Is it true that all the cells in your body are replaced in 7 years' time?

Question

If so, are you still the same person your whole life?

Answer 1

The reality is that we are different persons from one day to the next. The differences are not really perceptible to self. But everyone else experiences very slight nuances of change all the time.

Some events like a stroke that causes a lot of cells to die at the same time really drive that home, as personality and character can change drastically.

Also, at certain times our brains go into a spurt of growth that changes a child to a teenager, that makes an irresponsible teenager into a much more mature adult, over just a couple years.

So, we do undergo changes that are much more profound than mere replacement of cells would predict. But they are by addition and loss of cells.

Answer 2

Skin cells are replaced every 5 weeks to 3 months.  If you have a tattoo, the skin cells have a memory that retains that permanent color.  Tattoos do fade and bleed out with time as skin changes and gets more loose and looses collegen.  The Stomach lining is replaced every 5 days, with some cells being replaced every time there is digestion.  The skeleton cellular structure is renewed every three months.  Protein is renewed every 6 months.  98% of the total atoms are replaced in one year's time.  The whole body is comprised of totally new cells from 7 years ago.  

Because our cellular structure has "memory", it retains what we feed it, emotionally and physically.  

No, you are not the same person your whole life.  You grow and change, physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually, constantly expanding upon the energies of the universe.

Answer 3

Cells die all the time. New cells are made. They don't change completely suddenly. That's why you won't change.

Answer 4

7 seconds!

Answer 5

Some cells are permanent or nearly so (e.g., fat cells, nerve cells, etc) while some are replaced quite often (e.g., intestinal cells, skin cells, bone, etc.)

If personhood is determined by our brain and consciousness, then cell replacement occurring elsewhere in the body wouldn't change who we are as a person.

Answer 6

No, not all of your cells are replaced.  Otherwise, people wouldn't still have tattoos 7 years later.

People change who they are all the time.  Who you are is much more a function of your memories and experiences than what you are physically made out of.