At 23 Nutritional Therapy, we explore how our bodies respond to stress. A key process in healing is understanding the Cell Danger Response (CDR), a concept proposed by Dr. Robert Naviaux, MD. This metabolic response protects cells under stress. Understanding this process can offer profound insights into the root causes of disease, chronic illnesses, mental health issues, and even developmental disorders.
In this blog, we’ll explore what the CDR is, how it impacts your health, and how we can support our bodies to heal, leading to foundational wellness.
Innate Intelligence Activates the Cell Danger Response
What is the Cell Danger Response (CDR)? The CDR is a natural protective mechanism triggered by chemical, physical, or biological stressors. When overwhelmed, the body shifts its inherent metabolic processes, affecting:
- Oxidation and reduction cell reactions
- Mitochondrial function
- Lipid metabolism
- Protein folding
- Cell membrane fluidity
- Vitamin bioavailability
- Homeostasis
When the CDR Goes Awry: Chronic Disease Develops
Cells rely on a balance between oxidation and reduction reactions to produce energy and function properly. Oxidation means losing electrons, while reduction means gaining them. These reactions power mitochondria, which convert nutrients into energy. Normally, cells produce small amounts of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that aid in signaling and immune defense. But under stress from toxins, infections, or inflammation, ROS levels can rise sharply, causing oxidative stress.
In response, cells enter defense mode and increase ROS production to fight damage. While helpful in the short term, excessive ROS harms proteins, DNA, and mitochondria, disrupting energy production and causing inflammation. When the threat passes, antioxidant systems restore balance and support healing.
Dr. Naviaux’s research shows that chronic activation of the Cell Danger Response (CDR) blocks the body’s natural healing process, known as “salugenesis.” This leads to metabolic dysfunction, gut imbalances, autoimmune diseases, and neurological issues, including:
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS)
- Autoimmune diseases
- Gut microbiome imbalances
- Behavioral and neurological conditions like ADHD
Persistent stress signals stored in metabolic memory keep cells stuck in defense mode, preventing recovery. Addressing root causes, not just symptoms, is essential for long-term healing. Supporting mitochondrial health and reducing oxidative stress helps the body exit chronic CDR activation and resume natural repair.
The Healing Cycle: A Natural Process of Recovery
The body’s healing cycle follows a structured sequence to ensure recovery after injury.
This cycle consists of three main stages:
- Initial Injury Response (Acute phase): The body uses external energy and medical interventions, like surgery or medication, to repair trauma (e.g., gunshot wounds, heart attacks, or infections).
- Recovery Phase (Chronic phase): Key modalities in functional medicine that unblock healing
Harnessing Molecular Therapies & Functional Nutrition for Healing
Functional nutrition testing and molecular therapies play a key role in restoring balance by addressing deficiencies, eliminating triggers, and supporting mitochondrial function.
Molecular Therapies:
Molecular therapies begin with targeted nutrient therapy, which utilizes specific vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to repair cellular damage, support detoxification pathways, and enhance mitochondrial function, where our cellular energy is produced. These nutrients are fundamental in restoring balance, improving energy levels, and boosting resilience. Functional nutrition testing provides deeper insight into the body’s needs, identifying and correcting common nutrient deficiencies such as magnesium, vitamin D, B vitamins, and trace minerals that are essential for metabolism and overall vitality.
In tandem, food sensitivity testing helps uncover inflammatory foods that may be contributing to chronic symptoms. From there, a personalized healing plan can be crafted with guidance from a functional medicine dietitian. To further support systemic healing, gut health analysis evaluates for signs of dysbiosis, leaky gut, or microbial imbalances; factors that often go undetected but have significant impacts on immunity, digestion, and inflammation.
Eliminating ongoing triggers is another critical step in the healing process. This includes addressing environmental toxins and heavy metals through targeted detox strategies and lifestyle modifications. Infection management is equally important; chronic or latent bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic infections can drive low-grade inflammation and worsen symptoms if left unaddressed.
