How to repair DNA damage with the food of light: NAD+
How to repair DNA damage with the food of light: NAD+
How to treat EMF radiation - Part 2
In the coming weeks, I’ll be doing a series on what strategies we can apply to mitigate EMF damage that’s already occurred.* This is part 2.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this article:
1. How is DNA repaired?
2. How humans are like plants
3. Why too many antioxidants can be a bad thing
4. How to increase levels of NAD+
5. Intermittent Fasting & NAD+
6. Why food isn’t fuel
7. Two foods I love that boost NAD+
“i remember — when little girls — chased boys — around the block
without worrying — about likes — or follower counts”
Cell phones and EMFs don’t cause DNA damage.
Cell phones are “safe.”
That’s what the telecommunications industry asserts, based on their own research. The telecomm industry discredits independent scientists like Henry Lai PhD. , who as far back as 1998, found that DNA breaks from prolonged wireless radiation do in fact occur.12
For more information on how the wireless industry promotes the myth that cell phones are safe, you can refer to my article here: The Myth of Safe Limits.
While it’s true that EMFs from wireless, known as nonionizing radiation, don’t have enough energy to directly break the bonds in our DNA, they do so indirectly. As a result, EMFs cause the same type of damage as those from X-rays (ionizing).
How does this happen? A little science…
(I promise not to make your head hurt..too much)
EMFs from our devices cause calcium to flood our cells, which in turn increases both nitric oxide and super oxide.
Although both nitric oxide and super oxide are usually not much of an issue, the problem arises when our bodies are flooded with loads all at once, spontaneously combining and instantly forming one of the most damaging molecules in our body: peroxynitrite.3
Peroxynitrite attacks nearly every significant tissue in our body, including cell membranes, proteins, mitochondria,4 stem cells, and DNA.5 6
How is DNA repaired? Grow some goNADs.
Nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) is found in every living cell, and is critical for maintaining the health of our cells, tissues, as well as longevity. As we age, we see a gradual decline in cellular NAD+ levels.
NAD+ allows us to capture energy in the form of protons and electrons from food. Light is what helps NAD+ fulfill its job in efficiently capturing these ions.
NAD+ is also the fuel for our PARP enzymes, which are proteins that repair DNA damage:
Once these PARP enzymes are bound to damaged DNA, they form a matrix that allows other specific DNA enzymes to come in and repair DNA damage.
However there’s a caveat: every time we have a DNA break, our PARP enzymes drain stores of NAD+, which are necessary for DNA repair. If our DNA is stressed too much, we become deficient in NAD+, which ultimately leads to cell death.
When we become depleted of NAD+ as a result of poor diet and lifestyle factors such as overexposure to EMF, our mitochondria also can’t produce as much energy. Decreased levels of NAD+ have been linked to chronic disease.
PAR for our 3-Course meal:
Humans have 17 different types of PARPs, and one of them is PPAR alpha.
PPAR alpha also is the master regulator of fat-burning in our mitochondria, the powerhouses of our cells.
Basically PPAR alpha controls the rate at which fat enters the mitochondria.
Why is this important?
When we don’t have enough NAD+, our metabolism slows down, which can lead to fatigue as well as chronic inflammation.
NAD+ : our gateway to human photosynthesis
When we have high levels of NAD+ in our cells, we are able to make other enzymes such as NADPH. NADPH (the H stands for hydrogen) is then able to donate electrons to other chemical processes that need them in our bodies.
It turns out that NADPH is an energy-carrying molecule produced in the first stage of photosynthesis. We are more like plants than we know!
Can we have too many antioxidants?
Our mitochondria are often referred to as the “engines” of our cells.
What fuels this engine?
Our cellular battery: NADPH.
How is it a battery? NADPH captures electrons and protons in our mitochondria, and literally recharges our body’s antioxidants like vitamin C so that they can perform their role and lower our damage from stress.78
In the 1950s, the free radical theory of aging proposed supplementing with antioxidants as a popular strategy to increase longevity. However in recent years it’s been shown that taking antioxidant supplements may not be a wise strategy.
The issue is that antioxidants like vitamins E and C are charged molecules, and due to this charge do not easily penetrate our cell membranes.
Once antioxidants donate electrons to neutralize free radicals, they become useless or worse yet, start to function as pro-oxidants (i.e. damage our cells).9
NADPH helps us maintain a healthy balance between antioxidants and detrimental free radicals by its ability to recharge cells and recycle debris.
(The diagram below includes Nrf2 ,which is a typo in the picture as nfr2)
I’ll explain below how certain foods can help promote Nrf2 in our cells.
How do we increase levels of NAD+?
We make this miracle molecule a few ways, through the food we eat to the light we consume.
A light diet.
