What’s New With Mitochondria?
I bet you are hearing the word “mitochondria” more and more often in relation to your health. Maybe you remember these tiny organelles, similar in size to bacteria, as “the powerhouse” of the cell from your high school biology class. But unless you’ve been studying more recently, there is a lot more to be learned about the importance of this organelle that is found in abundance inside each of your cells.
The old paradigm is that our mitochondria produce ATP from the energy stored in the foods we eat. In this simplified story, water is an insignificant byproduct and food is the only way we get the energy that our cells need to function. Eating good quality food and ATP production is important but there is much more going on AND it matters to your health.
To start this paradigm shift, it helps to reframe your view of your body from a biochemical model to a bioenergetic model. That means thinking more in terms of electricity than chemical reactions. Think of life as being driven by positive and negative charges, proton gradients, and electron availability rather than chemical reactions and anatomical features. In our new paradigm, the chemical reactions and anatomy we’ve known and studied extensively exist but we’re looking deeper to understand how a body that is primarily made of water, maintains the coherence and charge that defines it as “alive”.
The mitochondria are critical to this. To begin with, the chemical reaction that produces ATP, water, and carbon dioxide does so by transporting electrons through a series of proteins in the mitochondrial membrane, producing electrical currents and stored energy gradients. We source these electrons not only from food but also from melanin, sunlight, cellular water, our own body movement, and even directly from the earth. The metabolic water that is produced during this process is critical to cellular health as it contributes to the gel-like structured or coherent water that is essential to optimal cell functioning.
Mitochondria also make hormones including our master hormone, pregnenolone (a precursor to numerous other hormones such as progesterone, estrogen, and testosterone) and subcellular melatonin, a hormone and a powerful antioxidant that protects the mitochondria from damage. The production of subcellular melatonin in the mitochondria is stimulated by near infrared light (NIR), a deeply penetrating wavelength of light that we receive naturally from sunlight anytime we are outside. NIR is also present in other energy sources such as incandescent light bulbs and saunas, anything that makes radiant heat also gives off infrared light.
Beyond their core bioenergetic functions, mitochondria are also involved in immune modulation, ion and mineral balance, and thermogenesis (the production of body heat). They even directly influence the gene expression of nuclear DNA, determine the type of cell that a stem cell becomes, and are involved in tissue regeneration. And, as if that’s not enough, they support myelination and nerve conduction AND are involved in regulating your lifespan.
Mitochondria are both a battery and an information hub of the cell. They act as an antenna which is sensing the environment both internally and externally including awareness of light, temperature, nutrient and oxygen availability, toxins and stress. When our mitochondria sense that an environmental stressor exceeds adaptive thresholds, they will shift from energy production to cell protection mode. This shift is often what leads us down the path toward chronic disease.
Everyone inherits their mitochondria from their mother. They come with the egg cell that is fertilized by the sperm from your father. Egg cells contain the most mitochondria of any cell in the body. Cells with the next highest concentration of mitochondria are the brain cells, followed by certain organs and muscles. Cells with the least number of mitochondria are retinal cells in the eye. Embryonic development requires high numbers of mitochondria functioning at an optimal level. Over time, as we encounter various toxins or our bodies are deprived of the nutrients we need (everything from sunlight to food and electrons), our level of mitochondrial function is reduced which leads directly to various disease states. Disease is rooted in energetic issues as an inability to maintain charge across membranes or to perceive and respond to environmental signals.
By now, maybe you are wondering how to protect your mitochondria. What can you do to take better care of them?
First of all, go outside as much as you can. Your body needs to produce melanin and absorb infrared light from sunlight. You can also get electrons directly from the earth by touching it with your bare skin. Other benefits of being outside include reduced stress from both bathing in the natural EMF (electromagnetic field) of the earth which resonates with relaxed brain waves and being removed from indoor nnEMF (non-native frequencies) that are dehydrating and disruptive to our bodies.
Move your body. This really means to avoid sitting for long periods of time. Any movement creates piezoelectricity in your bones and fascia which is generating electrons for your body. Sprinkle activity throughout your day by walking places when you can, doing household chores, bouncing on a rebounder, or getting up to stretch and move regularly.
Eat whole foods. Your mitochondria are sensitive to light information from both your environment and your food. When you consume processed foods that contain a jumble of information from completely different sources, this introduces confusion and dissonance. Make everything easier to process by consuming whole foods that make sense to your mitochondria, especially foods that are locally grown and contain the same light information you are receiving from the sun.
Get the right proportions of essential fatty acids in your diet. This supports healthy cell and mitochondrial membranes which are critical to everything I’ve shared in this article. Your body needs a ratio of 4:1 Omega 6 to Omega 3 essential fatty acids. Try to get these from whole foods as much as you can. Certain vegetables, nut and seeds, and animal products contain the essential fatty acids your body needs.
Filter your water to remove chlorine and fluoride. These are commonly added to municipal water systems and both are detrimental to mitochondrial health.
Avoid artificial blue light and nnEMF. These disrupt melatonin production and lead to dehydration of the cell.
The solutions to our chronic health problems are so simple and intuitive and yet can be difficult to implement in our modern environment. Your body has an innate intelligence and it knows how to heal. The symptoms you have are its attempt to protect you. You just need to remove the barriers and give it what it needs. As always, if you want support in making these changes, get in touch with me. Together, we will recover your best self!