7 Ways To Boost Mitochondrial Health To Fight Disease
Summary
TLDRThis script delves into the critical role of mitochondria in various diseases, including cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. It suggests that mitochondrial dysfunction may initiate these diseases, rather than being a consequence. The speaker advocates for metabolic therapy, emphasizing the importance of a healthy diet, supplements, toxin reduction, fasting, muscle building, adequate sleep, and exposure to near-infrared radiation to enhance mitochondrial health, which is integral to overall well-being.
Takeaways
- 🔋 Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to various diseases including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, ALS, and Parkinson's disease.
- 💊 Mitochondria are the 'powerhouses' of the cell, responsible for producing ATP, the energy currency for cellular processes.
- 🚫 Mitochondrial dysfunction in cancer cells is characterized by a shift from oxidative phosphorylation to fermentation, requiring high glucose intake for energy production.
- 🥗 A ketogenic diet, which is low in glucose and high in fatty acids, can be beneficial as it forces the body to use ketone bodies, which are cleaner energy sources for healthy mitochondria.
- 🧬 Metabolic therapy, which includes a ketogenic diet and limiting glutamine, targets the energy production pathways of cancer cells, potentially starving and killing them.
- 🧬 The nucleus of a cell with cancerous DNA, when placed in a healthy cell with functioning mitochondria, behaves like a healthy cell, indicating the profound influence of mitochondria on cellular health.
- 🚫 Factors damaging to mitochondria include normal aging, pollutants, certain oils, alcohol, toxic metals, organic pollutants, and some prescription and recreational drugs.
- 🥦 Seven strategies to boost mitochondrial health include a healthy diet low in seed oils and simple sugars, certain supplements, reducing toxin exposure, fasting, muscle building, adequate sleep, and exposure to near-infrared radiation.
- 💊 Supplements like coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin E, vitamin D3, and K2 may help improve mitochondrial health but should be discussed with a healthcare provider.
- 🏋️♂️ Building muscle and engaging in regular exercise, especially heavy lifting and aerobic activity, can enhance mitochondrial health.
- 🌞 Exposure to near-infrared radiation, either from sunlight or specialized devices, can stimulate mitochondria to produce melatonin, promoting cellular health and immune function.
Q & A
What is the role of mitochondria in our cells?
-Mitochondria are the powerhouses of our cells, responsible for making ATP, the energy currency needed to drive all cellular processes.
How do mitochondria function during a ketogenic diet?
-During a ketogenic diet, when sugar is scarce, mitochondria can efficiently use fatty acids and ketone bodies to produce energy.
What is the metabolic theory of cancer in relation to mitochondria?
-The metabolic theory suggests that cancer may arise from malfunctioning mitochondria, which can damage DNA through oxidants released, potentially leading to uncontrolled cell division.
How do cancer cells differ in their mitochondrial function compared to healthy cells?
-Cancer cells have damaged mitochondria that are more primitive in functionality, relying on fermentation for energy production instead of the more efficient citric acid cycle, thus requiring more glucose.
What is the significance of glutamine in cancer cell metabolism?
-Glutamine is a non-essential amino acid that some cancer cells can use as an alternative substrate for energy production, which can vary depending on the cancer type.
How does a ketogenic diet potentially impact cancer cells?
-A ketogenic diet, by reducing glucose and sometimes glutamine availability, can starve cancer cells as they cannot efficiently use other substrates like fatty acids, leading to cell death.
What are some factors that can damage mitochondria?
-Mitochondria can be damaged by normal aging, exposure to pollutants, certain seed oils, alcohol, toxic metals, organic pollutants like pesticides and herbicides, and some prescription and recreational drugs.
What are some strategies to boost mitochondrial health?
-Strategies to improve mitochondrial health include a healthy diet low in seed oils and simple sugars, certain supplements like coenzyme Q10 and alpha-lipoic acid, reducing toxin exposure, fasting, building muscle, adequate sleep, and exposure to near-infrared radiation.
How can fasting benefit mitochondrial health?
-Fasting can induce autophagy, a process that removes old and malfunctioning mitochondria and stimulates the production of new, healthy mitochondria.
