Nucleotides are important building blocks of life. 

They are still abundant in human breast milk, but later
we often have too few of them in our food. The special structure of nucleotides makes it possible to store and pass on genetic information that every cell needs for its metabolism.

Nucleotides are essential for cell division, cell renewal and immune defense.

What are the functions of nucleotides?

Alongside amino acids and lipids, nucleotides are the most important building blocks of life and therefore also of the human body.

are nucleotides:

• Components of DNA. Genetic information Deoxyribonucleic acid consists of nucleotides. Each time a cell divides, the double strand is halved and joined together with fresh nucleotides. This process alone requires 3 billion nucleotides per cell division.

• essential for the production of proteins. Protein synthesis requires a lot of ribonucleic acid: mRNA is read from DNA and translated into a sequence of amino acids at the ribosomes formed from mRNA. tRNA transports the protein building blocks there and helps with their incorporation.

• serve as a source of energy in our body. Nucleotides provide the energy for numerous metabolic processes. Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is our universal energy currency. Cofactors such as coenzyme A (CoA) or nicotinamide dinucleotide (NAD+) are involved in energy transfer.

• helpful messenger substances. Like cyclic AMP (cAMP), nucleotides are indispensable in many signaling pathways. 

In principle, the human body can produce nucleotides itself, provided it has the necessary building blocks available. They are therefore not considered essential nutrients, like vitamins or trace elements. However, new synthesis is very complex. Each of them requires at least one phosphate residue, the incorporation of which consumes a lot of energy. The body therefore obtains the basic building blocks not only from food, if available
, but also from the recycling of cells.

The ability of cells to recycle decreases significantly with age.

It is easy for the body if nucleotides are available as food supplements and are already individually selected - so they only need to be integrated. They are indispensable for cell division and cell renewal in a healthy metabolism. 

Where in the body are nucleotides needed?

Fast-growing cells have a particularly high demand for nucleotides. These include the intestinal mucosa, blood cells, immune cells and, last but not least,
the intestinal bacteria.

The bacteria in the intestinal flora are important for health and well-being: Together they form the microbiome, which exerts an immense influence on the immune system and metabolism. It serves as a constant
sparring partner for the former and makes many nutrients in food available in the first place
. These include substances that are essential for liver function, fat metabolism and the immune system
. 

Nucleotides are so important that they are already contained in high
concentrations in our breast milk
. Later on, we are dependent on ingesting them with our food.