Cellular Integrity is the measure of the functionality of the cell membrane,
Cellular integrity is a direct measurement that gives a sound indicator of cellular health within the body. It is significantly affected by factors such as metabolic rate and nutritional balance. Healthier subjects have a higher cellular integrity score, and unhealthy subjects have a lower cellular integrity score.
Essentially, cellular integrity is a direct measurement of the distribution of water inside and outside the cell membrane. In healthy individuals, the cell membrane consists of an insulator sandwiched between two layers of conductive fluids (or body water). The cell membrane prevents currents from entering cells but also other unwanted substances like toxins and waste. So, healthier individuals (and their cells) are better at preventing unwanted substances from entering the cells.
As a guide, the healthier you are and the better your body composition with a higher level of muscle and lower levels of fat, the higher your cellular integrity score will be.
However,cellular integrity does decline with age. Also, men predominantly have a higher score than women.
Typically, your cellular integrity score will respond to changes in your lifestyle such as a highly nutritional diet, increased exercise, and changes to your body composition from increased muscle and hydration and reduced fat.
Over time you can then see changes to your cellular integrity score but remember to compare with your previous scores as cellular integrity differ in all humans.
Pellular integrity can help predict your overall cell health which can indicate the likelihood that you develop a disease and your ability to recover from some diseases.
Individuals suffering with symptoms associated with heart failure have reduced ability to circulate blood, which causes edema (irregular swelling due to accumulation of fluid in body tissues). This causes a decrease in cellular integrity due to pressure from excess extracellular water, which impairs normal cell function.
The greater the cellular integrity the greater the cell integrity and cell health. Conversely, a low cellular integrity is predictive of decreased quality of life due to decreased cell integrity and cell health.
Cellular Integrity goes up when you are healthy and down when you are ill. As it also goes down as you age, when you increase your Cellular Integrity, you slow down aging.
To increase cellular integrity, it is important that the following parameters are met: Increased muscle mass, increase in weight, good nutrient supply, reduction of water retention, sufficient sleep.
Decreased cellular integrity is the result of the following parameters: muscle wastage, weight reduction, malnutrition, edema, overtraining, cell membrane damage because of infections, stress, and toxication.
Keep an eye out for changes in your cellular integrity score as this can indicate specific areas to focus on e.g., improve diet, drink more water, increase muscle mass etc.
Other lifestyle factors that are most likely to impact cellular integrity results include:
Processed foods, poor quality sleep, high levels of stress, lack of regular exercise and excess consumption of refined sugar, alcohol, and caffeine.
Good examples of foods that encourage cell membrane health include pastured eggs, fish, bone marrow, bright coloured fruits and vegetables and mushrooms.
Bad examples of foods that impact cell membrane health include fried foods, sugar, and vegetable oils as these can all increase risk factors for heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.
Increased mitochondrial inflammation can be triggered by a consistent lack of high-quality sleep. Aim to get between 7 and 8 hours of sleep per night and avoid blue light pollution such as from mobile phone or tablet screens before sleeping.
Cells are composed of approximately 70% water, so ensue you remain hydrated throughout the day. Review the water mass metric for more information about correct hydration.
If you have any questions, please seek advice from a medical or fitness professional where you use boditrax, or get in touch with boditrax anytime via support@boditrax.com
Gonzalez, M. C., Barbosa-Silva, T. G., Bielemann, R. M., Gallagher, D., & Heymsfield, S. B. (2016). Cellular integrity and its determinants in healthy subjects: influence of body composition. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 103(3), 712-716.
Stobäus, N., Pirlich, M., Valentini, L., Schulzke, J. D., & Norman, K. (2012). Determinants of bioelectrical cellular integrity in disease. British Journal of Nutrition, 107(8), 1217-1220.