What is the connection between metabolic health and diseases like cancer?
-Metabolic dysfunction, such as insulin resistance and obesity, is linked to a higher risk of developing diseases like cancer. Maintaining metabolic health through diet and exercise can significantly reduce this risk.
How does near-infrared radiation affect mitochondria and overall health?
-Near-infrared radiation can penetrate deep into the body, stimulating mitochondria to produce melatonin, which is beneficial for cellular health and the immune system.
Outlines
🚀 Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Metabolic Therapy
This paragraph discusses the link between mitochondrial dysfunction and various diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, ALS, and Parkinson's. It explains the role of mitochondria in ATP production and how they can utilize different substrates like glucose and fatty acids. The speaker introduces the concept of metabolic therapy, suggesting that cancer may arise from mitochondrial malfunction, leading to DNA damage. The theory posits that damaged mitochondria in cancer cells result in a reliance on fermentation for energy production, necessitating high glucose intake. The paragraph also touches on the potential of a ketogenic diet to starve cancer cells by depriving them of glucose and promoting the use of ketone bodies.
🛡️ Mitochondrial Health and Its Impact on Cellular Function
The second paragraph emphasizes the importance of mitochondrial health in preventing diseases like cancer. It describes how the mitochondria's influence on cellular health is profound, with experiments showing that swapping mitochondria between healthy and cancerous cells can determine cell behavior. The paragraph also covers the correlation between metabolic disorders like insulin resistance, obesity, and diabetes with an increased risk of cancer. Strategies for maintaining mitochondrial health are suggested, such as diet adjustments, reducing exposure to toxins, and considering the impact of medications.
🍽️ Dietary and Lifestyle Strategies for Mitochondrial Health
This paragraph delves into specific dietary recommendations for boosting mitochondrial health, including reducing seed oils, simple sugars, and carbohydrates. It highlights the benefits of certain supplements like coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, and vitamins E, D3, and K2. The paragraph also advises decreasing exposure to environmental toxins, limiting alcohol, and discussing medication needs with healthcare providers. Additionally, it mentions the benefits of fasting for inducing autophagy, which helps in the removal of damaged mitochondria and the stimulation of new, healthy mitochondria production.
💪 Enhancing Mitochondrial Function Through Exercise and Other Modalities
The final paragraph focuses on the benefits of building muscle and getting adequate sleep for mitochondrial health. It also introduces the concept of near-infrared radiation, which can stimulate mitochondria to produce melatonin, contributing to cellular health and immune function. The speaker suggests using near-infrared LED beds or panels as a means to enhance mitochondrial function. The paragraph concludes by emphasizing the importance of metabolic health, including reducing body fat and exercising, as the most effective ways to improve mitochondrial health.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Mitochondrial dysfunction
💡ATP
💡Cancer cell metabolism
💡Metabolic therapy
💡Ketogenic diet
💡Autophagy
💡Glutamine
💡Coenzyme Q10
💡Near-infrared radiation
💡Insulin resistance
💡Melatonin
Highlights
Mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to various diseases including diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, ALS, and Parkinson's.
Mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, responsible for producing ATP, the energy currency for cellular processes.
Mitochondria can use alternative substrates like fatty acids during a ketogenic diet, showcasing their adaptability.
Metabolic therapy suggests that cancer may arise from malfunctioning mitochondria, which could damage DNA.
Cancer cells often have damaged mitochondria that rely on fermentation for energy production, requiring high glucose intake.
Glutamine, a non-essential amino acid, is another substrate used by some cancer cells for energy.
Ketogenic diets may help starve cancer cells by limiting glucose and promoting ketone body usage.
Mitochondrial health is crucial for overall cellular health, as shown by experiments swapping mitochondria between healthy and cancer cells.
Metabolic dysfunction, such as insulin resistance and obesity, increases the risk of diseases like cancer.
Maintaining mitochondrial health through diet, exercise, and minimizing medication can reduce the risk of diseases.
