How mitochondrial dysfunction might be wrecking your life
And what to do about it + A mini-course announcement!
Hello Friends!
I have a special announcement that SOON I will be releasing the first mini-course on Slow Living for Fertility!
The course and accompanying materials will be available for a limited time to founding and premium subscribers. If you have been on the fence about a paid subscription and are eager to learn about optimizing fertility & energy level through diet and lifestyle, now is your chance!
What do you get as a paid subscriber? Access to the archive, behind the paywall on premium posts, access to courses, community chat, and participation in Q+A sessions. Founding members get a free 1:1 with me!
So, what’s the deal with mitochondria and why should you care?
William Penn made a good case for time as “our most valuable asset” but I would say that energy comes in a close second place. We can’t really do anything without it. The functioning of our bodies, everything from large scale motor movements, like lifting my very large mug of tea, doing yoga, to microscopic chemical reactions, like synthesizing hormones, all require energy, which is produced by mitochondria – a teeny tiny little energy factory within your cells. So tiny in fact, that instead of being called a cell “organ”, they are referred to as “organelles”. Cute, right? The best part is that so long as we are able to keep these tiny factories healthy, energy is a renewable resource.
Considering that energy is necessary for *all the things*, it is not surprising that:
1) Since the 1970s there has been a huge wave of research dedicated to better understanding mitochondria and even a Nobel Prize handed out for work in this area (Peter Mitchell won for his chemiosmotic theory).
2) When mitochondria are functioning less than optimally, there are significant and wide-ranging health effects - some you may notice and some you may easily overlook.
It’s worth mentioning that in addition to producing energy, in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), these little guys also play a role in several other essential activities, like: calcium regulation, programmed cell death, and immune functions. They even have a special relationship with the bacteria in the gut microbiome! (Franco-Obregón, A., & Gilbert, J. A., 2017)
They are basically tiny super engines of the body and their health is paramount to our expression of health, including how we look feel, and perform.
Fun fact: It is estimated there are 1000-2500 mitochondria in each cell of the body!
Mitochondrial dysfunction can be defined by a reduced ability to synthesize ATP (energy), forcing the cells, tissues, and organ systems to make do with less energy or rely more on other means, like anaerobic glycolysis - which is far less efficient.
Not ideal. This imbalance can lead to damage and disease.
Mitochondria have increasingly become the target of natural therapies for non-communicable lifestyle diseases (type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, obesity etc.) because not only are they a key to health and function of the system, but they also can be a source of increased reactive oxygen species in the body (free radicals), causing oxidative stress - a driver of the chronic inflammation that causes disease. However, before a diagnosable disease state is in full swing (which doesn’t always happen), when mitochondrial dysfunction is happening on a smaller scale, symptoms can appear, such as:
· Brain fog
· Fatigue, depression, or anxiety
· Unrestful sleep or insomnia
· Bodily aches and joint pain
· Increased rate of aging
· Frequent infections
· Weigh gain or loss
· Fertility problems
Basically wrecking your life, one little symptom at a time or just no energy to do beloved activities and generally feeling like 💩💩💩
So, what causes it?
Mitochondrial dysfunction can result from a few things, mainly falling into one of the following groups:
1. Free radical damage to the mitochondria
2. Reduced numbers of total mitochondria
3. Inadequate nutrition for mitochondria to function
These tend occur because of things like environmental toxins, stress, or an unhealthy diet or due to mitochondrial disease from birth.
Sad but true: In modern life, toxins and toxicants are found EVERYWHERE and stress is ubiquitous. That’s why being healthy today isn’t the same routine as it was in your grandma’s day! A big part of being health conscious nowadays is doing self-education on how to avoid toxins and, how to naturally boost our mitochondrial function (and overall health).
Does that sound overwhelming? - Don’t worry, I’m going to break it down into some easy, actionable steps and even have a research backed food plan to share with you!
Mitochondria really only need oxygen and substrate (nutrients) from the air we breathe and the food we consume. BUT, to function well and for a long time, they also need a good environment to work in – that’s right, mitochondria don’t do well with stress, specifically oxidative stress that results from a buildup of free radicals (aka “reactive oxygen species/ROS” or “free radicals”). A healthy cellular environment, one that supplies plenty of nutrients, oxygen, and is protected from excessive oxidative stress, is something we can facilitate through lifestyle. Mitochondrial are quite vulnerable to oxidative stress and while reactive oxygen species are a normal bi-product in the creation of ATP, an adequate supply of antioxidants in the diet and other supportive lifestyle choices, healthy mitochondria can keep the ROS from building up and causing damage.
ROS build-up can also occur due to things like: environmental toxic and heavy metal exposures, chronic stress, and poor sleep. This is why a healthy diet AND lifestyle are so important in addition to learning ways to avoid toxic exposure.
Some helpful ways to start supporting your mitochondrial health today:
Read Labels 🤓- Learn how to avoid toxins from daily used products and food by reading labels and learning which products, materials, and ingredients are harmful. I have an additional tip on how to make this EASY, below.
Air Quality ☁️- Consider the air quality of where you live and how much time you spend indoors. Indoor air is typically far less quality that outside. Something as simple as opening the windows regularly, spending more time outside, or installing a quality filter could have amazing benefits.
Eat the Rainbow 🌈 - Eating a natural (and colorful!) diet is a great way to ensure that you are loading up on antioxidants and phytonutrients to combat toxicity and free radicals.
Sweat & Poop regularly 💦💩– Yep, gross but essential! Boost your toxin elimination by breaking a sweat regularly and aiming for healthy stool. If you want to know more about this, check out a recent post I did on What your poop says about your health and if you mention “sweat” in the comments and I’ll be sure to expand further on that specifically!
Herb & Supplement support 🌿- Consider using herbs or a supplement. I expand on this below with some specific recommendations.
Go Slow 🐢- Include mindfulness and low intensity exercise into your regular health routine (I’ll explain why).
Just one thing…
If you’re still feeling overwhelmed, try just picking one thing from the list above. Take the first point one on the list, for example: Think about anything that you come into direct contact with… lotions, perfumes, soaps, etc. Our skin absorbs more than you might think and, many common household cleaners, beauty and hygiene products are known to contain chemicals that cause problems…BIG problems, like cancer, infertility, and asthma.
Thanks to increased consumer awareness and demand, things have come a long way. You can now find a decent selection of non-toxic products at most grocery stores. Unfortunately, even among these “better” options there can be some hidden nasties, as more companies try to profit from the ever-growing health-conscious crowd with false claims of their product being “natural” or using other misleading and essentially meaningless words.
One of the easiest ways to start learning what and what not to buy and how to outsmart sneeky marketing WITHOUT having to memorize all of the ingredients to avoid is to use an app on your phone. I personally have found Yuka to be quite helpful and, it’s FREE!