As biological research progresses, the insights into DNA continue to amaze even the most advanced in terms of knowledge. As you know, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) carries the instructional information necessary to carry out critical life-supporting activities. DNA is like a software program containing the language and coding instructions for cellular activities. All of your trillion cells have DNA except for red blood cells and a limited number of other cells (e.g., mature hair cells). Red blood cells eject DNA before final maturation so they can squeeze through capillaries and carry more hemoglobin, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and other reasons.
Some researchers claim that DNA is the result of random processes. Magically, the parts for DNA arise and assemble themselves, and the instructional information appears from mutations (damaged genes). Regarding DNA from random coding mistakes (mutations), John Lennox, Professor Emeritus of Mathematics at Oxford University, states:
…the human, genome is the longest word we’ve ever discovered, and we call it a word because it’s written in a chemical language of four letters and all those letters strung out like a computer program have got to be in the right order, otherwise it breaks down…
The point of Dr. Lennox is that DNA is a sophisticated language system and would have required intelligence for it to come into existence. Intelligence always comes from intelligence. Do you know of any functional software program that never required a programmer or intelligence behind it? Of course not. Therefore, DNA, which is more complex than any known software program, initially needed a Creator behind it so that life could start. There is more to the story since DNA needs to be protected in a cell membrane or covering of sorts and requires all kinds of nanomachines and specialized enzymes to function. Ultimately, DNA contains the instructional information for organisms and humans to be able to function and adapt to the environment.
I had a chuckle when my friend showed me the following quote from Dr. Houts, a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering and the Nuclear Research Manager for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center:
…we now know that the simplest life form is far more complex than anything humans have ever made. It is far more reasonable to claim that a space shuttle can randomly assemble and launch itself than to claim that a simple life form can arise spontaneously from random chemical interactions.
One can believe that DNA (or RNA if you are familiar with the subject) arose spontaneously; however, I wouldn’t recommend putting any bets on this non-evidential position with your hard-earned money. For example, John Barrow, Ph.D., a former Professor of Astronomy at the University of Sussex and recipient of the prestigious 2016 Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society, and Frank Tipler, Ph.D., a mathematical physicist and cosmologist, who is a professor at Tulane University, state in their book, The Anthropic Cosmological Principle, that the odds against assembling the human genome spontaneously are between the fraction of 10 to the trillionth power multiplied by 106 and 10 to the septillion power multiplied by 106.
Eating healthy foods is essential for healthy DNA for many reasons. First, food is one of your body's two sources for making DNA building blocks, known as nucleotides. The other method is that your cells can make and recycle nucleotides with sophisticated enzyme systems. Of course, these enzyme systems require instructional information to carry out this process from DNA.
Nucleotides not only make DNA (and related RNA) but are also involved in many critical cellular processes, such as a component of ATP (your body’s primary energy currency), cell signaling, immune function, growth, healthy aging, liver function, memory function intestinal function, regulation of the microbiome, and other functions. Authors from the Journal of Functional Foods report that nucleotides are in higher demand in certain situations, such as intestinal injury, rapid growth, and reduced protein intake. Moreover, the same authors report that nucleotides help people with:
• Physiological stress
• Reduce DNA damage
• Prolong Life Span
• Reduce Fatigue
As I mentioned, nucleotides are involved in numerous activities to sustain life. The demand for nucleotides in cases of illness or injury can be more than what the body may be able to produce. Therefore, the consumption of nucleotides from foods is significant.
There are several foods that contain the building blocks of nucleotides, known as nucleobases:
• Legumes (beans, peas, lentils)
• Poultry
• Mushrooms (especially cordyceps
• Whole grains
• Fish and shellfish
• Vegetables
• Dairy products
Moreover, antioxidants from foods and supplements protect your DNA from damage. A healthy diet rich in vegetables and fruits is the surest way of attaining these protective antioxidants. See my article on glutathione at this link: https://www.markstengler.com/blog/the-wonders-of-dna-and-the-importance-of-glutathione
Dr. Mark Stengler NMD, MS, is a bestselling author in private practice in Encinitas, California, at the Stengler Center for Integrative Medicine. His newsletter, Dr. Stengler’s Health Breakthroughs, is available at www.markstengler.com and his product line at www.drstengler.com
Baird C. Why does every cell in our body contain DNA? Science Questions with Surprising Answers. August 22, 2013. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://www.wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2013/08/22/why-does-every-cell-in-our-body-contain-dna/#:~:text=Aside%20from%20red%20blood%20cells,grow%2C%20function%2C%20and%20reproduce.
Barrow, John D, and Frank J Tipler. The Anthropic Cosmological Principle. [International Society For Science And Religion], 2007, p. 565.
Hoover Institution. (2022, October 15). By Design: Behe, Lennox, and Meyer on the Evidence for a Creator. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXexaVsvhCM&t=1389s
Houts M. Evolution is religion-not science [part I]. Apologetics Press. August 28, 2021. Accessed September 30, 2023. https://apologeticspress.org/evolution-is-religionnot-science-part-i-2299/.
Phan C-W, Wang J-K, Cheah S-C, Naidu M, David P, Sabaratnam V. A review on the nucleic acid constituents in mushrooms: Nucleobases, nucleosides and nucleotides. Critical Reviews in Biotechnology. 2018;38(5):762-777. doi:10.1080/07388551.2017.1399102
Ding T, Song G, Liu X, Xu M, Li Y. Nucleotides as optimal candidates for essential nutrients in living organisms: A Review. Journal of Functional Foods. 2021;82:104498. doi:10.1016/j.jff.2021.104498
