Cells
Cell are amazing things. They are the smallest forms of life and are quite literally the building blocks of life. When scientists look for life on other planets, they look for single cell organisms. They look for one tiny living cell. Finding one means life on other planets. Biologically, we are nothing more than collections of living cells and what happens to our cells happens to us.
There are millions of different types of cells with different structures, sizes, and jobs to do in the body. Red blood cells carry oxygen in the body, white blood cells destroy invading organisms, and nerve cells send messages throughout the body by sending electric and chemical impulses.
When some cells multiply they form tissue (muscle is a type of tissue). When different types of tissue come together, they become an organ (the heart for example). When a number of organs come together, they are called a system (the digestive system).
Cells in the human body generally have the same basic structure. In the center of the cell is the nucleus, which is the control center, and this is where the cell’s DNA is kept. DNA is a chain of connected genes which contain the instructions for building and maintaining our bodies. Genes control how each cell functions, including how quickly it grows, how often it divides, and how long it lives. Almost every cell in a person’s body has exactly the same DNA in its nucleus and it is critical that, when that cell divides, the two new cells have an exact copy of the DNA that was in the old cell. If a cell divides with altered DNA, that’s the beginning of cell mutation, and that’s not a good thing.
Each cell is its own wonderful, living thing and you are made up of 100 trillion of them. We need to respect and look after each and every one of them.
Cancer cells
A normal cell is programmed to go through a cycle – growth, division and death. When a tissue or organ is fully grown, the cells making up that tissue or organ know when to stop dividing. When your skin gets damaged, the skin cells will start reproducing and dividing to repair the tissue, and when the injury is fully healed the cells know to stop. But a cancer cell is different from a normal cell. It has been reprogrammed to have the death button switched off so it doesn’t stop dividing. This non-stop cell division forms a malignant mass of tissue. A tumour. Tumors threaten a person’s life when their growth disrupts the tissues and organs needed for survival.
Cancer is caused by changes to a cell’s DNA. On very, very few occasions it’s inherited from our parents through faulty genes, but it’s mostly caused by our modern lifestyles and the environments we live in. Substances and exposures that can lead to cancer are called carcinogens. Carcinogenesis quite literally means the ‘creation of cancer’. It is a process whereby a normal cell’s DNA is damaged or changed by the carcinogen so the cell becomes a mutant, cancer cell.
Carcinogens
So what are these carcinogens – these things that can change our DNA? What are the things that can cause cancer? Well there are thousands of well-documented carcinogenic situations we face every day and they fall into the chemical, radiation or viral category.
Carcinogens come in the form of thousands of chemicals in our air, food, and water. Things like processed foods, food that has been genetically modified, over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, party drugs, vaccines, tobacco, alcohol, fluoridated water, pesticides, herbicides, asbestos, viruses, radiation and ultraviolet light. The list goes on.
UV light will attack skin cells, tobacco smoke will target lung cells, contaminated water can affect many different cells because it enters our bloodstream. However, not all carcinogens lead to cancer, as they have different levels of cancer-causing potential. The risk of developing cancer depends on many factors, including how you are exposed to a carcinogen, the length and intensity of the exposure, and your genetic makeup.
For years people have just been focused on ‘finding a cure for cancer’ when, what they often don’t realise, is that there are so many things they can do on a daily basis to drastically reduce their risk of getting cancer. For example, you can start by staying away from the nasties we mentioned above. Try replacing them with the good things that your body needs to boost your immune system so it can protect you from carcinogens and keep your cells strong and healthy.
Immune system
Your immune system is made up of millions of cells, tissues and organs that protect you from all types of foreign invaders that shouldn’t be in or around your body. When bacteria, parasites, fungi, viruses and other nasties enter your body via your nose, mouth or eyes, in food, water, or air, or through sores or cracks on your skin, your immune system launches its defensive attack (this is the inflammatory response). Not only does your immune system fight off baddies, it also prevents your cells from deteriorating and mutating by protecting them from carcinogen attacks. It can also tell the difference between normal, healthy tissue and infected, mutated tissue, and then is able to destroy the abnormality.
Cancer cells are not introduced into the body from an outside source. They are abnormal cells that once made up the body’s normal tissues. Virtually all malignant tumors have a single ancestral cell that mutated and changed into a cancerous cell at some point. Hundreds of cancer cells are formed in the body every day but this is normally not a problem as a strong immune system is well-equipped to destroy these mutated cells. However, if your body is overrun with carcinogens, or your immune system is weak or preoccupied taking care of other bits of the body, then cancer cells can sometimes slip through unnoticed and begin to divide and multiply. This is when problems start.
Simply put, there is a war going on inside your body every second of every day. Your immune system versus carcinogens. Imagine your body is a country and there are baddies constantly attacking your country’s defences. If your army (your immune system) is strong it can protect the inhabitants (your organs) from these constant barrages. But if you don’t supply your army with the weapons it needs to fight off the baddies, or if there are too many baddies, they will overpower your army and break through your borders and plant their flags where they shouldn’t be.
Our diet plays a massive role in the strength of our immune system, so you can think of the food you eat as the weapons and fuel your army needs to keep the carcinogenic baddies at bay. By eating the right things you will keep your immune system well-nourished and supported, and it will be able to provide the defence you need to stay healthy.
Free radicals
Free radicals are some of the worst of the invading baddies. They affect us on a molecular level. They are nasty compounds that react with our cell membranes and DNA causing cell damage and cell mutation, which can lead to cancer, aging and many other diseases. Carcinogens are loaded with free radicals and it’s these free radicals that make carcinogens so bad for our bodies.
The human body is made up of many different types of cells. Cells are made up of many different types of molecules. Molecules are made up of different types of atoms. Atoms are orbited by tiny particles called electrons that are negatively charged. The number of electrons in the outermost ring of the atom determines the nature of the atom. If the outer ring is full, then the atom is stable. If it’s not full, it’s reactive. The reactive atoms attach to other reactive atoms and share their electrons in order to fill their outer rings and form a stable molecule. Remember, a molecule is a collection of atoms.
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Sodium and Chlorine are both highly reactive atoms, but when they bond they form Sodium Chloride – salt – a stable molecule.
Free radicals are atoms or molecules that are missing at least one electron from their outer ring, which makes them unstable. They instinctively look to become stable by finding electrons to fill their outer ring. They do this by attacking the nearest molecule and stealing one of its electrons. The attacked molecule then becomes a free radical itself and repeats the process by stealing an electron from the next stable molecule, which then in turn becomes a free radical. Similar to a zombie apocalypse, this chain reaction ends up damaging or destroying the entire cell. If free radicals simply killed a cell, it would be okay because the body could just make another one. The problem is that when the free radical damages or changes the cell’s DNA, it turns the cell into a seed for disease.
Because carcinogens are full of free radicals, we know they come from the same sources – pollution, radiation, chemicals, cigarette smoke, herbicides and so on. The body even makes some of its own too as a result of normal chemical reactions taking place inside you. Here’s the good news, the body can normally handle free radicals with it’s free radical defence system. They are kept under control by things called antioxidants, which the body produces naturally and gets from food. However, if the body is short of antioxidants or if there are too many free radicals in your system, that’s when problems start. Oxidative stress means that there are too many free radicals (baddies) and not enough antioxidants (goodies) to take care of them and this leads to cell damage, cell mutation and then chronic diseases like cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.