“Restoring energy begins at the cellular level… mitochondrial functioning is essential for longevity!”
Nutrients such as CoQ10, acetyl-L-carnitine, alpha-lipoic acid, and magnesium are known to fuel mitochondrial efficiency and reduce fatigue. Alongside this, mitochondrial-targeted movement and exercise protocols improve circulation, enhance energy production, and stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis, promoting endurance and overall vitality.
Finally, the foundation of long-term healing lies in food. A diet rich in anti-inflammatory ingredients, like omega-3 fatty acids, turmeric, ginger, leafy greens, and high-quality, bioavailable protein, helps calm the immune system and reduce flare-ups. Nutrient-dense foods such as grass-fed meats, wild fish, bone broth, fermented foods, and organic vegetables provide the essential building blocks for cellular repair and immune function, bringing the entire healing protocol full circle.
Long-Term Healing and the Remodeling Phase
As the body begins to stabilize, it naturally redirects energy and resources toward deeper healing, repairing tissues, optimizing function, and restoring balance. This long-term remodeling phase is where foundational improvements give way to lasting change, especially when addressing complex or lingering conditions like SIBO, IBS, and chronic constipation. A key player in this stage is the migrating motor complex (MMC), a critical yet often overlooked aspect of digestive motility. When the MMC isn’t functioning properly, it can contribute to bacterial overgrowth, sluggish digestion, and recurring symptoms.
To uncover root causes and guide this next level of healing, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Lab Testing becomes essential. These advanced tests provide insight into hidden imbalances and help build a more personalized protocol:
Comprehensive Stool Testing identifies dysbiosis, leaky gut, enzyme deficiencies, parasites, and pathogens, all of which are underlying root causes of symptoms like bloating, brain fog, and irregular bowel patterns tied to SIBO or IBS.
Food Sensitivity Testing helps pinpoint dietary triggers driving chronic inflammation, allowing for the creation of a tailored, anti-inflammatory nutrition plan.
Micronutrient Testing highlights deficiencies in key vitamins and minerals, such as B vitamins, magnesium, and vitamin D, which are crucial for gut health, immune support, and nervous system balance.
Hormone and Adrenal Testing evaluates cortisol rhythms, thyroid status, and sex hormones to assess how stress and endocrine health may be impacting digestion and systemic healing.
During the remodeling phase, the body’s innate intelligence activates the cell danger response—a protective mechanism that, when properly supported, helps shift the body from survival mode to restoration. With the right tools, long-term healing becomes sustainable. Understanding mitochondrial states shows how stress affects cellular healing: chronic stress or infections can lock mitochondria in a pro-inflammatory (M1) state, blocking recovery. Supporting mitochondrial health encourages a shift to the anti-inflammatory state, promoting effective healing and regeneration.
Mitochondria, Stress, and Healing: The Key Connection
- Uncommitted (MO) State: In this baseline state, mitochondria focus on supporting cell growth, maintenance, and biomass replacement. This mode allows cells to function normally and regenerate tissue under healthy, low-stress conditions. It represents a state of readiness where mitochondria provide energy efficiently without triggering immune responses.
- Pro-inflammatory (M1) State: When cells encounter acute stressors such as infection, injury, or toxins, mitochondria shift to the M1 state. Here, they generate reactive oxygen species and release inflammatory signals to activate immune defenses. This form is critical for fighting off pathogens and clearing damaged cells, but prolonged activation can lead to chronic inflammation and impede healing.
- Anti-inflammatory (M2) State: After the immediate threat resolves, mitochondria move into the M2 state to promote healing and repair. In this mode, they help reduce inflammation, support tissue regeneration, and restore normal cellular function. The M2 state is essential for resolving the Cell Danger Response and allowing the body to return to homeostasis.
Stress and Environmental Triggers: Why People Stay Chronically Ill
In today’s world, toxic environments and hidden stressors pose a constant challenge to our well-being. Even with an organic diet, environmental contamination can silently sabotage the body’s healing process, keeping many people stuck in cycles of chronic illness.
