Our bodies are made up of 100 trillion cells, and these cells can heal themselves to heal our bodies.

Chien-Feng Li, author of “Kindly Treat the Cells: the Art of Getting Well,” is a Taiwan-based cellular pathologist. She realizes through her research that almost all illnesses we have are self-inflicted, and that there are many measures we can take to help our cells repair themselves and keep our bodies healthy.

Li developed cancer in middle age. After having gone through surgery and chemotherapy, her health gradually deteriorated, and many side effects started to pop up. Once she became hospitalized for pneumonia, and on the third day of treatment, she developed toxic hepatitis, as she couldn’t tolerate the toxicity of the medication her doctor had given her. As a result, her doctor stopped the medication but kept her hospitalized for close monitoring.

After being in the hospital for a month, with only meditation and sleep as her daily activities, Li was miraculously cured of pneumonia. In her opinion, it was her cells’ self-repair that led to her complete recovery from hepatitis.

After this hospital stay, Li turned to self-healing by taking many measures to “treat her cells well.” She lived peacefully with cancer and healthily for over five decades, exceeding her doctor’s survival prediction of only half a year.

Cell Structure Is More Complex Than Previously Thought

Our cells are the smallest known units capable of reproducing and maintaining our survival.

A cell is generally composed of three parts: the cell membrane, the nucleus, and the cytoplasm.

The cell membrane controls the movement of material into and from the cell. For instance, oxygen and water enter the cell, while waste material moves out of the cell into the bloodstream.

As the cell’s control center, the nucleus determines the cell’s structure and function. The cytoplasm is the fluid inside the cell. Powered by chemical energy generated by the mitochondria, most chemical reactions within the cell all take place in the cytoplasm.

There are over 200 cell types, and they all perform different functions.

Every day, some of our cells die or become unhealthy. In some cases, they become cancerous, and our body must produce new cells to replace them. Cell division forms new cells for cell growth, repair, and replacement.

Cells Can Heal Themselves

Depending on the severity, some cell damage can be reversed.

When a cell is injured, if its membrane ruptures, the organelles and cytoplasm inside the membrane will leak out. At this point, a process called wound healing takes place, as the cell stops further loss of its material. Then, regeneration starts, and cells grow new structures to replace the lost ones.

The neuron—the basic unit of our brain—has a long projection called an axon. The neurons can sometimes repair and regenerate their axons that were damaged due to nerve injury or neurodegenerative diseases.

Cells can also replicate themselves by division to replace lost cells.

The human liver has a remarkable ability to regenerate after injury, as it can “regrow to a normal size even after as much as 90 percent of it is removed,” according to the National Institutes of Health.

Under normal circumstances, liver cells duplicate themselves to maintain cell turnover. However, in the case of a severe liver injury, the liver cells can repair and restore themselves by reentering the cell cycle (pdf).

Natural Elimination of Cancer Cells

If cells are genetically damaged, our bodies can naturally eliminate them and create new ones to take their place.

Cancerous cells are usually the result of gene mutations. Such cells tend to have abnormal chromosomes, such as those with duplicated or missing chromosome parts. In this case, cell apoptosis will come into play instead of cell self-repair or regeneration.

Apoptosis is a programmed cell death. It is a normal part of cell development and turnover, as well as the proper functioning of the immune system. Apoptosis is highly controlled. If a cell seems to be too irregular, or it is not supposed to exist, it or other cells may send a signal to activate the enzymes that degrade proteins to kill the cell.

In another case, once a cell is infected, to prevent the infection from spreading to other cells, the infected cell may initiate a “scorched earth defense” by committing suicide.

Cells Defend Against Oxidation

One of the cells’ enemies is oxidation.

Oxidation is both vital to our existence and inevitable. When we inhale air, oxygen will enter our cells, where it will be used to convert food into energy. Then the process of oxidation takes place, which produces free radicals. Free radicals can be detrimental to cells.