Seven strategies to boost mitochondrial health include diet adjustments, supplements, reducing toxin exposure, fasting, muscle building, sleep, and near-infrared radiation.
Seed oils rich in Omega 6 are harmful to mitochondria and should be avoided in favor of healthier fats like avocado and olive oil.
Supplements like coenzyme Q10, alpha-lipoic acid, vitamin E, D3, and K2 may support mitochondrial health.
Fasting can induce autophagy, which is beneficial for mitochondrial health by removing old and damaged mitochondria.
Building muscle improves mitochondrial health and overall tissue oxygenation.
Adequate sleep is essential for mitochondrial health, with 7 to 9 hours recommended for optimal cellular function.
Near-infrared radiation stimulates mitochondria to produce melatonin, which enhances cellular health and immune function.
Being metabolically healthy, including lower body fat and regular exercise, has the most profound effect on mitochondrial health.
Transcripts
there are many diseases that are linked
to mitochondrial dysfunction and these
include diabetes cancer cardiovascular
disease ALS Parkinson disease and
possibly many more now mitochondria are
these small organel these powerhouses
and our cells that are tasked with
making ATP the energy currency that we
need to drive all our cellular processes
and it usually works like this you've
seen this diagram in biology there's a
sugar glucose molecule coming in and
through the crap cycle or citric acid
cycle in the mitochondria we have the
production of a lot of ATP and when we
have um you know mitochondria that are
working well they make a lot of energy
they can also um use other substrates
they can use for example fatty acids so
when someone goes on a ketogenic diet
where there's no sugar available then
the mitochondria can function very well
um using fatty acids actually uh Ketone
bodies in order to produce energy so
these are Pathways that normal healthy
mitochondria can do and um I'm going to
show a diagram here there were studies
done uh about you know cancer and I did
a talk that's called metabolic therapy
where I'm talking about the theory here
that actually cancer May in fact arise
from malfunctioning uh uh mitochondria
that then Downstream damage the DNA you
know through oxidants that are released
and that is very possible that it goes
this way and it makes a lot of sense
because when you look at the diagram
here you can clearly see they took U you
know a cancer cell and with a cancer
nucleus and cancer organel so you have
damage in the DNA which is what we
thought was always the prime cause of a
cancer cell where how it would divide
uncontrollably we have sufficient damage
to the DNA and at some point some of
these safeguards where the cell says hey
I'm I'm limiting my ability to divide
and the rate of division is kicked out
and the cell divides uncontrolled at a
very high rate and that is actually
something that we see in cancer cell
that's correct but the question is is
that how it starts or is this a
downstream manifestation metabolic
Theory says well this is Downstream
because it starts with the mitochondria
and we know that a cancer cell not only
has damage in the DNA but also has
damaged mitochondria and that is
actually something that is a Hallmark of
all cancer cells really of all cancer
cell lines of different cancers that the
mitochondria are damaged and they're
damaged in a way where the mitochondria
are much more primitive in their
functionality instead of using this
elaborate citric acid cycle making a
whole bunch of ATP they can only ferment
and fermentation is a real poor and
shitty energy balance where you take a
sugar molecule and you produce a very
few ATP only therefore cancer cells need
a lot of sugar they need a lot of
glucose to make sufficient energy
because their rate is very low now um
the other substrate that we found out
more in recent years that cancer cell
can use and this varies from cancer type
to cancer type is glutamine and
glutamine is a non-essential amino acid
it means an amino acid that our own body
can produce so it's difficult to limit
that but we can actually decrease the
availability and this is where metabolic
Theory uh therapy comes in knowing that
cancer cells cannot use fatty acids for
example like our healthy cells again if
you go on a ketogenic diet you withhold
all your sugar all your glucose or your
carbohydrates the body is forced to burn
Ketone bodies and it actually Burns
cleaner so the citric acid cycle
produces a lot of pollutants think of
this as a gasoline burning engine sort
of whereas burning Ketone bodies
actually produces less or or no
pollutants more like an electric engine
running I don't think people should be
on that indefinitely Or for prolong
periods of time but it's something that
our body certainly can handle and I
think for periods of time it's actually
a healthy or very healthy thing to do
and it might be a life-saving thing to
do if someone has cancer and the reason