Common Stressors That Impact the Healing Cycle
The healing cycle can be disrupted by many hidden stressors that strain the body’s cellular systems. Biological factors like hidden infections (Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr Virus, HHV6), fungal overgrowth from mold toxins, and other microbial invaders keep the immune system constantly active. Chemical toxins from pesticides, plastics, heavy metals, and pollutants quietly impair mitochondrial function and cell signaling. Physical trauma, whether from acute injuries or unresolved chronic damage, can lock the body in a defensive state. Emotional and psychological trauma, including grief, financial stress, early childhood neglect, or ongoing chronic illness, also traps the nervous system in survival mode, preventing effective healing and restoration.
Understanding CDR symptoms is key, not just for symptom management but for uncovering the root cause of disease, keeping the body trapped in a stress-response state. This is where the Cell Danger Response (CDR) becomes crucial: when the body is stuck in survival mode, it can’t return to healing. Recognizing and addressing CDR patterns is essential for resolving the deeper dysfunction driving chronic illness.
Why Can’t We Heal?
For individuals with chronic illness, healing is often blocked by continuous reinjury. Whether from unresolved infections, ongoing exposure to toxins, or psychological trauma, the body’s ability to recover is hindered. Understanding your adrenal stress hormone response and its relationship with the cell danger response can be key to unlocking your healing potential. Functional nutrition testing and functional diagnostic nutrition lab testing can help pinpoint underlying imbalances and identify the right interventions to remove these blocks.
Unblocking the Healing Cycle: A Path to Wellness
To unlock the healing cycle and support recovery, we must focus on:
- Removing Triggers: This may include eliminating toxins from your diet or environment, addressing infections, or reducing emotional stress.
- Supporting Cellular Healing: Through functional nutrition, we can provide the necessary nutrients to support mitochondrial health, improve gut health, and reduce inflammation. Our bodies possess an incredible ability to heal, and functional nutrition plays a crucial role in this process. By providing the necessary nutrients, we can support mitochondrial health, improve gut function, and reduce inflammation.
Encouraging Regeneration
True healing requires more than just removing triggers; it also involves creating the right internal environment for regeneration. One essential area to support is digestive function, particularly by encouraging the Migrating Motor Complex (MMC). The MMC is a critical part of our digestive system’s housekeeping mechanism, helping to clear residual food, bacteria, and debris from the small intestine between meals. Stimulating the MMC can be especially helpful for individuals dealing with Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO) and chronic constipation, both of which often arise from impaired gut motility.
In addition to digestive support, reducing stress and regulating the nervous system are equally important for restoring the body’s natural healing rhythm. Chronic stress can interfere with gut function, immune response, and cellular repair. Programs like Primal Trust™ and DNRS™ (Dynamic Neural Retraining System) are designed to shift the body out of a survival-based stress response and into a parasympathetic state, where regeneration and repair can occur. These brain retraining techniques work by helping the brain rewire maladaptive stress patterns, supporting nervous system resilience and creating the safety signals the body needs to return to homeostasis.
A Journey to Wellness
The Cell Danger Response (CDR) is the body’s natural defense mechanism against stress, but when stuck in this mode, it can block healing and contribute to chronic illness. By addressing root causes, supporting mitochondrial function, and fueling your body with a nutrient-dense diet, you can help shift out of survival mode and into lasting, foundational wellness.
If you’re feeling stuck or dealing with chronic symptoms, let’s connect for a free 15-minute nutrition strategy call to begin exploring your wellness journey.
Sources:
- Naviaux RK. Metabolic features and regulation of the healing cycle-A new model for chronic disease pathogenesis and treatment. Mitochondrion. 2019 May;46:278-297
- Naviaux RK. Metabolic features of the cell danger response. Mitochondrion. 2014 May;16:7-17.
- https://www.primaltrust.org/about/
- https://retrainingthebrain.com/
