My sister called me looking for help with her son’s science project. “William has some questions about the paleo diet and how it affects the health of cells.” It soon emerged that he had a particular list of questions that he wanted answering, and initially I thought I should do some research and answer them to the best of my ability just as I would with any list sent to me. The longer I thought about the list of questions, the more I thought it looked like the outline to a great podcast, and who better than Dr. Tommy Wood to provide the answers? But why care about cellular health in the first place? We tend to think of health in terms of big things, but a living organism is just a collection of organ systems. An organ system is a set of organs, and those organs are made up of tissue. Drilling down beyond the tissue, we arrive at the smallest level of organisation able to sustain life: the cell. We’re all just a big bag of cells, trillions and trillions of them! Happy cells make for happy bodies, so it makes sense to care about the cell. Can your diet affect cellular health? Yes! Absolutely. Certain oils are capable of damaging the DNA that codes for the proteins manufactured inside of the cell. Don’t eat deep fried food. Other omega-3 fats are essential for healthy mitochondrial membranes. Do eat small fatty fish. Around 10,000 years ago, fossil records show that we became shorter, and our dental health deteriorated. At the same time, we transitioned away from hunting and gathering and became agriculturists. It seems at least possible that a switch to a grain-based diet had a deleterious effect on our health. What about ketosis? I’ve talked a lot about high-fat ketogenic diets on the podcast, and those shows garner a lot of interest. But do we all need to be eating ketogenic diets? Tommy thinks not, but there may be some benefits to cycling intake to mimic what would have been the natural seasonal variation of carbohydrate availability. Beyond diet. Through his careful research and chemical engineering inspired systems analysis, Tommy has shown that although important, diet is not the only determiner of health. Well tuned circadian rhythm and adequate sleep, appropriate stress management, time spent outdoors in nature and being part of a strong social group are also important. Did you find the fresh, unbiased perspective of an inquisitive 12-year old helpful? Please let me know in the comments section below. Here’s the outline of this interview with William Chatterton and Dr. Tommy Wood: 0:00:22    William Chatterton's list of questions for a school project should make for an interesting interview. 0:00:27    Let me know (in the comments below) if you found this podcast interesting! 0:00:47    Levels of organisation in biology. 0:01:54    Can your diet affect the health of new cells? 0:02:09    We're constantly growing cells, throughout life. 0:02:32    There's a very rapid turnover of cells in the gut. 0:02:48    At the same time we're constantly getting rid of the junk. 0:02:59    The building blocks are important. 0:03:18    We measure DNA damage as 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine. 0:03:29    DNA is the code that controls the manufacturer of proteins. 0:03:46    It's important then that the DNA doesn't get damaged. 0:04:00    Certain oils can cause oxidative damage to the DNA. 0:04:28    DHA is very important for mitochondrial membranes. 0:05:08    The fats story is complex. 0:05:18    Saturated fats. 0:05:31    A fatty acid is a long chain of carbon atoms. 0:05:59    The double bonds are delicated and can be broken to create a free radical. 0:06:11    Fatty acids that have carbon–carbon double bonds are known as unsaturated. 0:06:29    Polyunsaturated fats are unstable. 0:07:00    When omega-6 fats are carried around in the body, they're unprotected. 0:07:39    Omega-3s are better protected. 0:07:59    Don't eat deep fried stuff! 0:08:26    How direct is the link between diet and cell health? 0:08:49    The link is incredibly