Mitochondrial Health: Part I
For as far back as I can remember in science classes, I remember hearing about the mitochondria being the “powerhouse” of the cells. For my fellow science nerds out there, you probably recall something similar. Powerhouse. Energy packets. ATP. Glycolysis. Krebs Cycle. Electron Transport Chain…….. those words might shake the dust off the memories.
Everything we learned seemed so “automatic”. Like, these processes we memorized for tests would go on whether we actively participated or not. Our bodies would just do their thing
….unless there was a genetic disorder someone was born with. Mitochondrial genetic disorders are grouped into a category called Primary MitochondrialDiseases, most of which are obscure / uncommon.
By nature, I usually have at least a handful of “but, why?” questions rolling around in my head at any given moment. My two books (Becoming Your Own Health Detective, Vol I and Vol II) are focused entirely on helping people put their own health puzzle together by zeroing in on root causes. (Usually, it’s multiple root causes creating a perfect storm.)
Humbly, I have to say, we’ve not dug deep enough most of the time, and over the last couple of years, I’ve learned that digging microcosmically deeper yields greater health rewards.
The health, quantity, and function of the mitochondria is critically important for our overall health. If the mitochondria isn’t able to be “a powerhouse” of “energy packets (ATP)”, there will be a problem or two, or twelve. ATP is used to produce, repair, distribute, organize, and maintain EVERYTHING in the body. This includes protection against disease, adaptability and resilience (both physically and emotionally), as well as physical, mental and cognitive performance. The mitochondria are also a critical factor to how well a person ages. (Imagine if any one or more of these duties above were knocked out of kilter )
The “knocked out of kilter” is important here, because that signifies Secondary Mitochondrial Dysfunction, which occurs in disorders such as autism, ADHD, diabetes, depression, neurodegenerative disorders, fatigue, cancers, metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, etc.
That is a BROAD array of health concerns. All brought together with a singular bond: mitochondria that have lost their ability to provide what the body needs to thrive.
- What can we do to prevent mitochondrial dysfunction?
- What causes mitochondrial dysfunction?
- What are early symptoms of mitochondrial dysfunction? (Before there is an actual diagnosis
- of some disorder)
- Can you improve poor mitochondrial function once they are dysfunctional?
- What questions do you have?
We have MUCH to talk about….. most of which likely was never talked about in your biology class.
PS: Meet Bruce! He is about 3 weeks old, and our newest addition to our farm-ily. Did you know that the mitochondria are inherited from the mom’s genetics? Given how adorably cute and especially energetic Bruce is, I’d say his mom (Eleanor) gave him some pretty robust mitochondria !
Mitochondrial Health: Part 2 – What causes Dysfunction?
Mitochondrial dysfunction is at the root of nearly all body and brain health concerns, and even “feeling old” is also due to declining mitochondrial function. To put it simply, mitochondrial function (or dysfunction) DRIVES the aging pattern.
We’ve all seen people who age beautifully, and we’ve also seen people who look, act, and feel far older than their biological age. In both instances, mitochondria performance is responsible.
We can start “doing all the things” to help enhance mitochondrial function, but first it’s a good idea to understand what causes function to decline.
Babies are born with highly active, high functioning mitochondria, and as I mentioned last week, their mitochondria come exclusively from their mama. (If their mom’s mitochondria are not robust, this will also be passed along to the baby. Thankfully, there are many things that can be done to correct this!)
Around the age of 18 (in the average person), mitochondrial function starts to decline by about 1% per year. That might not sound like much when you’re 18, but it’s a pretty significant shift by the time you enter into your latter years of life.
Additionally, there are BIG drivers to mitochondrial dysfunction. When you stack these upon 1% per year decline, things can head south pretty quickly, even as a young person under the age of 18.
This list is not exhaustive, but it is fairly comprehensive…. so here we go:
- Chronic nutrient depletion (no fuel for the powerhouse!… mito’s especially have very specific nutritional needs… we will talk about this in another post too). For now, just understand that a diet heavy in processed foods will age out your mitochondria quickly…. kids and adults alike.
- A heavy environmental toxin load. This will include herbicides like glyphosate, heavy metals, heavy plastic exposure.
- A sedentary lifestyle. MOVEMENT is a primary stimulus for mitochondrial health. A body in motion stays in motion functionality”). Likewise, a body at rest for too long is losing “powerhouse
- Circadian disruption. Mitochondria are tightly regulated by light and circadian rhythm. Blue light (especially well into the night), poor sleep, and irregular schedules are no friend to energy production at a cellular level
- Certain medications. (I can’t possibly list them all. If you have specific questions about any not listed here, please schedule a call with me).
- Antibiotics (esp those in the Quinolone, tetracycline, and aminoglycoside families)….. Ya’ll…. there are MANY alternatives to synthetically derived antibiotics that work as well or BETTER in most cases (leave them for emergency use only).
- Statins
- Mood stabilizing meds in the SSRI or SNRI family
- Antipsychotics (ex: aripiprazole)
- Stimulants (ex: Adderall) So interesting, right? Stimulants create short term energy in exchange of long term loss of energy.
- Metformin (typically used for type II diabetes or PCOS )
- Chronic use of Acetaminophen
- Beta blockers (most commonly used for high blood pressure)
- Chemo agents
- HIV medications
- Proton pump inhibitors (these are your GERD/ acid reflux meds)
- Birth control pills
- Chronic Gut dysfunction
- Chronic stress (chronic cortisol overload ultimately leads to mitochondrial suppression over time).
As you might be imagining, stacking multiple medications, poor nutrition, little exercise, and toxic environmental stressors is mitochondrial mayhem in the making.
The good news? Age only drives about 25% of mitochondrial function. 75% of mitochondrial health is largely under our own personal control, and ….. get this, it is very possible/ doable to restore mitochondrial function and quantity.
Also good news…. …. you are here . Which means you are already working on
ways to improve your mitochondria function even though you didn’t know it!
Look at the list above. The mayhem makers. Have you been able to avoid some of those mitochondrial mayhem makers I listed above by using an herb, essential oil, lifestyle change, or other holistic practice? Drop a if you have. I’d love to hear your story!
PS: This is Agnes. I met her on Sunday in our yard. She was one of the largest turtles I’ve seen on our property. Based upon her size, she’s probably over 10 years old. While human mitochondria tend to be high output (by necessity), reptiles have mitochondria that are more focused on efficiency over energy. Also interesting… they tend to have a lower mitochondrial mutation rate than mammals do…. which I find VERY interesting!
xoxo~ Liz
Mitochondrial Health – Part 3
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postmenopausal women (or women who are no longer having monthly cycles)
men…. especially as they age
people who lean towards a heavy red meat diet
people with genetic tendencies towards storing more iron than is typical.
Iron overload is a common driver of mitochondrial-triggered cell death. The mitochondria are deeply involved in both bone building and bone resorption through regulation of the osteoblasts and osteoclasts. When mitochondrial function is poor, there will be fewer bone building (the “blasts”) cells, and at the same time, the bone breakdown cells (the “clasts”) can become overactive. Guess what happens over time to your bones?…. yep, they start to get brittle. 
allowing for safe, inexpensive (free!) removal of excess iron in the bodyImproving your mitochondrial efficiencyRamping up production of new red blood cells which ultimately improves better mitochondrial respiration (this equates to better mito function)type! )