic it is. The closer comparison is approximately 10000 cells crowding the head of a pin.
Each cell is able to respond to its environment and to communicate with other cells to create tissues, organs and systems.


Hence, tissues are groups of cells with both a shared structure and function. Animal tissues are usually woven together with extracellular fibers and are held together by a sticky substance that coats the cells. Different types of tissues can also be arranged together to form organs. 

Life span

Cells have varying life spans based on the type and function of the cell. They can live anywhere from a few days to a year. Certain cells of the digestive tract (eg stomach) live for only 6 days, immune system cells up 6 weeks, and skin up to 28 days. Pancreatic cells can live for as long as a year and our bone marrow renews every 7 years. In a total perspective, 200 million cells are dying every minute and nourishment is so crucial for the reconstruction of these new cells. 


Composition

Human’s cells are made of water, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, aminos and traces of other elements. Simply put, your body is about 20% protein by weight, 60% water and the balance composed of minerals.

- The digestive system breaks all proteins down into their amino acids so that they can enter the bloodstream (termed 'catabolic'). Cells then use the amino acids as building blocks to create enzymes and structural proteins (termed 'anabolic') with the aid of steroidal hormones. The primary purpose of an enzyme is to enable the cell to carry out chemical reactions very quickly such as to build or take things apart as needed.

For instance, people who are lactose intolerant do not have the enzyme lactase in their intestinal cells to break down the sugar in milk (lactose) into its glucose components and thus cannot be digested. This problem shows how the lack of just one enzyme in the human body can lead to problems but can be resolved by simply taking the right enzyme supplement. Also, many different toxins can cause an imbalance in the mix of the enzymes floating in the cell’s cytoplasm.

- Trace elements like magnesium, potassium, calcium and sodium found commonly in vegetables and seafood help in oxygen intake and acidity reduction. When oxygen is blocked, toxic accumulates and when overloaded gives rise to mutation of abnormal cells. Risk of cancer can increase by 100 folds for this reason.


In essence, an unhealthy cell is unable to function well and nutrients cannot be utilized by the body effectively.

Structural components

The Plasma cell membrane — This outer lining serves to separate and protect a cell from its surrounding environment and is made mostly from a double layer of proteins and lipids, fat-like molecules.


About 50% of this cell membrane consists of essential fatty acids. That explains why we need good fats. When this layer is broken, fat droplets penetrate to the inner core and envelope the entire structure, pushing the nucleus out of its position to anywhere within. As the first line of defence, the membrane protects cells from harmful damage by free radicals with antioxidants.

Free radicals are molecules produced from environmental contaminants such as radiation, polluted air and smoke. Even clean air we breathe in can lead to cell oxidation, resulting in gradual biological deterioration. Major health problems like heart disease, cancer and even aging (recognised as a disease now) are due to the damaging effects of free radicals. Three powerful antioxidants – Vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene can attack free radicals lying in the biological fluids outside the cells.

Nucleus – It is the membrane-surrounded compartment that houses and protect the DNA genes from damage. It is here the process of replication takes place where DNA is copied and mutate. This becomes the determining factor of your height, eye color, personality and many other personal attributes.

Under proper control, bad genes can be suppressed and good genes expressed.

SOD and catalase are two enzymes that can attack the most dangerous free radical superoxide around the nucleus.

Ribosome: This is an extremely complex and amazing enzyme that reads messenger RNA produced from the DNA, and converts it into amino-acid chains to carry out its specific reaction.  Given that protein synthesis is of vital important to all cells, a large number of ribosomes, running into hundreds or even thousands can be found throughout a cell.

Vitamin B aids in protein metabolism, and acts as a coenzyme in DNA and RNA synthesis.

Mitochondria: Termed the ‘powerhouse’ mitochondria uses oxygen to release energy by converting glucose (derived from carbohydrate) to ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP acts like a battery of sorts, storing energy until it is needed for day-to-day living.

CoQ10 is responsible for the production of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is the energy source in the cell and acts as an antioxidant in the body that can neutralise free radicals by providing its own electrons.