The most abundant source of NAD+ is through what’s known as the salvage pathway.10
The salvage pathway seems to be most affected by the light and dark cycles of circadian biology.11 NAD+ absorbs light deep in the UV range of 340nm.12
We also make NAD+ from tryptophan. Tryptophan is known as an essential amino acid, which means our body does not make it - we need to get it from our environment and turn it on with light.
Tryptophan works with UV-C light from 260nm-290nm:
This is why I love getting out in the morning, as this is when my body extracts the energy from sunlight to make tryptophan, which makes melatonin as well.
How Intermittent Fasting helps boost levels of NAD+
The largest consumers of NADPH are the enzymes we use to convert excess calories we eat to store them as fat. If we eat too close to bedtime, then our bodies can’t burn those calories as energy, so we wind up storing them as fat, and lowering levels of NADPH as a result.
EMFs have been shown to impair both glucose and fat metabolism.13 If we have lower NADPH levels, we'll be unable to keep our antioxidants recharged while we sleep, leading to more cellular damage.
Personally I aim to eat at least 3-4 hours before bedtime. This doesn't always happen, as I'm a sucker for popcorn. Popcorn for dinner anyone?
Intermittent fasting has also been shown as a potential way to sensitize our “clock genes”, which basically means that we can reset our circadian rhythms to a healthy baseline, regulating NAD+ production as a result.
A note on our fat-burning mode: ketosis
Electromagnetic radiation (light) is the primary cause of DNA mutation in all life forms because of what it does to protons at certain locations.
Ketosis has a specific biologic purpose: it recycles protons in the sugar backbones of our DNA to keep them dormant and less reactive to light radiation.
Food isn’t fuel, it’s information
Enzymes such as NADPH need energy in the form of electrons to work.
One calorie of a crappy GMO burger bun does not equal one calorie of an heirloom spelt flour bun.
Why? One has more minerals such as magnesium and potassium than the other, and minerals have electrons. Electrons are the information our bodies require, in order to carry out the proper instructions of DNA repair. Try reading an IKEA cabinet instruction manual in Dutch or Chinese when all you speak is Russian, and I’d love to see that piece of furniture.
Apart from the light our bodies consume, we can make NAD+ another way - through what is called the Nrf2 pathway. This pathway is known as a transcription factor - and helps us write the proper “code” for our DNA. Nrf2 can activate the production of hundreds antioxidant, stress-response, and detoxification genes.
More importantly, Nrf2 also stimulates autophagy, which is Greek for self-eating. Autophagy is a process that removes damaged and defective parts of our cells, tags them for destruction, and then breaks them down so that they can be recycled.
For more info on Nrf2 , check out the substack of
:
“Polyphenols from pomegranate peel and many other plants can modulate immune response to be more balanced, reduce inflammation, and promote Nrf2 and DNA damage repair by effects on microRNA or ion channels and bitter taste receptors.”
It turns out the beneficial compounds that promote the Nrf2 pathway, known as polyphenols, are often the same substances that serve as a defensive mechanism to ward off predatory insects and pests.
Remember, plants don’t have biceps to fight back, so they secrete bitter pills of truth everywhere. He who can handle the truth gets the medicine.
Two foods I love that increase NAD+
Pomegranate Juice (the real kind)
I’m not talking about the “juice” sold in sexy plastic bottles that have been on the grocery shelf for years for $10 each.
I love buying fresh pomegranates every now and then (they’re usually discounted because everyone’s afraid of those thick-skinned fruits….eww!). I bring them home, and open them up like a thirsty ape, going on to extract the juice (more tutorial videos on this in future posts- it’s easier than you think!)
Pomegranates are extremely beneficial because they flood our cells with the right amount of oxygen, allowing our electron transport chain, the basis of our metabolism, to complete its cycle.14
Here’s another informative video I found thanks to
on how pomegranates can help fight cancer:2. Pau d’arco
If you want to knockout EMF damage with a “POW” (cue the sighs) then try this tea! It comes from the inner bark of the Tabebuia impetiginosa tree of the Amazon.
Loaded with Pau-er-ful nutrients such as beta-lapachone, this tea promotes NAD+ levels in our cells, which helps us scavenge damage from EMF.
I’ll soak a handful of pau d’arco in purified water overnight on the countertop, and then blend the next morning with a pinch of sea salt, some coconut milk (or ghee), monkfruit, a tablespoon (or 4) of pumpkin seed butter, and a fistful of cocao powder.
You can also find a plethora of information on the health benefits of Pau d’arco from
, whose site is very easy to understand and digest.Next week I’ll be sharing my favorite way to proactively address damage from EMF radiation.
I look forward to your feedback!
You are more powerful than you know.
