To understand Mitochondrial Disease we first have to understand what they are and why they are so important. Scientific study in the last 20 years is showing that they are way more important and complex than first realised.
Kaboom, kaboom, kaboom.... 3 beats is all the stored energy your heart has available before it needs to recharge. The recharge powerhouses in your cells that keep your heart beating and keep you alive and energized are called Mitochondria.
Every cell in your body has them in their thousands, including red blood cells (which has only just been discovered)...it's fascinating stuff.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200123134100.htm
They are best described as the battery packs in our cells.
The journey into Mitochondria and their importance to our survival began as space exploration expanded, and scientists looked at how space travel impacted the human body. When I watched the Netflix series "One Strange Rock" - Episode 9 and they talk about how large complex life on earth began I really started to get it.....
"Once upon a time millions of years ago when the only life on earth was single celled organisms - one bacteria invaded another. This happened all the time but on this occasion the invading bacteria had something special, it used oxygen to create energy. The two bacteria formed a 'symbiotic' relationship and working together they created more energy.
Together they began to build life on earth as we know it....large life forms were able to flourish because of the extra energy they could produce.
They are what we now call Mitochondria"......
They have their own DNA, separate from the Nuclei DNA. We inherit them through the female line (from our mothers), and they are how Geneticists have traced our journey back to Eve...the first mother.
Mitochondrial disease is relatively new research (last 20 years).
What has been discovered most recently is that our Mitochondria have another crucial role in this thing called Life....they are the gate keepers of our Immune System.
When a flu or virus enters our system it is our Mitochondria that go to work to set up the 'Battle Stations' .... to defend our cells against attack. Just like an army going to war they shut down communication with other cells, harden their cell walls, and settle into a Lockdown pattern. When the danger has passed they go back to normal cellular energy production.
This is why we feel tired, listless, and 'out of sorts' when we get a cold or a flu. Our Mitochondria have switched roles and are now in what Dr. Naviaux calls - CELL DANGER RESPONSE....in short CDR.
Dr. Naviaux is Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Pathology at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). He is the founder and co-director of the Mitochondrial and Metabolic Disease Center and former President of the Mitochondrial Medicine Society (MMS). Here is what he has to say:
https://naviauxlab.ucsd.edu/science-item/mitochondrial-disease-research/
A quote from his research website:
"Virtually all chronic complex diseases have mitochondrial dysfunction. This means that over half of all Americans—over 150 million people—will suffer with a chronic disease that can be traced to mitochondrial dysfunction. Even the aging process itself has been found to be controlled by mitochondrial function. Diseases like diabetes, heart disease, chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS), Parkinson, Alzheimer, mental health disorders like bipolar disorder, major depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), autoimmune diseases like lupus and multiple sclerosis (MS), and childhood disorders like autism, ADHD, asthma, and many more all have been shown to have mitochondrial dysfunction.
So what is Mitochondrial Disease?
I write this as an individual without letters after my name - who has researched this topic for personal health reasons and want to share what I have discovered.
I AM IN NO WAY MAKING CLAIMS
DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH ON THIS - THE INFORMATION IS OUT THERE.
In the last 50 years the number of toxins, chemicals, pesticides, and heavy metals that impact our bodies at a cellular level has increased massively.
Over 7,000 chemicals are imported into the United States on average every year. For food production, personal use, and industry. It will be happening at a similar rate in all western countries around the world.
Our soil and food crops are sprayed with chemicals before planting, during and at harvest time.
Our air and water is polluted.
Our bodies don't know what to do with all these new 'invaders'.... which is what they are.
Our Mitochondria see them as a 'threat' to our survival.
They don't recognise them, so they do what any good housekeeper does....they go into protection mode. They send out the warning...erect the battle stations...incoming danger.
Here is the punch line ........ if your Mitochondria go into Battle Station mode for an extended period of time the body ends up in chronic illness.
This is any condition that is manifested for more than 6 months.
Once in lockdown for a prolonged period of time you are faced with a condition that the medical community calls chronic illness.
According to Dr. Naviaux and his research team we literally need to re write The bBook on Medicine.
Many integrated natural health professionals are now looking at ways they can help clients bring their Mitochondria back from lockdown to healthy cell energy production.
What can you do to help these amazing organelles that power your life?
There are some fundamental things that you can do to help.
Breathe
Oxygen is the first requirement of life. Without it we are dead within minutes.
Have you noticed that when we are under stress we often shallow breathe. Make deep breathing part of your daily practise. There are many techniques out there that all have a benefit.