Golgi: Proteins to be exported are passed to the Golgi apparatus for further processing, packaging and transport to a variety of other cellular locations.

Normal cell protection

In most cases, the immune system is capable of detecting infected cells and producing antibodies to destroy them. The proteins secreted also bind to the viral particles and prevent them from attaching to new cells. Even abnormal cells are usually detected and destroyed by the natural killer cells of the immune system.

However, in those unattended or weak cases, the infected cell is so full of new viral particles that it eventually bursts, freeing the particles to attack unaffected cells. The speed at which a virus can reproduce and infect other cells can be alarming. The contagious spread of abnormal cells can be fatal in some cases.

Vitamin A and D found inside the cell can help to prevent abnormal growth and for better absorption of some other minerals.

Abnormal cell growth

The biological process entails the close monitoring of the cell for DNA damage and inability to perform critical actions. If this system detects a cell being damaged or infected, a network of signaling molecules instructs this cell to stop dividing and initiate the move to repair the damage or execute programmed cell death or apoptosis. This is to ensure that the damaged cell is not further multiplied. Scientists discovered a certain protein known as p53 that acts to accept signals provoked by DNA damage. It responds by stimulating the production of inhibitory proteins that then halt the DNA replication process.

Without proper p53 function, DNA damage can be unchecked, resulting in the birth of cancer. A mineral – selenium containing p53 is clinically proven to help in reducing the incidence of cancer by suffocating cancer cells (apoptosis) and chromosomal damage.

Antibiotics protect cells?

Over-reliance on any antibiotic is bad because it becomes ineffective over time. As bacteria reproduce so quickly, the probability for mutations is so high that the antibiotic is unable to wipe off all of them completely. In the event, any one of them is left behind and mutates, it can develop resistance against the antibiotic, reproduce quickly and then spread around. Most bacterial diseases have become immune to some or all of the antibiotics used against them through this process.

It is also known that prolonged use of antibiotics can upset the natural balance in our eco-systems. Antibiotics not only wipe out some of the harmful bacteria but also most of the good, life-supporting bacteria.

As the vast majority of these microbes found within the digestive tract do not stay for more than a day in our body, constant replenishment is required for a strengthened immune system.

Conclusion

Having understood the importance of nutrition in relation to healthy cell development and regeneration, we need to know that recommended RDA guideline is merely to provide borderline health and prevent deficiency disease.

 

In the event of any dis-ease occurring, there is an urgent need to utilise more specific nutrients to put the house in order.

To-date, the medical world can only find solutions to attend to cellular dysfunction. There is much more to discover at molecular level to tackle free radicals which are of molecular structure. This can perhaps be addressed only with the right nutrition.


Keep your cells in good condition at all times and they will repay you with good health throughout your lifetime!

VIVA corner

The products recommended are meant to address your specific needs or daily maintenance:


TO CLEANSE –


+  VIVA Green Barley contains all the vitamins and enzymes to counteract the more dangerous free radicals that have penetrated the inner cell.


+  VIVA Cellpex contains milk thistle to remove nasty toxins at cellular level and inhibit inflammatory enzymes, especially in the detoxifying organ - liver.

TO COUNTERACT ABNORMAL CELL –


VIVA Selenium to protect the DNA and cause apoptosis for damaged cells and VIVA Germanium to stimulate the production of killer cells and boost the immune system.

TO REBUILD/NOURISH -

+  VIVA Ageguard/Vivaplus for the amino acids to provide the building blocks for cell formation;
+ VIVA Oxypower to enable cells to utilise oxygen more efficiently and neutralise free radicals, so as to expedite cell recovery;
+ VIVA Floraguard to introduce abundant friendly bacteria for an enhanced immune system.

+  VIVA Dailyguard for a strong healthy foundation with all the vitamins and minerals provided;

+ VIVA Omega3 to provide the essential fatty acids for reconstruction of the cell membrane;

To PROTECT


Vivashield has the combination of Vitamin A, beta-carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin E and selenium to offer overall protection against free radical attacks.