The Importance Of Good Nutrition And Taking Multivitamins
The Hidden Price of Poor Nutrition
Researchers find damage to cells deprived of essential vitamins and minerals.
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
Researchers find damage to cells deprived of essential vitamins and minerals.
By Peter Jaret, EatingWell.com
It's hardly news that falling short on essential minerals or vitamins can spell trouble in many ways—from osteoporosis (too little calcium) to anemia (a lack of iron). Now there's new evidence that nutrient deficiencies may pose even more significant dangers.
At Children's Hospital of Oakland Research Institute in California, biochemist Bruce Ames and his colleagues have been observing what happens when cells come up short on key nutrients. It's not a pretty picture.
When human cells are even slightly deficient in zinc, for instance, they quickly begin to fill up with oxidants, which are unstable oxygen molecules that are known to damage cells. Looking inside the affected cells, Ames' team found massive DNA damage, very much like the kind researchers see when cells are exposed to radiation. Damage to DNA can kill cells or turn them cancerous.
"Vitamins and minerals are required to create the enzymes that carry out many cellular functions," Ames explains. "When you don't get enough, you disrupt all of your biochemistry." Extensive genetic injuries turn up when cells are deprived of adequate vitamin C, B6, B12, folic acid or niacin.
Nutrient deficiencies also can impair the function of mitochondria, the tiny organelles that provide energy to cells, Ames says. Most vulnerable are brain cells, which consume more energy than most other cells in the body. Deficiency-related damage to mitochondria may play a role in age-related memory loss and other neurological problems, according to Ames.
These dangers are especially worrisome in light of surveys that indicate a significant percentage of Americans fall short of several nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and zinc.
How to make sure you don't fall short? The first step is eating a healthy diet, of course, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grains. For added insurance, Ames believes that everyone should take a daily multivitamin with minerals. Ames says, "I never skip a day."
At Children's Hospital of Oakland Research Institute in California, biochemist Bruce Ames and his colleagues have been observing what happens when cells come up short on key nutrients. It's not a pretty picture.
When human cells are even slightly deficient in zinc, for instance, they quickly begin to fill up with oxidants, which are unstable oxygen molecules that are known to damage cells. Looking inside the affected cells, Ames' team found massive DNA damage, very much like the kind researchers see when cells are exposed to radiation. Damage to DNA can kill cells or turn them cancerous.
"Vitamins and minerals are required to create the enzymes that carry out many cellular functions," Ames explains. "When you don't get enough, you disrupt all of your biochemistry." Extensive genetic injuries turn up when cells are deprived of adequate vitamin C, B6, B12, folic acid or niacin.
Nutrient deficiencies also can impair the function of mitochondria, the tiny organelles that provide energy to cells, Ames says. Most vulnerable are brain cells, which consume more energy than most other cells in the body. Deficiency-related damage to mitochondria may play a role in age-related memory loss and other neurological problems, according to Ames.
These dangers are especially worrisome in light of surveys that indicate a significant percentage of Americans fall short of several nutrients, including calcium, vitamin D and zinc.
How to make sure you don't fall short? The first step is eating a healthy diet, of course, with plenty of fruits, vegetables, dairy and whole grains. For added insurance, Ames believes that everyone should take a daily multivitamin with minerals. Ames says, "I never skip a day."
posted by Auntie Tracye @ 7:11 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home