for that is again when we think of
metabolic Theory here saying these
mitochondria are not functioning well
they can only ferment they can only
ferment glucose and in some cases
glutamine if we take both of those um
substrates away the cell will starve and
die the cancer cell will die because it
cannot sustain itself and that actually
turns out to be true so going on a
ketogenic diet and then periodically
blocking glutamine or decreasing the
amount of glutamine that is available
that essentially is metabolic the uh
therapy and again that's in the video I
talk about that that's something that uh
is very um new sort of thinking of this
and it works I think extremely well
we've seen papers how people have
benefited from metabolic therapy and in
my opinion it's something that can
always be used together with traditional
treatments that we still have you of
course surger chemotherapy and so on to
treat active cancer so again
mitochondria in cancer cells uh are
deficient and your nucleus has mutations
now when they take one of those cells as
you see in the diagram where they now
take a healthy cell with healthy DNA so
there's no cancer mutation in the DNA
and they're put put that into a cancer
cell with the cancer mitochondria that
can only ferment the cell stays in fact
a cancer cell it divides it continues to
divide as a cancer cell it's not healthy
now um by contrast if you take a cancer
nucleus so with damaged DNA and put it
into a healthy cell a cell that has
healthy organel healthy mitochondria
then this cell now divides like a
healthy cell so it is not a cancer cell
anymore and there we can see how
profound the influence is of the
mitochondria on overall health of the
cell so mitochondrial Health appears to
be extremely important and cancer is
just one of the examples again there are
many diseases that appear to be linked
to mitochondrial dysfunction keeping our
mitochondria healthy is in our interest
because it keeps our whole body healthy
and it's something that is very much
neglected we know that as we um become
insulin resistant and we develop you
know early glucose intolerance or maybe
even early type to diabetes our risk of
cancer increases and that is also linked
to obesity we know that diabetes is
linked to obesity and cancer is linked
to obesity and cancer think to diabetes
so we have a strong correlation here
that shows when we have metabolic
dysfunction um and again when you have
uh diseases like diabetes and heart
disease you know we call this also
metabolic
syndrome where your whole uh
functionality actually of your cellum
your cellular functionality is
compromised right and with that again
comes a higher risk of developing
diseases like cancer for example right
now we know then um that if we take care
of our mitochondria if we lose weight if
we eat better if we decrease our simple
sugar intake if we normalize our
hemoglobin A1c and if we you know are
not incident resistant anymore we are
doing better and our chances of diseases
like cancer and others are decreasing
significantly so taking care of our
mitochondria is I think huge important
and therefore we have to understand what
is damaging them and what is good for
them and these are I think very
important points right now they can
become damaged by normal aging of course
you know that's something that we know
uh oxidants right that we're exposed to
so pollutants seed oils alcohol toxic
Metals you know organic pollutants we
talking here about pesticides and
herbicides and so on some prescription
drugs actually can negatively impact our
mitochondria as well as well
recreational drugs which shouldn't be
taken anyway
some examples here are Tylenol aspirin
uh cocaine methamphetamine and statins I
never thought I would say all those in
one sentence but all those can be
damaging to our mitochondria and we
should be aware of that and when we're
taking prescription medications um I'm
always pointing out that we should
always periodically discuss with our
primary care doctor hey can I do
something to improve my health that I
can maybe lower that medication or can
we just reevaluate after a while I've
been on this medication if I still need
it or at least
could get away with a lower dose right
these are all helpful things a lot of
times that's sort of neglected um of
course it's in the interest of the
farmer industry to keep people
indefinitely on medication that's not in
your interest I think it's always good
to minimize medications that's not to
say that we don't need them
ever but I think we usually need them in
small amounts and a lot of things are
quite overprescribed okay so there are
seven strategies that have been very
helpful um to boost mitochondrial health
and the first would be our diet what we
eatting
I would strongly suggest to cut out seed
oils and that's of course a bit
controversial as usual but seed oils are
very rich in Omega 6 lenol acid and
that's been shown that high amounts of
those can be damaging to our
