Mitochondria: The Key To Optimizing Your Health
When we are struggling with an illness, we often focus on the bigger picture- weak muscles, brain fog, fatigue, etc. But what if we are missing the vital smaller details?
If your car stops running, the bigger issue is, of course, that the car won't start. However, if we look at the details of why it won't start… it might be because there's no gas! That's kind of how our body works.
Yes, we might be dealing with an obvious health issue, but what's the underlying cause of your symptoms? Many times we don't dig deep enough to find out. More research is suggesting that mitochondria damage and depletion is one of the underlying causes of many diseases. If we can focus our attention on our mitochondria, we may just be able to rid our symptoms and optimize our health.
What are Mitochondria?
Mitochondria are known to be the powerhouses of your cells. They take energy from the food you eat to create ATP (aka energy) for your cells for biological processes. The mitochondria ultimately give your organs and vital bodily processes the energy needed to function properly and optimally.
While mitochondria are mostly known to be the "powerhouse" of the cell, they also play many other roles in the body. Mitochondria are also involved in immune system regulation.
These include:
Regulating and signaling immune responses
Hormone production (specifically steroids)
Creation of heme (needed to transport oxygen throughout the body)
Why Should You Improve Your Mitochondrial Health?
If you are in the best shape of your life but are somehow still feeling sluggish and run down, you could be experiencing symptoms of mitochondrial damage. Mitochondria are incredibly vulnerable to nutrient deficiencies, toxins in the environment, and oxidative damage. When your mitochondria aren't producing enough ATP, your entire body will feel those effects of not having enough energy. In addition to low energy, you may even experience dysfunction and disease.
The foundation of your cell's health and even your organs depends on your mitochondria condition. If you can improve and enhance the overall health of mitochondria, you'll see all other areas of your health not only improve but improve at a faster rate. Your cells will be able to carry out their functions at full potential, which will lead to your body running effectively and efficiently.
How Do You Repair Mitochondria Naturally?
There are some simple yet effective ways to support your mitochondria and improve your overall health. Changes to your lifestyle behaviors are vital to getting those "powerhouses" back up and running. Here are our recommendations on how to naturally assist your mitochondria.
Get Adequate Amounts Of Sleep
When you get restorative sleep, it helps your body get rid of toxins. If you stay up late doing work or watching Netflix, you're not doing your mitochondria any good! You'll be adding to mitochondrial stress and allowing toxins to build up, which can then damage your mitochondria.
Support Your Immune Health
Not only are mitochondria good for making energy, they also play a role in helping to activate the immune system when needed. If your mitochondria are focused on defense and fighting off infections, then they can’t be running at 100% capacity for energy production. This is why when you come down with a cold or flu, you will feel “run down” and just want to sleep. Your energy will be low because your mitochondria is using its energy to protect you rather than creating ATP.
Consume Anti-Inflammatory Foods
Avoid inflammatory foods like refined sugars, artificial ingredients, and processed foods. Whole foods that are rich in color can provide rich nutrients to your cells. These foods can protect your mitochondria and combat oxidative stress produced from the ATP process, as well as the oxidative stress caused by external factors.
Try Fasting
While the kinds of foods we eat can impact mitochondria, the time you consume your food can also help. Fasting, which is shortening the window that you are consuming calories, can stimulate mitophagy. This is when old and damaged mitochondria break down, and new ones are created.
Remove Daily Toxin Exposure
Toxins are found everywhere in our everyday life. The unfortunate part is that our mitochondria are very susceptible to toxins because of the huge metabolic activity. Mycotoxins and glyphosate are two known toxins to have harmful effects on the mitochondria.
Mycotoxins are toxins produced by fungi (like mold) that could be lingering in your home. These mycotoxins can cause mitochondrial dysfunction in a couple ways. One of them being they can induce oxidative stress (even at low concentrations). They can also contribute to apoptotic cell death. A specific mycotoxin (T-2 toxin) has been shown to actually inhibit the synthesis of mitochondrial protein.
Glyphosate is another big mitochondria disruptor. This toxin, along with a common surfactant (TN-20) that is included in herbicides, can promote harmful proteins to be synthesized within the mitochondria membranes that are capable of activating apoptotic (programmed cell death) pathways.
Most of your beauty products, household products, and even food, contain other harmful chemicals that damage your mitochondria as well. Start reading labels on not only your foods but also your products. Buy organic foods when you can to avoid pesticides and artificial preservatives, and switch out your standard products for toxic-free alternatives. You'll also want to check your home for mold exposure. The lipid bilayers in the mitochondria can be highly affected by these toxins.
You'll want to make sure you remove the toxic sources first, then focus on detoxing your body. You must remove these exposures and stay away from them moving forward, so toxins don't build up again in the future.
Support Detox Pathways
Your body must be able to get those toxins out. Support your lymphatic system and drainage pathways, as well as your liver and kidneys. To do this, make sure your gut microbiome is healthy. Gut dysbiosis can lead to suboptimal bile flow, impacting detoxification.
Stimulate Hormesis
Hormesis is when your body is exposed to tiny little stressors that help build up your mitochondria and body back stronger than before. Some ways to encourage mitochondrial hormesis is by enhancing your workouts and using saunas and cold therapies.
Enhance Your Workouts
Participate in regular high-intensity interval training. Your cells will notice that you need more ATP, so new mitochondria are created to provide your body with the required energy. When you intensify your workouts, you can increase mitochondrial functioning and create more mitochondria density. When you do this, the work is spread out over many mitochondria instead of just a couple, putting less pressure on them.
Use Saunas
Many studies have shown that regular sauna usage correlates to longevity and health. This may be due to the fact that it enhances mitochondrial functioning. By doing this, the mitochondria can support the rest of the body by providing ample energy for optimal performance.
Try Cold Therapy
During cold therapy, your muscles contract while you tense up. Just like when you exercise, it stimulates the creation of mitochondria. An easy way to try cold therapy is to rotate between hot and cold water in the shower. Let the cold water run over you for a minute and then change to hot water and so on.
Clear Chronic Infections
If you have any other underlying chronic infections, you'll want to deal with those to protect your mitochondria. Viruses, bacteria (Lyme disease), parasites, yeasts, and other pathogens can all contribute to lowering your mitochondria. Parasites, in particular, can steal ATP from our mitochondria for their own growth! Also, as stated above, if you have an infection, your mitochondria will be focusing on its role in immune support rather than ATP production. This is why many patients who are struggling with chronic infections are always so tired.
What Supplements Help Mitochondria?
In addition to changing your lifestyle practices, you should consider using supplements to support mitochondrial health.
Here are some of the best mitochondrial supplements:
Glutathione
MitoATP by CellCore (my favorite for boosting mitochondrial function!)
BioActive Carbon Minerals by CellCore
NADH
B Vitamins
Magnesium
Iron
Nicotinamide Riboside
Alpha Lipoic Acid
Phospholipids
Keep in mind that every person's body is different. Before taking supplements, talk with your doctor. Lab testing can help you discover which vitamins you are deficient in and what vitamins you already have (so you don't waste money on supplements that you don't need). Your provider can also recommend specific high-quality brands that they trust.
If you want to optimize your mitochondria function, Dr. Jaban Moore, a functional medicine provider in Kansas City, can help. He specializes in treating patients with challenging chronic illnesses. If you are struggling with a chronic disease, Dr. Moore provides functional medicine based, natural support to help you rid your symptoms away. By creating a unique plan for your body, Dr. Moore can address the root cause. Please reach out if you are ready to get your health back on track. You can give the office a call at (816) 889-9801.