The conversation around health is changing. Media outlets like the New York Times, Fast Company, and TIME magazine are all coming to the same conclusion. That everything we know about human health and wellness comes back to one thing: our cells.

We need to drink enough water every day, because our cells are 70% water. We should eat healthy fats because our cell membranes are made of lipids, which come from the fats we eat. Our diets provide the steady, long-lasting energy required by our cells’ powerhouses, the mitochondria. Whether or not we stay healthy depends on these tiny, microscopic units of life. If our cells aren’t healthy, neither are we.

Everything Is Connected

Our body is one large society. It’s made up of trillions of individual cells, each living and working to carry out different activities needed to keep us alive. Each cell has a job. They produce, send messages, or support mechanical processes. Healthy cells can do their jobs efficiently and effectively. Unhealthy cells become sluggish. They make errors, or simply fail to do their jobs. If one cell breaks down, the other cells may feel it. And it can set off a chain reaction throughout our bodies, for better or for worse.

But these changes don’t happen overnight. They can happen slowly, from age or declining health. So, it may be a while before these broken-down cells start to give us any signal that something is wrong.

In the meantime, all of our other cells are super sensitive to these changes. They’ve known about the problem all along. Everything is connected. And everything comes back to our cellular health.

We are our cells. Our ability to think, make decisions, and recall memories depends on the health of our brain cells. We see because of our ocular cells. Our ability to breathe depends on whether or not the cells lining our lungs are healthy enough to allow oxygen to enter the blood stream. Our ability to digest food and use its nutrients relies on the health of our intestinal cells. We can move because our muscle cells all work together to contract and extend. Our skin cells help protect these functions, by keeping moisture in and contaminants out. Our health is the sum of our cellular parts.

Taking Back Your Health

Thankfully, there are a lot of ways to test the health of our cells. That’s what the finger prick test does for determining blood glucose levels. We test the health of ocular cells during vision tests. We determine the health of neurons and other brain cells during cognitive tests. Hearing tests tell us about the health of the sensorineural cells in our ear. Every health issue you can think of comes back to the health of your cells.

Research shows we may be more susceptible to diseases as we age. [1] Many of us can feel this, and we’ve come to accept it. There are a lot of theories about why this is and what to do about it, but generally they fall into two camps.

Aging is planned: This theory says that aging is a programmed and progressive deterioration leading to death. Meaning, no matter how healthy our cells are, they will degrade. It’s all part of the circle of life. [2]

Aging is random: The other camp hypothesizes that aging is a random accumulation of damage built up over time. Damage that leads to changes in our cells, and ultimately to death. Meaning that if this damage could be reduced or delayed, it could lead to a longer life. [3]

Cells naturally repair themselves as well, which is how we stay healthy no matter what age we are. But this whole process of damage and repair requires a lot of energy. That’s where our mitochondria come in. These tiny powerhouses fuel every function in our bodies. It stands to reason that providing the mitochondria with more of the essential resources they need (like NAD), would help them do their jobs even better.

Either way, the conclusion is the same: healthy cells make a healthy body. Keeping our cells healthy may be the key to improving cellular energy, health, and supporting aging. Diets and workout regimens are still incredibly important. But before committing to that new skin care product, workout fad, or hot diet, we should always ask ourselves: What do my cells get out of this?

And then make sure we know the answer.