In order for your body to “talk right”, the cells of your body need to be able to undergo conformational changes. The cellular membrane must be pliable enough to change its three-dimensional structure to allow for life critical reactions to occur. A lot goes into maintaining cellular membrane pliability.
Fatty acids, phosphatidylcholine, and protein are the major components of the membrane protection surrounding the cells. Imagine there are a select number of parking spots in the membranes of your trillions of cells. In these parking spots are parked fats. Now let’s pretend these spots are filled by high quality vehicles. Top-of-the-line cars, trucks and SUV’s that are well manufactured, loaded with all the amenities you desire and second to none. This would be synonymous to having your cell membrane filled with good healthy fats like DHA and healthy cholesterol levels with adequate phospholipids to make up the membrane. When there are healthy fatty acids and pliable components in the membrane, you are then able to have the conformational changes required for health. Consider the contortionist below.
Now let’s pretend that instead of the high-quality vehicles parked in these spots, you fill these spots with jalopies. Beat up cars, dilapidated trucks and rusted out car bodies. These would be the trans-fats, oxidated fatty acids and other toxins that we are exposed to, and so many people consume in high quantities. When you fill your membrane parking spots with crummy cars, you get crummy health. You must have good fats parked in the necessary spots, rather than those fats that have been made rancid from oxidation or are of a form that blocks conformational changes from occurring. Consider the poor guy in the body cast below. When you have improper fats and toxins deposited in the cell membrane it becomes stiff and immovable. You are left with a cell membrane that is brittle, diseased and permeable to all the things you were designed to keep from getting into your cells.
Talking right requires healthy cell membranes. Healthy cell membranes are pliable while still providing a strong barrier from dangerous exposures to things that seek to destroy your cells.
Want some ways to keep your cell membranes healthy? Consider these:
- Take a high-quality, pure and potent omega-3 fatty acid blend each day
- Consume fish that are high in DHA and/or take extra supplemental DHA each day
- Avoid oxidized and trans fats found in fried foods, chips, cookies, cakes, etc
- Limit cell membrane damage by providing your body with adequate antioxidant support
