What are Mitochondria,
...and why are they so important?

Mitochondria are known as the powerhouses of the cell. Mitochondria have an enormous impact on every aspect of our health, wellness, and performance.  

​Each cell in the body can contain mitochondria by the thousands and the number of mitochondria in a cell can depend largely on the function of each cell. For example, heart and brain cells need much more mitochondria to generate energy and have about 6,000 mitochondria per cell.

​The “mighty mitochondria” are the cellular power plants that keep your metabolism humming by consuming oxygen and turning sugars, fats and proteins that we eat, into forms of chemical energy called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the Bitcoin of cellular energy for the human body.   So much ATP is produced in fact, that on a daily basis it will match your body weight. A 170 lb. man will produce on the average 170 lbs. of ATP on a daily basis to fuel his mitochondria.

​Your body uses this ATP fuel for almost everything from blinking, to breathing, to thinking, to playing your favorite sports. The mitochondria are also responsible for maintaining a healthy metabolism, burning fat, detoxification, healing, and fighting oxygen-based free radicals. It’s quite a résumé!

However when a factory is stressed and slows down its production or there isn't enough raw materials to produce everything, you'll get less production from the factory. This means that if your mitochondria aren't working properly, you're going to get poor performance from your body and brain, and you're going to feel increasingly tired and you'll age quicker. No energy, no performance, no life!

It is estimated that 50% of the people over the age of 40 are experiencing Early Onset Mitochondrial Dysfunction (EOMD). EOMD is a state of fatigue and poor performance that rhw majority of people over the age of 40 who have EOMD just contribute to “getting older”.

Mitochondria dysfunction is also shown to affect all major systems of the body. Recent studies have shown that approximately 90% of death, disease, and poor performance is due to mitochondrial dysfunction resulting from the negative impact of inflammation and oxidative stress caused by hidden environmental stressors.  

So it's easy to see why when mitochondria go wrong, serious health issues may result, and why it is important we understand how mitochondria work and how to optimize mitochondrial function.