Would you like to slow aging, lose weight, increase energy, and heal disease? You can do all of these things by taking care of your mitochondria! These cellular components are your body’s energy production factories. They drive your metabolism and keep your body young and healthy. Here are some ways to make sure that your mitochondria are working to their full potential!
1. Eat a whole foods diet rich in protein and healthy fats while avoiding sugar and carbohydrates whenever possible. When you eat a carbohydrate or sugar-heavy diet, you bypass your mitochondria and make smaller amounts of energy through less effective means. Your mitochondria can actually die over time if they are starved in this way. This loss of mitochondria is a large part of the aging process. Feed your mitochondria well and you will live longer and feel better.
2. Avoid toxins and keep your body’s detoxification pathways open. Toxins interfere with the energy-producing pathways of your mitochondria and can cause them to become damaged. Ways to reduce your toxin exposures include reducing the use of plastics, filtering your water, and eating organic produce and meats. You can open your innate detoxification systems through the use of targeted nutritional supplements such as methylated B vitamins and glutathione precursors like NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine) and Alpha Lipoic Acid. Intravenous glutathione is another great option for many individuals. Methylation testing is very useful in order to determine your individualized needs to promote detoxification. Heavy metal (chelation) testing can determine your heavy metal body burden and give us information regarding how to remove these toxins that can strongly suppress mitochondrial function. Saunas are another useful method of detoxification.
3. Exercise to improve your oxygen utilization capacity. When you exercise you stimulate the health and multiplication of your mitochondria. Exercise helps you to develop increased oxygen utilization capabilities. Increased oxygen efficiency allows you to better fuel these powerhouses and create more energy.
4. Manage stress. Life is full of stressors which put pressure on your adrenal glands. During times of acute or chronic stress, your adrenal glands can become tired and stop working well. Without properly functioning adrenal glands, you cannot support the pathways that your mitochondria use for fueling. Aside from diet, stress is one of the biggest factors in decreased energy production. Very sudden decreases in mitochondrial function can be seen during times of stress. There are many ways to take care of your adrenal glands. Check out this blog post for ideas
5. Get your thyroid hormones checked! This is not just the usual TSH check. It is important to take a look at your actual T3 and T4 levels. T3, in fact, is a primary driver of mitochondrial function and thereby metabolism. If your T3 level is low, you will not be able to make adequate energy or burn fat for fuel. You can improve your T3 through all of the above methods. It is also important to optimize your gut and liver health as this is where T4 is converted into T3, the active thyroid hormone. Here is a link to additional information regarding thyroid health
6. Improve your NAD (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) levels. NAD is an extremely important driver of mitochondrial energy production and metabolism. It also regulates DNA repair and its decline is a strong driver of aging. You can increase NAD through healthy diet, exercise, and stress management as well as through intravenous or subcutaneous injection supplementation. There may also be some benefit to taking oral nicotinamide ribose chloride, a NAD precursor. Ozone therapy is another great method of increasing NAD concentration long term. More to come on this soon! Here is a link to some information on NAD infusions . Please reach out to us for information on NAD subcutaneous injections which can be done at home as a convenient option. Anyone, current patient or not, can take advantage of these great options!
7. Consider supplementing with L-Carnitine. If you have done all of the above, you might be able to kickstart your mitochondria through L-Carnitine supplementation. This is because L-Carnitine shuttles fatty acids into the mitochondria for fuel. Once the whole system is working, you will then be able to burn fat for energy. This is when the weight loss benefits of a fully functioning metabolism kick in!
Taking care of your mitochondria is one of the best things that you can do for your overall long-term wellness. It can also give you an immediate boost! Please know that we are here to help and that our passion is for personalized root cause medicine that will help you to feel better for good.