When you think of your health, you more than likely think about your physical health and your mental health. Unfortunately, most people don’t consider your cellular health. This is often because most people don’t understand cellular health or they don’t know how to improve their cellular health. In this article, we will discuss why are cells important, what cellular health is, how you can improve it, and ways you can damage your cellular health.
What Are Cells?
The importance of cells for the human body is unmatched, but what are cells and why are they important? Everything living in existence needs cells in order to operate on a daily basis. Cells have many parts, each with a different function. Some of these parts, called organelles, are specialized structures that perform certain tasks within the cell. Here are some of the major parts of the cell you may recognize from your high school textbook:
- Cytoplasm (sai·tuh·pla·zm)
- Cytoskeleton (sai·tow·skeh·luh·tn)
- Endoplasmic reticulum (en·do·plas·mic re·tic·u·lum)
- Golgi apparatus (Gol·gi ap·pa·rat·us)
- Lysosomes (ly·so·somes) and peroxisomes (pr·aak·suh·sowmz)
- Mitochondria (mai·tuh·kaan·dree·uh)
- Nucleus (noo·klee·uhs)
All of these parts work together to help the cell survive. If something were to happen to just one of these parts the entire operation could go south in a hurry.
Why Are Cells Important?
Why do we need cells? You may have heard the phrase “cells are the basic building blocks of life,” numerous times in school when growing up. This is because the human body is made up of trillions - yes, TRILLIONS - of cells. Cells are important because they carry out specialized functions such as providing structure for the body, taking in nutrients from food, and converting nutrients into energy. These functions demonstrate why cells are necessary for life.
Each and every cell is made up of many different parts, each with its own unique function to help the body get through the day. Some of the major parts of human cells include the cytoplasm, cytoskeleton, endoplasmic reticulum, the Golgi apparatus, lysosomes and peroxisomes, the nucleus, and mitochondria. You can help take better care of your cells so they can carry out their job easier largely through your diet and the nutrients you consume.
What are the Types of Cells?
There are hundreds upon hundreds of cells in the human body. However, many experts agree that there are four main types of cells and most get grouped into these categories. Here are the four main cells and the tissues they are formed in:
- Epithelial (eh·puh·thee·lee·uhl) cells - These cells are tightly attached to one another. They cover over the interior of hollow organs, like blood vessels or digestive organs, or else form the surface of things, like the skin. There are dozens of types of epithelial cells
- Nerve cells - These cells are specialized for communication. They send signals from the brain to muscles and glands that control their functions. They also receive sensory information from the skin, the eyes, and the ears, and send this information to the brain. There are dozens of varieties of nerve cells in the body, each with its own shapes and functions
- Muscle cells - These cells are specialized for contraction. Without muscle cells, you would not be able to move. There are three kinds of muscle cells. They pull and tug on bones and tendons to produce motion. They also form the thick outer walls of hollow organs, like blood vessels and digestive organs, and can contract to regulate the diameter of these hollow organs
- Connective tissue cells - These cells provide structural strength to the body and also defend against foreign invaders like bacteria. Two types of cells—fibroblasts and fat cells—are native to connective tissue. Other cells migrate into connective tissue from the bloodstream to fight diseases. Special types of connective tissue—cartilage and bone—are designed to be stronger and more rigid than most connective tissues
Understanding the types of cells in our body will help us better understand what’s going wrong if we are having any issues.
What is Cell Structure and Function?
Cells are simple yet extremely complex at the same time. Think of a cell like a factory, different workers and departments all work together to achieve a common objective. That objective is to keep the host, in this case, you, alive. Here are some of the functions of the cell:
- Cells provide support to the body of an organism
- The cell interior is split up into different individual organelles
- The nucleus holds all the major information
- Every cell has one nucleus
There’s no other part of our body that provides the benefits our cells do.
Cells in the Human Body
While we know there are trillions of cells inside of our body, the exact number has always been disputed by scientists. In recent years, researchers have put the number of cells in the human body at around 30 trillion. This is a number so large that it’s difficult for our brains to wrap it’s head around.
These cells all work in harmony to carry out all the basic functions necessary for humans to survive. But it’s not just human cells inside your body. Scientists estimate that the number of bacterial cells in the human body likely exceeds the number of human cells.
What is the Difference Between Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic Cells?
Prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells are two types of organisms that have one major difference: eukaryotic cells have a membrane-bound nucleus and prokaryotic cells do not. The DNA of a prokaryotic cell is typically located in the nucleoid. Prokaryotes are organisms that consist of a single prokaryotic cell.
Meanwhile, the DNA in eukaryotic cells is located within the membrane-bound nucleus. Even though eukaryotic cells have membrane-bound nuclei and organelles that carry out many similar functions, they are not all the same.
Supplements Can Help
One supplement that can help encourage cellular heath is spermidine. This is because spermidine helps induce something called autophagy (aa·taa·fuh·jee). This is the body’s process of replacing old and potentially damaged cells with newer, healthier cells.
Autophagy literally means ‘self-eat.’ This process helps keep you feeling and looking young while also dramatically lowering your chances of developing aging diseases such as Parkison’s and Alzheimer’s. While it is possible to get your recommended daily intake of spermidine through your diet, it’s recommended to take supplements so you ensure you get the right dose. Simply taking your supplements with your dinner is a great way to remember to take spermidine supplements every night.