Water
Water......it is the most amazing element. I have written whole other Topics about this.
For now let me just share something you all know....without it we are dead within days. It is the next most crucial element after clean air.
Clean water is a fundamental right to life, and yet so many people on Earth do not have it.
If you can afford to drink filtered, and energised water please do.
Check out Dr Mazaru Emoto and what he learned about the amazing powers of water.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masaru_Emoto
Salt
Yes....also true. Our bodies are made of saline solution the same consistency as the oceans. I am talking real unprocessed Salt here, not processed Table Salt which has been stripped of its minerals, and had anti caking agents added. Real unprocessed natural Sea Salt, Celtic Salt, Himalayan Salt.
When I first researched this I had a real life lesson on how much smarter than us animals have become. We have a small herd of cows and we learned early on from a farmer that you must put salt licks in the paddocks. On this particular day I came home and watched them. They would go from the salt lick to the water trough and then back to the salt lick, then back to the water.
There will be those reading this saying 'rubbish'. Well I suggest you go do some more research.
One of my most favorites is Barbara O'Neill - The Importance of Salt and Water. Unfortunately she has been tied up in lawsuits and been shut down by the Australian Government for her stance on natural health alternatives and her You tube clips have been pulled off the web.
Until I get all my own research up this is a good comprehensive read from Dr Steven Lin
https://www.drstevenlin.com/salt-good-for-you
Nutrition
Our modern lifestyles and farming practices have started to make an impact on our mitochondrial nutritional needs. In farming it is called Inputs and Outputs - if you don't put it in....you won't get it out.
Soils that are mineral deficient
Pesticides, herbicides and chemicals added at all stages of crop production
Hybridised Food Crops that never reach peak nutritional ripeness. A topic not well understood.
Some of the most fundamental nutrients our cells need are missing from most diets today which is putting huge pressure on our cells to perform at optimum without the inputs they need.
Eat as much raw food as possible - a balanced diet, and a variety of in season produce.
I am not going to go down the diet guru path as I am not an expert, or anything other than an individual who has had a great thirst to learn more.
The experts all say we need to supplement in some way. I know personally even when we were growing a large proportion of our own food (vegetables, and meat) we were still not seeing health improvements.
That is why I support the PXP Royale - it is a food, not a vitamin or mineral. It is a mitochondrial source of nutrition that helps them to function more optimally for you. Mitochondrial energy is required to power your body to be able to heal and repair. Without good nutrition it is very hard for these powerhouses in your cells to do their job properly.
Exercise
Moving and exercising is part of our bodies key need to remain healthy.
Performing aerobic exercise uses oxygen, and this directly relates to how the mitochondria function. The more oxygen you pump to your muscle cells and their mitochondria through working out aerobically, the faster and better they work to produce energy. This is also how the mitochondrial enzymes are increased.
Cleanse
This is not just on the outside...it is about the inside.
Many natural practitioners on the road to helping people improve their mitochondrial function will say 'Cleanse'.....do a Parasite Cleanse. We are a living symbiotic creature, and we accumulate parasites. Sometimes they will gain a hold, and we will suffer without realizing why.
Detoxing is an ongoing process.
Our bodies need to eliminate - daily !!!
Nature gave us sweat glands, a bladder and a colon as the main ways to do this.
The fastest way to detox and 'cleanse' is to make these three things work optimally.
Dr Sherry Rogers’ book “Detoxify or Die” is a recommended read for anyone taking this subject seriously. Hot/cold sitz baths, Infra red Sauna's are two things worth researching further if you are in need.
I have also recently found a product called HFI - Humic and Fulvic Acid of a quality that is showing good results with removing heavy metals from the body. Please email me if you would like to know more about this. I am quite excited to have found it.
Reduce
Take some time to look at how many chemicals you are bringing into your personal world.
Your cleaning
Your personal care
Your food
Start reading labels, make a conscious choice to take as many chemicals out of your life as you possibly can. We cannot control all areas of our lives but we can make a choice to try and make a difference with the products that we buy and use.
What might increased Mitochondrial energy
do for you?
Energy is the key to your life. Without it you are not alive !!!
It is required for every function of your body
Simple really....
May increase energy levels
Stimulation of collagen production
May reduce damage to blood vessels
Help in promotion of toxin elimination
May assist digestion
May enhance hormonal function
Possible relief from symptoms of hormonal changes like Menopause
May improve sleep
May improve management of stress
May improve overall mental vitality and clarity
May lower inflammation in the body
Possible reduction in allergies