Maximize Your Energy

Don’t have enough energy? Check out your power plants! Inside all cells are power generators called mitochondria. They take the glucose we get from eating carbohydrates or the fatty acids we obtain from eating fats and very economically produce ATP, the major energy currency molecule in the body. How can we increase their efficiency?

Get Daily Vigorous Exercise to Tolerance

Just two months of vigorous exercise doubles the number of mitochondria in skeletal muscles. Physical activity determines the relative number and volume (size) of mitochondria in the skeletal muscles on a day-to-day basis. In contrast, just two days of bed rest will decrease the number of mitochondria in your skeletal muscles by 10%.¹ The more powerhouses you have, the more energetic you are.

Stay Hydrated

Drink plenty of pure, filtered water. Studies consistently show a reduction of >2% in body mass from dehydration results in changes in mood, fatigue, and alertness.² Dehydration decreases the efficiency of mitochondria in the brain.³ Additionally, dehydration compromises the ability of the mitochondria to function throughout the body.⁴

Keep your Blood Sugar within Normal Range

Diabetes adversely alters the activity of mitochondria. Even individuals with pre-diabetes have lower (lower than healthy people) amounts of mitochondrial DNA with a higher amount of methylation. Methylation is a process that can change the expression of genes and mitochondrial copy numbers in cells.⁵ 

• Eating a serving of legumes at one meal will help to control your blood sugar even after the second meal.⁶
• Eating a serving of green leafy vegetables or non-starchy vegetables before the ingestion of carbohydrates (grains, potatoes) may help significantly to lower blood sugar into a more healthy range than if you eat your carbohydrates before your vegetables^7,8
• Leafy greens contain lipoic acid and other compounds that boost the efficiency of mitochondria in the brain and muscle^9,10Eliminate sweetened beverages, refined carbs, and sweet snacks that cause a steep rise in blood sugar followed by a hard crash.
• Walking ten minutes after each meal reduces post meal blood sugar spikes.¹¹

Skip Second Helpings.

Wise calorie restriction improves mitochondrial performance in brown adipose (fat) tissue and brain, muscle, and kidney cells.  It also increases the number of mitochondria. In contrast, obesity may contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction in the heart and skeletal muscles because it reduces the ability of the mitochondria to burn fat in the skeletal muscles.¹²

Lose Weight if Obese

Obesity damages the mitochondria.¹³ Appropriate weight loss, achieved by calorie restriction combined with exercise, improves the performance of mitochondria and increases their volume and density in skeletal muscles.¹⁴

Appropriate weight loss achieved by calorie restriction combined with exercise, improves the performance of mitochondria and increases their volume and density in skeletal muscles.¹⁵

A review of 12 studies found that people on a  healthful, well-balanced, vegetarian diet, and especially those following a vegan diet, see better results than dieters on other weight-reducing plans. In fact, they can lose around 4.4 pounds more in the short term.¹⁶

Get Enough Sleep

Deep sleep increases the production of growth hormone from the pituitary gland. This hormone improves the synthesis of mitochondria in the heart muscle and skeletal muscles.

Breathe Deeply Ten Times Every Hour

Deep breathing is a vital lifestyle practice because the power plants need oxygen to release most of the energy from ATP.

Conclusions:

If these seven suggestions do not help you, consult your physician as lab work is in order. Low thyroid hormones, anemia, elevated blood sugar, B-12 deficiency, a low level of vitamin D, sleep apnea, depression, and a variety of other conditions sap energy. If you need help in incorporating these suggestions into your life, consider coming to Wildwood Lifestyle Center. We can help.

1. Baldwin, B., Applied Physiology Lecture on Mitochondria, Wildwood College of Medical Ministry, 2007[↩]
2. Benton D., Young H.A. Do small differences in hydration status affect mood and mental performance? Nutr. Rev. 2015;73(Suppl. 2):83–96.[↩]
3. Hamberger, A., et al, The effect of brain dehydration on the activity of respiratory enzymes in isolated neurons, neuroglial cells, and in brain mitochondria. J Neurochem, 11:687-94, 1964[↩]
4. Raveneau MP, Benamar A, Macherel D. Water content, adenylate kinase, and mitochondria drive adenylate balance in dehydrating and imbibing seeds. J Exp Bot. 2017 Jun 15;68(13):3501-3512. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5853452[↩]
5. Virginia Tech. “Potential biomarker for pre-diabetes discovered: Researchers find link between insulin response, energy producer.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 August 2015. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150820125408.htm[↩]
6. Mollard, RC, et al., The acute effects of a pulse-containing meal on glycaemic responses and measures of satiety and satiation within and at a later meal. Br J Nutr. 2012 Aug; 108(3):509-17[↩]
7. Imai S, et al., A simple meal plan of ‘eating vegetables before carbohydrate’ was more effective for achieving glycemic control than an exchange-based meal plan in Japanese patients with type 2 diabetes. Asia Pac J Clin Nutri. 2011; 20(2): 161-8[↩]
8. Imai, S Effect of eating vegetables before carbohydrates on glucose excursions in patients with type 2 diabetes. J Clin Biochem Nutri. 2014 Jan; 54(1):76-11[↩]
9. Oregon State University. “Compounds Rejuvenate Rats, May Aid Humans.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 February 2002. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/02/020221073701.htm[↩]
10. Cell Press. “Want more efficient muscles? Eat your spinach.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 4 February 2011. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/02/110201122226.htm[↩]
11. Pahra, D., Sharma, N., Ghai, S. et al. Impact of post-meal and one-time daily exercise in patient with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized crossover study. Diabetol Metab Syndr 9, 64 (2017). https://dmsjournal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13098-017-0263-8 [↩]
12. Hepple, R.T., Why eating less keeps mitochondria working in aged skeletal muscle. Exerc Sport Sci Rev, 37(1):23-8, 2009[↩]
13. Rogge, M.M., The role of impaired mitochondrial lipid oxidation in obesity. Biol Res Nurs, 10(4):356-73, 2009[↩]
14. Elizaveta V., et al., Calorie Restriction-induced Weight Loss and Exercise Have Differential Effects on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria Despite Similar  Effects on Insulin Sensitivity, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 73, Issue 1, January 2018, Pages 81–87. [↩]
15. Elizaveta V., et al., Calorie Restriction-induced Weight Loss and Exercise Have Differential Effects on Skeletal Muscle Mitochondria Despite Similar Effects on Insulin Sensitivity, The Journals of Gerontology: Series A, Volume 73, Issue 1, January 2018, Pages 81–87 https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5861934/[↩]
16. Springer Science+Business Media. “To shed weight, go vegan: A review of vegetarian diet studies highlights benefit of vegan-eating plans.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 30 June 2015. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150630121807.htm[↩]