Roman S Shapoval
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Mercola, J. EMF’D: 5G, Wi-Fi & Cell Phones: Hidden Harms and How to Protect Yourself. Hay House, 2020.
Won, Seok Joon & Choi, Bo Young & Yoo, Byung & Sohn, Min & Ying, Weihai & Swanson, Raymond & Suh, Sang. (2012). Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury-Induced Neuron Death by Intranasal Delivery of Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide. Journal of neurotrauma. 29. 1401-9. 10.1089/neu.2011.2228.
Conze D, Brenner C, Kruger CL. Safety and Metabolism of Long-term Administration of NIAGEN (Nicotinamide Riboside Chloride) in a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-controlled Clinical Trial of Healthy Overweight Adults. Sci Rep. 2019 Jul 5;9(1):9772. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-46120-z. PMID: 31278280; PMCID: PMC6611812.
Cantó C, Menzies KJ, Auwerx J. NAD(+) Metabolism and the Control of Energy Homeostasis: A Balancing Act between Mitochondria and the Nucleus. Cell Metab. 2015 Jul 7;22(1):31-53. doi: 10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.023. Epub 2015 Jun 25. PMID: 26118927; PMCID: PMC4487780.
Bradshaw PC. Cytoplasmic and Mitochondrial NADPH-Coupled Redox Systems in the Regulation of Aging. Nutrients. 2019 Feb 27;11(3):504. doi: 10.3390/nu11030504. PMID: 30818813; PMCID: PMC6471790.
Placzek S, Schomburg I, Chang A, Jeske L, Ulbrich M, Tillack J, Schomburg D. BRENDA in 2017: new perspectives and new tools in BRENDA. Nucleic Acids Res. 2017 Jan 4;45(D1):D380-D388. doi: 10.1093/nar/gkw952. Epub 2016 Oct 19. PMID: 27924025; PMCID: PMC5210646.
Mercola, J. EMF’D: 5G, Wi-Fi & Cell Phones: Hidden Harms and How to Protect Yourself. Hay House, 2020.
Zhang J, Tao J, Ling Y, Li F, Zhu X, Xu L, Wang M, Zhang S, McCall CE, Liu TF. Switch of NAD Salvage to de novo Biosynthesis Sustains SIRT1-RelB-Dependent Inflammatory Tolerance. Front Immunol. 2019 Oct 11;10:2358. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2019.02358. PMID: 31681271; PMCID: PMC6797595.
Nakahata Y, Sahar S, Astarita G, Kaluzova M, Sassone-Corsi P. Circadian control of the NAD+ salvage pathway by CLOCK-SIRT1. Science. 2009 May 1;324(5927):654-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1170803. Epub 2009 Mar 12. PMID: 19286518; PMCID: PMC6501775.
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms4936
Volkow ND, Tomasi D, Wang GJ, Vaska P, Fowler JS, Telang F, Alexoff D, Logan J, Wong C. Effects of cell phone radiofrequency signal exposure on brain glucose metabolism. JAMA. 2011 Feb 23;305(8):808-13. doi: 10.1001/jama.2011.186. PMID: 21343580; PMCID: PMC3184892.
Sharma P, McClees SF, Afaq F. Pomegranate for Prevention and Treatment of Cancer: An Update. Molecules. 2017 Jan 24;22(1):177. doi: 10.3390/molecules22010177. PMID: 28125044; PMCID: PMC5560105.
I am just talking something that is trying to fight its way through my intuition, so no need to take me seriously if this sounds like garbage to you. It will probably sound like garbage to me too.
The entire basis of our understanding of the human body is wrong. We are electrical beings and that has to be the starting point. Homeopathy gets close, electro medicine gets close, but they are still trapped withing the physical body paradigm and still reliant on a false system of diagnosis. We have to start again - from scratch.
What we think is wrong with us is not what is really wrong with us. And until we get that right, we can't find the best ways to fix our issues.
My sense is that you are part way there with your sunlight stuff. Consider prana, consider chi. Both the Indian and Chinese systems have understood these at some time, but have now wrapped themselves up with beliefs that interfere with the free flow of light.
And neither has evolved to address the harm being done by man made electrical frequencies. That's our starting point now. If we cannot intervene at that level, we cannot help the body at all.
We need an entirely new medicine that addresses man made damage. The latest fads, such as intermittent fasting, jumping into cold baths, and the like, are just that, the latest fad. They do something worthwhile but are still stuck within the current medical paradigm.
How do we start again?
(This is me speculating out loud. At this stage I think I know what direction I need to go in, but not what it will look like when I get there.)
Fantastic! You are an amazing writer, bringing this generally difficult to follow information to super-easy readability for us laymen. Thank you and I can’t wait to read your work daily!