HEALTH AND WELLNESS

OUR BODY: A COLLECTION OF MICROSCOPIC CHAINS Have you ever thought of your body as a collection of microscopic chains? Perhaps not. But in reality, “at the level of its smallest relevant components,” says the book The Way Life Works, life employs “THE CHAIN AS ITS ORGANIZING PRINCIPLE.” For that reason, just a small defect in some of these chains can have a MAJOR impact on our health. What are these chains? How do they function? And how do they relate to our health and well-being? Basically, they are chainlike molecules that fall into TWO main categories. The molecules we will consider in this article are the PROTEINS. The others are the molecules that STORE and TRANSMIT genetic information –DNA and RNA. Of course, the two groups are INTIMATELY related. In fact, one key function of DNA and RNA is to produce life’s vast array of PROTEINS. HOW ARE PROTEINS MADE? 1. Inside a cell’s nucleus, DNA contains instructions for eac

                                                                                   YOU CAN IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH Austin, who lives in Britain, leads a busy life. In the past, he had some unhealthful habits but came to realize that he was paying a price for them. He stopped smoking and overindulging in alcohol. Still, long days in front of his computer left him feeling lethargic. Although Austin started work at eight o’clock in the morning, he rarely felt fully awake until ten, and he was often sick. So he made an adjustment to his routine. The result?   “In the last seven years, I haven’t taken more than two sick days a years,” he reports. “I feel great –awake and alert –and I enjoy life.” Austin, his wife, and their two small children live in Nepal. Sanitation is lacking in their neighborhood, and the area swarms with mosquitoes and flies. In the past, Austin, and his family frequently suffered from respiratory problems as well as eye infections. They too made chan