mitochondria and they can lead to
mitochondrial dysfunction and therefore
linked to the diseases that I mentioned
earlier and um there is actually I mean
there are lot of talks about this lot of
papers about this I think it's important
to understand that seed oils are just
not good for us in general and Seed oils
we're talking about you know soybean oil
cotton seed oil we're talking about um
sunflower oil sunflower oil and so on
and I would leave all those out H canola
oil as well and stick with normal simple
fats in small amounts like we're talking
about avocado oil olive oil if it's 100%
pure go for extra virgin oil here this
is the first press which is the best oil
small amounts of butter are okay as
well then simple sugars and that's the
issue again because we're thinking about
um early glucose uh intolerance or early
diabetes strongly linked to consumption
of simple sugars because again when we
take in simple sugars we need a massive
Spike of um insulin release from the
pancreas and over time the pancreas can
burn out and we get less and less
response to the sugar as we gain weight
uh our resistance to the insulin goes up
because it's directly linked to the
amount of body fat that we have so it
doesn't work so good anymore and over
time we burn out the pancreas and we
develop insulin resistance and diabetes
right that again metabolic disorder very
strongly link to higher risk of cancer
significantly higher risk of cancer
actually so cutting out simple sugars
decreasing carbohydrates in general my
recommendation usually is taking less
than about 150 grams of carbohydrates a
day and that's actually very achievable
and easy to do especially when we cut
out simple sugars carbohydrates that are
certainly okay are fruit in moderation
of course uh berries are my preferred
fruit because they have a low glycemic
index um but others are fine in
moderation as well and then you know a
few whole grains here and there I don't
think hurt not the greatest thing I
don't think we need them definitely but
you know there's some Fiber in there
which is probably good for us so there
are few things that we can take in but
we can minimize this some rice here and
there a bit of pasta once in a while I
think that's all fine number two
supplements some supplements that have
shown positive effect in our
mitochondria for example coenzyme Q10
it's always questionable how much of
that gets in I must say um the
manufacturers will say oh there's a high
absorption rate but when we talk about
oral bioavailability so the percentage
of that that certain substance that gets
actually into our cells that can really
vary from product to product you know a
lot of it can be broken down in the D
digestive tract some of it might not get
absorbed it depends on how we take it
with a meal or without a meal so again
we can I think uh it's a supplement
worth using you I would always discuss
any supplement of course with your
primary care doctor first but um it's
something that might be helpful for
mitochondrial Health um our alphal
lipoic acid has been studied and shown
to be good for mitochondrial Health
vitamin E vitamin D3 and K2 those are
the ones that I would recommend and I do
take vitamin D3 and K2 and I do take
vitamin E and once in the while are
alphal lipoic acid as well so that's
something that you can explore that can
be helping your mitochondria in terms of
supplements then um increase sorry
decrease your exposure to toxins and
that's of course uh yeah goes without
saying heavy metals can be damaging to
mitochondria so avoid those stay away
from pesticides herbicides so buy
organic if possible possible I know this
is more expensive I prefer to buy
smaller quantities um but rather it be
organic because again especially when it
comes to wheed and other things uh a lot
of the stuff is sprayed I don't buy corn
at all because that's all sprayed with
glyphosate on 90% of it is um but buying
organic is good if you buy uh fruit like
berries you can get them Frozen so
organic frozen fruit is significantly
cheaper and it stays fresh for very long
periods of time um alcohol I always a
big proponent of limiting alcohol I
always talk about this I drink usually
no more than about two drinks per week
if you drink on a daily basis you may be
damaging your mitochondria in fact right
certain prescription drugs like statins
can be damaging to mitochondria always
discuss all your medications with your
primary care doctor periodically and see
that you take the minimum that you
really need right and then of course
recreational drugs which we don't have
to talk about which you just should not
use at all fasting can improve the
health of our condrea usually starts
around 16 hours but it's not like a
cutof thing and that's always this
confusion people that saying well people
do 18-hour intermittent fasting twice a
week and this will not cause autophagy
which is not helpful for the
mitochondria I think that's wrong um I
think that it's not it doesn't start
