Certification Level 1 

Chapter 7: Systems and cells 

Bodies are systems within systems.  

Get your zoom lens out to see what we mean.  

We live in an ecosystem. This is where all life forms play in their physical environment.  

Within the ecosystem are organisms—self-contained living systems. Like us humans! 

Complex organisms, such as humans, are made up of organ systems. 

These organ systems include: 

● The integumentary system, which protects the body from outside damage and fluid loss 
and controls body temperature. 
● The skeletal system, which gives the body a rigid structure so that it can move and hold 
itself up.  
● The muscular system, which moves us, whether across the room, or to move blood 
through blood vessels, or food through the intestines.  
● The nervous system, which sends electrochemical signals that trigger thoughts, emotions, 
and movement as well as involuntary activity.  
● The endocrine system, which is a communication system that uses chemical messengers, 
like hormones.  
● The circulatory system, which transports hormones, enzymes, nutrients, oxygen, carbon 
dioxide, and other chemicals throughout the body.  
● The immune system, which protects against pathogens, tumor cells, and other foreign 
invaders.  
● The lymphatic system, which defends against infection and disease, and transfers lymph as 
well as newly absorbed fat.  
● The respiratory system, which brings in oxygen and excretes carbon dioxide, and helps 
regulate pH in the body.  
● The digestive system, which breaks down and absorbs nutrients.  
● The urinary system, which produces, stores, and eliminates excess water, salts and waste 
products, and helps control pH. And lastly, 
● The reproductive system, which controls reproduction as well as sexual development.  

These organ systems have distinct jobs, but they also work together.  

So, if something is out of order in the gastrointestinal tract, it’s probably out of order elsewhere too, 
like in the endocrine system or in the nervous system.  

So, if you’re assessing the health of an organism—maybe that’s your client—consider the whole 
person, not just the symptom. 

Precision Nutrition L1 Certification: Chapter 7 Video Transcript | 1 

If we zoom in a little more, we see that the organ systems we just mentioned are made up of 
individual organs. 

For example, the digestive system is made up of organs like your stomach, intestines, liver, 
gallbladder, and pancreas. The urinary system is made up of organs like your kidneys, ureters, 
bladder, and urethra.  

Each organ has at least one specific job, and often several. Organs are a hustling, hard-working 
bunch! 

Zoom in again, and we see that organs are made of tissues.  

For example:  

● Epithelial tissues make up our skin.  

● Endothelial tissues make up the lining of our blood vessels and our intestines. 
● Connective tissues make up structures such as our joints and fascia. 
● Muscle tissues make up our skeletal muscles and smooth muscles. 
● Nervous tissues make up our brain and nerves. And 
● Adipose tissue, or fat tissue, is an interesting case. It stores energy in the form of body fat, 
but also serves as connective tissue. 

If we zoom in on any of these tissues, we’ll see that they’re made up of large groups of cells. We 
have over 30 trillion cells in our bodies. 

Cells have two basic roles: 

● to get nutrients from the food that we eat, and  

● to use these nutrients for the raw materials and fuel to keep us alive.  

To do these basic jobs, cells: 

● grow, mature, and die;  

● exchange gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide;  
● absorb and metabolize nutrients; 
● regulate fluids and the exchange of solutes; 
● get rid of waste; and 
● reproduce. 

Together, these cellular tasks are known as metabolism.  

Cells show us how wonderfully diverse living matter is. For example, immune cells can engulf 
pathogens and destroy them, while muscle cells have sliding filaments that cause muscle 
contraction and relaxation.  

The shape of cells give us clues about their function. 

For example, enterocytes, which line the small intestine, are shaped like little brushes. The “bristles” 
are known as microvilli. This shape increases their surface area and helps them absorb nutrients.  

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If we zoom in yet again, we see that each cell is like a tiny city. Within each cell are organelles, which 
each have particular jobs, much like different industries within a city. 

Hop on our microscopic PN bus and we’ll take a tour of this city! 

Around the edge of each cell is a boundary, known as the plasma membrane, which separates the 
cell from its neighbors and from the rest of our body. This is kind of like a city wall.   

