Ever wonder why some people stay sick and others heal? You may be eating an uber-clean diet, keeping your stress in check, sleeping well, and moving your body – yet something could be blocking your progress.
It’s a little something called the cell danger response (CDR). If you feel you’re giving your health 100%, but the needle’s just not moving, your cell danger response could be to blame.
I know what you’re thinking – so what is the cell danger response? This article breaks that down and offers tips to get you out of CDR.
What Is the Cell Danger Response?
The cell danger response is a term coined by Dr. Robert Naviaux, who noticed that some patients seemed to experience incomplete improvements in their health – despite their best efforts.
Here’s how Dr. Naviaux explains it:
“The cell danger response (CDR) is the evolutionarily conserved metabolic response that protects cells and hosts from harm. It is triggered by encounters with chemical, physical, or biological threats that exceed the cellular capacity for homeostasis”. (1)
Considering the toxic world we live in, there are a TON of potential triggers for CDR, including:
Viruses
Bacteria
Parasites
Heavy metals
Injury
Stress
Trauma
And much more…
How Does the Cell Danger Response Work?
In a nutshell, CDR is your body’s way of responding to a threat or injury. (2) And your mitochondria are the conductors of the cell danger response orchestra.
When your mitochondria detect a threat, whether that be a mycotoxin, heavy metal, chemical, or an injury, that puts the cell danger response in motion. ATP is released outside of the cell, creating an inflammatory process to shield the cell from invaders. (3)
This means your mitochondria’s ATP is redirected towards defending your cells, instead of making energy. This is exactly why people with a triggered CDR feel so tired!
Common symptoms of cell danger response include:
Fatigue
Depression
Brain fog
Chronic pain
Inflammation
Rashes
Digestive issues
Autism
How to Complete the Cell Danger Response
Once the perceived threat is gone, the cell danger response can be completed. So, step one is to identify the threat and remove it. Identifying the threat (or threats) may require some functional lab testing.
For example, if mycotoxins are your trigger, clearly getting out of the moldy environment is the first step towards healing! But you won’t know that without testing.
Once you are in a safe environment, or you’ve removed the perceived trigger, you can adjust your lifestyle habits to keep the cell danger response in check. Avoiding toxins is crucial, as chemicals and plastics can trigger CDR. (2)
Focus on eating organic, cleaning up your personal care and cleaning products, and limiting EMF exposure.
Stress can also trigger CDR, so practicing stress management techniques such as yoga, breathing, meditation, and exercise are key. Just don’t overdo it though – over-exercising can also trigger CDR. Easy does it.
Many supplements can help calm the immune response to stress. Here are a few:
CoQ10 - helps your body create ATP – just be sure to get a form of COQ10 that’s easily absorbed. This one’s my fave.
Quercetin - calms inflammation and induces mitochondrial biogenesis, so cells can increase mitochondrial numbers. (4)
Essential fatty acids - fosters the formation of healthy cell membranes and aids in energy production. We carry a high-quality Omega-3 in our shop.
NAD+ - supports energy production and protects your cells. (5)
Want to Learn More? Check Out My New Book!
If you suspect the cell danger response is to blame for your slow progress, the tips above will help you get on the right track. But if you’re hungry for more expert tips to smooth out the bumps on your healing journey, I’ve got good news…
My new book the Ultimate Toxic Mold Recovery Guide: How to Take Back Your Home, Health, & Life just released! This book walks you step-by-step through the weird and wild journey of toxic mold recovery.
From testing, remediation, detox, and yes…the cell danger response – it’s ALL in there. While the book dedicated to fellow moldies, many of the tips covered can benefit anyone.
Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is trained in functional health coaching and has worked with thousands of women over her career since 2004. She is the founder of Women’s Wellness Collaborative llc and FunctionalDetoxProducts.com.
Check out her easy 5-Day DIY Detox Guide here!