Mitochondria: The Engine Of Your Body

All physical and mental activity in the body requires a supply of energy. Food is key to providing the body with the nutrients necessary for optimal health: they would be the wood to stoke the fire. Through the digestion of food, the body manages to fragment and obtain nutrients, but in this process, not only is energy not generated, but rather, energy is consumed.

It is in the mitochondria where the true transformation of nutrients takes place to release the energy they possess, and this is done in the form of ATP, a molecule known as “the energy currency”. The mitochondria works as a power plant: it has the ability to use oxygen to burn the food it receives in a controlled way, and thus obtain the energy we need to feel good, perform all daily activities, and to supply everyone’s needs. the organs.

The energy in our body is produced in the mitochondria, an organelle located inside each cell that acts as a true engine capable of manufacturing it so that the body and mind function properly and without problems.

Energy to ward off illness and maintain good mental health

The most important difference between a normal cell and a tumor cell is the way it breathes, that is, the way it generates energy. This was discovered by Otto Warburg in 1920, when he showed that mitochondrial damage was related to the development of cancer. Today we know that the mitochondrion not only orders metabolism and produces energy under normal conditions, it is also part of its functions to tell the cell when to reproduce and when to die.

Numerous factors are capable of inducing mitochondrial failure, including viruses, bacteria, toxins, radiation, genetic mutations, chronic stress, and others. What they all share is the alteration of the normal respiration of the cell.

Thus, metabolic, immune and bioenergetic changes occur , which promote neoplastic processes, cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, immune system dysfunctions and neurodegenerative disease, including alterations in mental health, fatigue, autism, depression and chronic stress, all of them with a important mitochondrial energy dependence.

Science shows how anxiety, chronic stress, migraine, autism, depression, dementia or Parkinson’s can be associated with the effect of mitochondrial alteration.

Brain activity also depends on mitochondrial function. In reality, what scientific studies are drawing is a panorama in which the mitochondria determines the correct functioning of biological systems, and a wide range of neurodegenerative and mental diseases derives from its failure, in particular.

Preserve younger cells

In the combustion process that takes place inside the mitochondria, oxygen free radicals are produced. These have a strong damaging effect on DNA, that of the mitochondria itself, and that of the cell’s nucleus. As a consequence , genetic alterations are promoted that are related to multiple neurodegenetic diseases and cancer.

In addition, free radicals decrease the efficiency of the mitochondria itself and the aging process inexorably appears, linked to the deterioration of the cellular respiration mechanism.

Less toxic, more aerobic exercise

Having a good amount of functionally competent mitochondria is an indispensable contribution to physical and mental health, the prevention of cancer, aging and neurodegenerative disease.

It is necessary to avoid aggressions and toxins such as alcohol or tobacco, which deteriorate or destroy them; including commonly used medications such as anti-inflammatories, statins, and antibiotics.

The western diet is not a good ally of mitochondrial health, nor is sedentary lifestyle or toxins, which end up generating free radicals. Aerobic exercise at high intensity intervals, allows you to eliminate damaged mitochondria and produce new, more efficient ones.

The most direct way to increase mitochondrial density is to put the engine to work; and in this sense, practicing exercise in a systematic way and with good intensity allows to get rid of damaged mitochondria, which do not work properly, and to develop new, more efficient units. Thus, aerobic exercise is beneficial, but much more when doing strength work, high intensity interval training and especially exercise on an empty stomach or with little glucose available, in order to increase fat consumption.

Synchronize the mitochondrial clock

Mitochondria have a biological clock that follows circadian rhythms, meal times, sleep, peak times of greatest activity and alertness, and valleys of rest and calm.

Light is the main conductor who directs the entire biological clock orchestra; and melatonin, the hormone that regulates mitochondrial rhythm, is key to achieving mental stability and adequate cognitive competence. Following the hourly rhythms of the sun helps make good doses of melatonin.

The energy-boosting diet

Diet is key to providing essential vitamins and coenzymes to ensure that mitochondria can generate the necessary energy.

Caloric restriction, intermittent or prolonged fasting, and activation of the metabolic pathway from fats (rather than sugars) have all shown a powerful effect in eliminating already old or non-functional mitochondria, and renewing the intracellular energy park.

Fasting protects against oxidative damage by preventing the production of free radicals, while the ketogenic diet constitutes a true metabolic rehabilitation that activates ancestral genetic resources for times of lack of fuel and high physical demand.

Food for mitochondria

Some vitamins and coenzymes are essential for the necessary energy to be generated. These are the ones that cannot be missing from your diet:

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C).

It is an essential nutrient, regulator of oxidation processes. It protects the brain from free radicals, its vascular endothelium and is necessary to manufacture neurotransmitters.

Where Found : Orange, grapefruit, kiwi, carrot, radish, banana, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, bell pepper, tomato, and strawberries.

Vitamin B1 (thiamine).

It has antidepressant and toning properties. It is known as the character vitamin, due to its effects on mental health and learning.

Where Found : Green Peas, Spinach, White Beans, Nuts, Soy.

Vitamin B3 (niacin).

It generates a calming and anxiolytic effect .

Where Found : Green peas, peanuts, beans, soybeans.

Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid).

It is the one that acts on insomnia, memory loss and depression.

Where to find : walnuts, avocado, mushrooms, lentils, lima beans, beans.

Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine).

It has a beneficial effect in patients with schizophrenia, mental retardation and autism.

Where to find : whole grains, potatoes, cantaloupe, bananas, nori seaweed, brewer’s yeast, shitake mushrooms.

Coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone).

It is an electron transporter in the respiratory chain of the cell. Coenzyme Q10 is beneficial in neurodegenerative diseases, such as
myoclonic epilepsy, migraine, chronic fatigue, cancer, Parkinson’s, fibromyalgia or depression.

Where Found : Green leafy vegetables like spinach, broccoli and cauliflower, peanuts, sunflower seeds, soybeans.