Whether animals or plants, bacteria or viruses, the survival of living things is inseparable from the genetic material—nucleic acid. In recent years, scientific research progress has shown that the important monomer “nucleotide” of nucleic acid not only bears the heavy responsibility of genetics, but also has a positive impact on our immunity. Spanish scientists found that a significant improvement in immunity could be observed by supplementing nucleotides for 30 consecutive days. [1]
Nucleotide supplementation for 30 days makes a big difference in immunity
Spanish scientists conducted a rigorous, double-blind, controlled experiment with 20 male taekwondo athletes. These athletes all showed a significant decrease in lymphocyte and blood cell counts in the early exercise experiments. However, after 30 days of intervention, the scientists found that the counts of lymphocytes and blood cells in the experimental group that continuously ingested 480 mg of nucleotides significantly increased, which means that the immunity of the experimental group was enhanced, while the control group ingesting placebo did not show this. kind of change.
It is well known that immunity is an important defense mechanism for the body to recognize and eliminate foreign invaders. It is of great significance in eliminating senescent cells, damaged cells, virus-infected cells, etc., and is the safety guard of the human body. Generally speaking, people with a weak immune system are more likely to experience infection problems and tumor problems, while people with a strong immune system are more likely to avoid these risks.
It is widely believed that people who exercise regularly have stronger immune systems. However, in the past few years when the epidemic was prevalent, there have been frequent reports of professional athletes being infected. This is because after strenuous exercise, the body will usher in a period of low immunity. Therefore, people who exercise for a long time also need to pay attention to the improvement of immunity in a certain period. In addition, the elderly, infants, and the infirm need to pay special attention to improving their immunity.
Multiple pathways, evidence for immune regulation
Existing immunity-boosting methods often focus on difficult-to-quantify methods such as diet and exercise, but the above research reveals another simpler and more efficient way: Supplemental Nucleotides.
As mentioned at the beginning, Nucleotides are composed of nucleosides and phosphates, and are monomers for the synthesis of nucleic acids. Nucleotides are linked head to tail to form nucleic acids. Since the discovery of nucleic acid by Swiss scientist Miescher in 1869, scientists have carried out a lot of research on nucleic acid and nucleotides.
Scientific research shows that nucleotides not only carry genetic information, but also provide the material basis for the expression of genetic information, and participate in the regulation of the expression of genetic information. Nucleic acid nutrients such as nucleic acids, nucleotides, and nucleic acid derivatives are collectively referred to as nucleic acid nutrition, and this type of nutrition is increasingly attracting attention from academia and industry.
For healthy adults, nucleotides in food are generally sufficient to support the needs of daily life activities. However, in rapid growth period, damage repair period and middle-aged and old age, etc., exogenous nucleotide supplementation is of great significance. At this time, exogenous supplementation of nucleotides can better meet the needs of cell metabolism, especially to help maintain the function of immune cells such as T cells, so that the body is in a healthier state.
In fact, as early as 1996, scientists discovered that exogenous nucleotide supplementation could modulate T cell helper cell-mediated antibodies in mice, promoting interleukin 1. The secretion of interleukin 2, thereby strengthening the immune defense line [2, 3, 4]. Subsequent scientists also found that people who supplemented with exogenous nucleotides in an appropriate amount also had better immune performance [5]. Now this group of experiments on professional athletes has directly confirmed the gain of nucleotide supplementation on human immunity.
Safe and reliable, nucleotide potential may be huge
As an inherent component in the human body, nucleotides naturally have the advantage of safety. As early as the beginning of this century, studies have confirmed the safety of adequate supplementation of nucleotides, and domestic Tongji Hospital and other institutions have also recognized relevant conclusions. At present, nucleotides have been widely used in many countries as ingredients of infant formula milk powder, food for special medical care, and health food, and products for specific needs such as immunity are gradually emerging.
As scientific research advances, scientists have discovered that nucleotides also have certain advantages in dealing with over-responsive immune problems such as allergies. Industry people believe that, as an important molecule that carries genetic material, nucleotides still have a lot of room to explore the potential of nucleotide gain in the human body, and it may bring even greater surprises in the future.
References:
RIERA J, PONS V, MARTINEZ-PUIG D, et al. Nutr, 2013, 10(1): 20.
JYONOUCHI H, SUN S, SATO S. Nutrition, 1996, 12(9)
JYONOUCHI H, SUN S. J Nutr, 1996, 126(6)
JYONOUCHI H, SUN S, WINSHIP T, et al. J Nutr, 2001, 131(4): 1165-70.
CARVER J D, et al. Dietary nucleotide effects upon immune function in infants [J]. (0031-4005 (Print)).