The plasma membrane has a bilayer, or double layer, that acts like a protective gate, keeping 
important chemicals in while keeping harmful chemicals out.  

The cell needs to be choosy about what can enter and exit. Molecules can only enter the cell through 
one of four pathways: 

● Simple diffusion, which is where molecules travel across the cell membrane from an area of 
high to low concentration; 
● Channels, which can allow molecules to flow in passively, much like water flowing through a 
drain; 
● Carrier proteins that either passively transport the substance (from high to low 
concentration), or actively transport the substance (from low to high concentration). Or 
● Pump proteins that actively transport using energy. 

Receptors on the plasma membrane also allow cells to communicate and get information about 
their outside world.  

You can think of these receptors as little watchpeople on the cell’s perimeter, observing what’s going 
on outside the cell, and then delivering necessary information to the inside of the cell. 

The inside of the cell is mostly composed of a gel-like solution called cytosol, where many of the 
body’s chemical reactions occur. Cytosol, together with all the organelles—except the nucleus—are 
called cytoplasm. 

The main energy producers of the cell are the mitochondria. They function a bit like little power 
plants. In fact, mitochondria produce about 95% of the body’s energy.  

The mitochondria convert nutrients that enter the cell into energy, in the form of ATP. The more 
mitochondria we have, the more effective we are at producing energy. Active people and athletes 
usually have more numerous and more efficient mitochondria.  

The nucleus, usually found in the central part of the cell, is the largest organelle. The nucleus is 
Mission Control, and home of our DNA, also known as the genetic code.  

Wrapped up in chromosomes, our DNA dictates which proteins are made by the body. This can 
determine everything from how the body develops, to how it repairs itself, to how it metabolizes 
every chemical introduced into circulation. Our DNA can affect our body shape, size, muscularity, 
leanness, and athletic performance.  

When our DNA sends out a signal to make proteins, two other organelles, the endoplasmic 
reticulum and the Golgi apparatus receive this genetic message.  

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There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum: smooth and rough.  

Rough endoplasmic reticulum is lined with ribosomes, which are the protein factories of the cell. 

Smooth endoplasmic reticulum doesn’t have ribosomes, so it doesn’t make proteins. Instead, it 
builds lipids, steroid hormones, and carbohydrates. 

When proteins are synthesized in the ribosomes of the rough endoplasmic reticulum, they move 
towards the Golgi apparatus. The Golgi apparatus then prepares some of these newly formed 
proteins to leave the cell.  

So, the endoplasmic reticulum is kind of like the “factory” of the cell, and the Golgi apparatus is like 
the shipping department. 

With all this cellular activity going on, there’s bound to be the occasional mess or spill. That’s where 
lysosomes come in. 

Lysosomes are the “garbage disposal” or “recycling units” of our cells. They contain over 60 different 
enzymes, which break down cellular components and protect cells from waste. Similar to lysosomes 
are peroxisomes, which are small sacs containing enzymes, which also detoxify harmful substances 
that enter cells.  

And that concludes our tour of Cell City. Watch your step as you exit the bus. 

Fundamentally, we’re just a soup of chemicals. 

Atoms join together to form molecules, which can create organelles, which make up cells, which 
create tissues, which make organs, which work together to form organ systems, which allow us 
beautiful organisms to exist, in the comfy nest of our ecosystem.  

And for all these components to work properly, we need good nutrition.  

This means getting the right nutrients, in the right amounts. 

Because when we eat well, our cells function well.  

The compounds we get through quality food get digested, absorbed, and then travel through our 
bloodstream to interact with our cells.  

Our cells use those compounds in many ways, whether it’s to provide energy; material for building 
or repairing structures; to act as cofactors for chemical reactions in the body; or to stimulate the 
release of chemical messengers that exchange information and help regulate how our bodies work. 

In other words, the food we eat can fundamentally change how our body works. 

And now that you’ve gotten a very close look at the miracle of how the body works, don’t you feel 
excited to give it the best nutrition possible? 

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