like a light like a light switch that
you turn on at 16 hours or so there is
autophagy even earlier even at 12 to 14
hours there are some uh the longer you
fast of course the better your results
will be but not everybody's going to do
a two or three day fast I think that's
unrealistic um so even short
intermittent fasting of about 16 to 18
or 20 hours once or twice a week is very
helpful in my opinion and it certainly
um improves mitochondrial Health amongst
other things by autophagy now autophagy
is essentially programmed cell death
it's cell death of uh old malfunctioning
mitochondria and then also there's it
you know there's a a stimulite to
produce more mitochondria right right so
we're weeding out old mitochondria and
the cell is stimulated to produce more
new mitochondria that are very healthy
so fasting can be actually very helpful
in my opinion then uh the fifth one is
build muscle so the more muscle you
build the more healthy mitochondria you
will have there's better oxygenation of
tissue I mean there's so many advantages
to building muscle in a healthy way of
course not with steroids or anything
like that but just you know regular
working out heavy lifting right and then
mixed with some aerobic exercise excise
in general is good but specifically
building muscle has been shown to really
improve mitochondrial
Health sleep very tough one because
again 7 to n hours it's between seven
and nine hours it's what's recommended
that's tough to do I fall on the you
know 7 hour if I'm lucky uh sort of side
of this um some people have asked well
what if I sleep a bit during the day yes
it can be helpful can be helpful for
hormones but can possibly also be
helpful for mitochondrial Health like
have another half hour nap at least
during the day if you can if can make
that happen if you only sleep six hours
a night try to get a bit of extra sleep
during the day ideally you sleep longer
through the night that's true but you
can help out a little bit by having an
extra nap in the daytime and that might
not be a bad thing to do right um and
then of course near infer
radiation I've done several videos about
this this is a fascinating topic so near
infrared radiation is not visible to the
human eye it's around 850 nanometers is
what we perceive as warmth from sunlight
so when you're out in the sunlight and
you feel the warmth of the sun that's
near infrared
radiation now the infrared radiation
penetrates deep into the body several
inches it goes through bone it actually
reaches your brain it is uh very very
helpful because the mitochondria exposed
to the infrared radiation are actually
um stimulated to produce melatonin and
we always think of melatonin in terms of
sleep right as helpful for our sleep at
night but here when we think about
melatonin production in the mitochondria
for our cells this is for cellular
Health in general so uh when we sleeping
at night or when we're about to go to
bed usually the pineal gland in our
brain is releasing a big amount of
melatonin that goes in the bloodstream
and that helps us then then then sleep
this is different um so here we have
melatonin in the mitochondria in our
cells and in you know and it helps the
cell to become healthier it also greatly
improves the immune system and during
viral illnesses and we've had this
during our pandemic and in in when you
have the flu is actually recommended
that you take melatonin because we know
that melatonin is actually very helpful
for your immune system to so to help you
really recover a lot faster so there is
a direct link of better recovery from
viral illness and taking a melatonin
supplement right but the best melatonin
is again if we get it through NE INF
radiation now you can get it from
sunlight or you can get it from a near
infrared and led bed and that's also
very good you know I would usually do
that in the winter time when there's not
enough Sun LED in your infrared panel or
like a lie down bed which I prefer
because it's much more intense about
three times a week and about 15
minutes very helpful again recovers the
uh a lot of the mitochondria that are
actually um slightly damaged can
actually recover from this they produce
more melatonin again and actually can
become healthier so these are very good
things that we can do so following these
steps we can really greatly improve our
mitochondrial health and therefore
really our overall health right and
there get the question well which one of
these is the most profound effect we can
have on our mitochondria and I would
really say being metabolically healthy
and that means lower your body fat
percentage right check your hemoglobin
A1c check a fasting insulin make sure
that you're not insulin resistant
decrease carbohydrate intake and then
exercise these are the best things that
we can do everything else is important
as well supplements may help right but
the best thing we can do is losing body
fat and becoming healthier
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