Mitochondrial Dysfunction: How To Rid of Fat, Fatigue and Brain Fog
Who wants to be leaner, have increased energy and prevent aging?
If you answered with a “yes please", you better make sure your mitochondria are working at a high level!
But let’s take a step back: what the heck are mitochondria?
Mitochondria are the microscopic powerhouses of the cell. We have over 100,000 trillion mitochondria in our body, as each cell holds hundreds or thousands of them and they are often equated to little power plants as they are creating the majority of the energy the body needs to function on a minute to minute basis. Through a complex series of biochemical reactions these little powerhouses basically break down the oxygen the we breathe and the nutrients from our food to produce energy, which runs our bodies in the form of ATP. If this process gets bunged up, we are prone to getting sick.
Mitochondria generate the energy to drive every process in our body.
Healthy mitochondria do not only play a key role in the body’s ability to control weight gain, but they are essential for optimal health + optimal aging. Unfortunately they are exquisitely sensitive and can be damaged very easily. Damaged or dysfunctional mitochondria lead to a host of often seemingly unrelated issues, whereas highly functioning mitochondria are considered to be the key to solving many problems in chronic disease, whether it’s an inability to lose weight, diabetes, fatigue issues, Alzheimers, Parkinson’s etc.
The quality of your mitochondria simply mirrors the quality of our health.
The most common symptoms of damaged mitochondria are:
Chronic fatigue / memory issues / brain fog
Muscle pain or weakness
Weight gain
Rapid aging
Low muscle tone
Blood sugar problems
Thyroid problems
Recent studies have shown that mitochondria can oxidize (get rid of) body fat. Therefore, to no surprise both obesity and diabetes (which promotes fat storage in the body) are directly linked to a dysfunction in mitochondria. This literally means, that if the mitochondria are not working properly, we gain weight. So, to stay lean and healthy we need to know what exactly keeps mitochondria in tip-top shape or damages them.
Here are the top reasons that lead to mitochondria damage:
Excess of oxidative stress (due to infections, gut dysbiosis, etc.)
Diet high in refined sugar and flour
Mold exposure
Environmental toxins (heavy metals, pesticides)
Antibiotics
Nutritional deficiencies (especially iron, CoQ10, ALA, B-vitamins, lipoic acid)
Smoking
The good news is that mitochondria can reproduce. That means you can increase the number of mitochondria in your cells (mitochondrial density). Mitochondria can also be "trained" to work better. That means you can increase mitochondrial efficiency, or how well the mitochondria of your cells work. So let’s take a look, at what we can do to support our mitochondria.
Learn about my favorite supplements and dosages to boost mitochondria, get rid of weight, prevent aging, and ditch brain fog!