Cells have their own defense system against oxidation. They produce antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) to protect themselves from damage induced by free radicals.

3 Ways to Boost Cell Healing

Healthy cells are full of water and vitality, while unhealthy cells look distorted and deformed. This is especially true for cancer cells, which don’t contain enough fluid and have no vitality.

According to Li, if we don’t treat our cells properly, and if we subject ourselves to pressure over a long period, our cells will look deformed under the microscope. When the accumulation of pressure reaches a certain level, and the cells can no longer withstand it, they will become sick and even become cancerous.

Bad habits or exposure to environmental toxins can also make cells produce a lot more free radicals, leading to oxidative stress and causing cell, tissue, and DNA damage, thus triggering cell death in some cases. Oxidative stress can lead to various illnesses, including cancer, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, lung diseases, multiple sclerosis, and heart failure.

Environmental pollutants, heavy metals, food high in sugar and fat, and negative emotions, can all lead to oxidative stress.

In her book, Li recommends we do the following to help keep cells healthy. Many of these methods that address diet, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, laughter and stress management, and alcohol consumption are also proven to be helpful with cancer and other chronic diseases.

1. Consuming Foods Beneficial to Cells

If our daily foods include cereals, legumes, nuts, vegetables, and fruits, the basic needs of our cells are already met.

Chew a bit longer when eating. This helps mix the special enzymes in our saliva with the food to help with digestion and absorption of nutrients.

Limit the amount of refined food you eat, such as white sugar, refined salt, processed meats, and white flour. Instead, consume more brown sugar, cane sugar, sea salt, rock salt, and whole wheat flour, as many nutrients are lost during the food refining process.

Obtaining sufficient antioxidants from food is important, as this can prevent oxidative damage.

Consume enough leafy vegetables, as they are rich in antioxidants, vitamin C, magnesium, folate, and many other nutrients that are essential to our cellular health. Vitamin C is especially helpful in cells’ self-repair process.

Nuts and seeds are also healthy foods, as they are rich in vitamin E, another antioxidant that protects our cell membranes against oxidation.

Furthermore, as over 70 percent of a cell is composed of water, we need to drink a sufficient amount of water to keep our cells functioning properly. The best water, according to Li, is spring water, which is free of bacteria but still contains a small number of minerals. She recommends the installation of a good water filter at home.

If we respect the needs of our cells and supply them with the right nutrients and water, they will reward us with an increasingly healthier body.

2. Exercise Your Body and Your Cells

Physical exercise is paramount to health and includes walking, cycling, sports, and other forms of aerobic exercise.

Many studies have found that exercise helps boost cell function and organ regeneration. It can also induce the apoptosis of cancer cells.

Static exercise forms, including qigong, yoga, and sitting in meditation, are also effective. When these exercises are performed well, our bodies become relaxed, our cells feel at ease and unconstrained, the blood circulation of our bodies is active, and our organs are in balance, so our bodies’ self-healing functions are running properly.

Meditation and yoga significantly reduce oxidative stress and oxidative DNA damage. Tai chi can increase the level of antioxidants in our bodies.

We should also be optimistic and laugh often.

According to Li, laughing makes our cells dance, as it is an intense whole-body movement. The cells throughout the entire body tremble as if they are dancing.

In addition, when we laugh, our bodies relax and relieve tension, and our cells become unstrained. They can then work freely without stress. At that time, even if we are not feeling well, the self-healing function of our cells will be in effect.

3. Abandon Unhealthy Habits

To maintain the health and self-repairing ability of our cells, we need to avoid or quit certain unhealthy habits, such as drinking and smoking. Alcohol use can cause excessive production of free radicals. Also, free radicals inhaled when smoking can increase oxidative stress by decreasing antioxidants contained in red cells and platelets.

Replace the above unhealthy habits with beneficial ones such as spending more time under the sun, in nature, and with family and friends.