Nutrients in the Food You Eat Can Promote Healthy Cell Membranes

Research has shown the nutrients you take in through your food can have a major influence on the health of your cells' membranes. In particular, the fats you eat have a direct effect on your cells because they become your cell membranes. Unsaturated fats, like the omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and nuts, are needed for your cell membranes to have the correct shape and ability to communicate. When you eat saturated fats, or trans-fatty acids, these fats also become part of your cell membranes, but they are more rigid and don't function like unsaturated fats. Research studies of cells in a culture dish, in which they can be seen under a microscope, show that saturated and trans-fats in the cell membrane make the cells less able to communicate and respond to signals; it's like the cell membranes become brittle.

Eating healthy levels of unsaturated fats, especially the omega-3 fatty acids, and avoiding trans-fats and saturated fats is one way to support healthy cell membranes. Two other dietary compounds, which are also components of your cell membranes and support healthy cell functioning, are inositol and choline. Inositol, which helps transport signals across the membranes of your cells, is found in the bran of grains, like wheat bran or brown rice. Studies have shown an association between higher intakes of inositol and lower risk of cancers, like colon cancer, which may be due to inositol's role in supporting healthy cell membranes. Choline is necessary to make the phospholipids, the form of lipid in your cell membranes, and serves many other functions in your body. Choline is present in high amounts in the yolk of eggs.

Cereals, grains, vegetables and fruits also contain many molecules that help protect the fats in your cell membranes from damage. These protective nutrients include the vitamin E family of molecules, called the tocopherols, which are found in highest levels in the oils in grains, e.g., wheat germ oil; carotenoids like beta-carotene in carrots, and lycopene in tomatoes; vitamin C from citrus fruits. And, because your cells frequently use proteins as messenger molecules in their communications, the quality of the protein you eat is also important in supporting healthy cell membranes

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