Inside every cell in your body are small organelles called mitochondria. Though they’re small in size, they’re essential for existence. That’s because these tiny powerhouses are responsible for converting carbohydrates, proteins, and fats from the food you eat into ATP, the universal energy source that fuels the movement of your muscles and cellular activities.
Obviously, you want these “energy powerhouses” to stay healthy. Dysfunctional mitochondria have been linked with a number of chronic diseases of aging including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease. When mitochondria aren’t functioning properly, it reduces the amount of energy they can produce. Your brain may be particularly susceptible to mitochondria dysfunction since its energy demands are so high. It’s speculated that a number of neurological diseases could be linked to poor mitochondrial health– and mitochondrial dysfunction may play a role in aging.
Mitochondrial Health: They Become Less Healthy with Age
Unfortunately, mitochondria become less functional with age. Over time they become damaged by exposure to free radicals and the number of healthy ones decreases in number. To make matters worse, when they become damaged, they produce more free radicals, setting up a vicious cycle. That spells trouble for everything from your energy level and endurance to your metabolism as the ability of cells to produce energy declines.
Keeping Mitochondria Healthy
Want to keep your mitochondria healthy? Exercise! One way your body adapts to aerobic exercise is by an increase in the number of mitochondria within cells, a process called mitochondrial biogenesis. In fact, one study showed that three months of moderate to intense aerobic exercise increased the number of mitochondria in thigh muscles by 50%. This adaptation makes sense since your body needs more mitochondria to produce ATP to fuel exercise.
There’s also some evidence that calorie restriction and fasting stimulates the growth of new mitochondria. What these all have in common is they’re states of energy depletion. When cells are deprived of energy they adapt by increasing the number of energy-producing mitochondria. This may be why some studies show that calorie restriction prolongs life, at least in animals.
Another way exercise helps to keep mitochondria healthy is by protecting them against free radical damage, the kind that eventually causes them to malfunction or die off completely. Research in animals shows that aerobic exercise reduces the quantity of free radicals mitochondria are exposed to. So aerobic exercise is helpful in two ways – it increases the production of new mitochondria within cells and reduces the amount of oxidative stress and free radical damage that existing ones are exposed to.
How Diet Affects Mitochondrial Health
There’s some evidence that resveratrol, an antioxidant in red wine, grapes, peanuts, cranberries, and blueberries, protects mitochondria against oxidative damage and helps to keep them healthy. This holds true in animals but it’s not clear whether it does in humans. An antioxidant-rich diet from whole foods, especially fruits and vegetables, may also help to shield mitochondria against damage. In addition, there’s some evidence that antioxidants like coenzyme Q10 and alpha-lipoic acid help to prevent oxidative stress that damages mitochondria and causes them to malfunction.
Keeping Your Mitochondria Healthy: The Bottom Line?
At this point, there’s not enough evidence that supplements like resveratrol, coenzyme Q10, and alpha-lipoic acid preserve mitochondrial function in humans. Until research reveals more, the best way to maximize mitochondrial health is to do aerobic exercise. Moderate-intensity aerobic exercise stimulates mitochondrial biogenesis and protects existing mitochondria against oxidative stress – but doing it for long periods of time increases cortisol levels. Shorter periods of high-intensity aerobic exercise also appear to be effective.
In terms of diet, choose more antioxidant-rich foods. Cut back on grilled meat and meat cooked to high temperatures using dry heat. Heating protein-rich foods to high temperatures without moisture causes advanced-glycation end products (AGEs) to form. These have been linked with mitochondrial damage.
When you cook meat, use moist heat and marinate it with an acidic marinade to reduce the number of AGEs that are produced. Add more raw foods to your diet. Doing this will help to protect cells from damage while reducing stress to the mitochondria inside that make the energy you need to stay healthy and free of disease.
References:
Essays Biochem. 2010;47:69-84. doi: 10.1042/bse0470069.
Eur J Immunol. 2011 May;41(5):1196-202. doi: 10.1002/eji.201141436.
Len Kravitz Ph.D. “The Marvelous Mitochondria”
Exp Gerontol. 2008 Sep;43(9):813-9. doi: 10.1016/j.exger.2008.06.014. Epub 2008 Jul 9.
Medscape.com. “Mitochondrial Protection by Resveratrol”
J Am Diet Assoc. 2010 Jun;110(6):911-16.e12. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2010.03.018.
Brain Research Reviews, 29(1), 1-25.
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