Physiological Dynamics and the Basis of the Duration of the RAINS Study

Why is the RAINS Study Six Months Long?

The six month time frame for each participant is based on what is know as “physiological dynamics.”  

Physiological dynamics refers to the fact that different cells in the body have different life-spans. As an example, red blood cells take approximately three months to “turn over.” 

This means that each of your existing red blood cells will be replaced within approximately three months, constructed entirely of the nutritional material (macro and micro nutrients) made available through your diet. 

Physiological dynamics explains why nutritional deficiency diseases like scurvey (vitamin C deficiency) take several months to develop. It takes that long, as the new cells being created become less resistant to damage.  

As a result of physiological dynamics, any improvement to the cellular structure which is dependent on the addition of nutrients, cannot occur overnight, but rather over the length of time it takes for the particular cells to be replaced or repaired. 

The majority of cells in the body turn over within six months, which is why, in the field of nutritional science, six months is considered the minimum duration for any supplementation program to show substantial effect.  

Physiological dynamics also helps to explain why studies, of varying duration, testing identical nutrients, can have substantially different results.