12 Ways to Boost Your Mitochondrial Health
Ever feel like you’re dragging yourself through your day? Like your battery’s gone dead and you’re not sure how to recharge it?
Well if you’re tired of feeling tired, it might be time to take a look at an important (but often ignored) part of your body: your mitochondria.
When it comes to fatigue, weak adrenals often get the blame. But poor mitochondrial health can wreak just as much havoc.
In this article, we’ll dig into what the mitochondria are, what they do, and explore steps you can take to improve mitochondrial function -- so you can get your energy back!
What are Mitochondria?
Mitochondria are known as the “powerhouses of the cells.” They are found in virtually every cell of the body.
Your mitochondria generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), often referred to as the “energy currency” of cells. When you eat and breathe, your mitochondria convert your food and oxygen into chemical energy. ATP then uses that chemical energy to fuel important cell processes.
According to the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation, your mitochondria create 90% of all ATP produced in the body. (1) So it’s easy to see how when your mitochondrial function is off, your energy’s off too.
Symptoms of Mitochondrial Disease
When the mitochondria cannot produce enough energy for all the body’s systems to function, it can lead to disease. Symptoms of mitochondrial disease may include:
Fatigue
Muscle weakness (or loss of muscle)
Inability to exercise
Low blood sugar
Diabetes
Migraines
Learning disabilities
Poor growth
Ataxia (loss of bodily movements)
Impaired hearing and vision
Heart defects
Digestive disorders (including diarrhea, constipation, vomiting, acid reflux, cramping)
Lactic acidosis (build up of lactic acid)
Seizure
Dementia (2)
Mitochondrial disease is caused by genetic mutations. But mitochondrial dysfunction can be triggered by environmental factors and poor lifestyle choices. While the genetic piece is out of your control, you do have the power to change your lifestyle, diet, and environment.
The more aware you are of which things are kryptonite for your mitochondria, the better choices you can make to keep them happy.
What Can Harm Mitochondria?
Here are several things that can be kryptonite for your mitochondria:
Oxidative stress (3)
Nutritional deficiencies
Environmental toxins
Glyphosate (4)
Prescription drugs
Alcohol
Infections
Inflammation
Heavy metals
BPA (5)
Poor gut health (6)
EMFs (7)
Processed food
Refined sugar (8)
Sedentary lifestyle
You probably noticed that the same things that are crummy for your health are crummy for your mitochondria! Steering clear of these things will help keep your mitochondria happy. But there are also plenty of healthy lifestyle tweaks you can make to boost your mitochondrial health.
How Can I Heal My Mitochondria?
You can enhance your mitochondrial function through shifts in your diet, exercise routine, supplements, and daily lifestyle. None of these need to be complicated or expensive. In fact, many are free!
No need to try them all, just pick a few that resonate with you and play with them. You’ll be on your way to better mitochondrial health (and energy levels) soon enough.
What foods increase mitochondria?
First up, let’s take a look at your plate. Adding more of the following three foods will feed your mitochondria:
Fat - Healthy fats serve as fuel for mitochondria. Opt for healthy sources like olive oil, avocado, wild salmon, grass-fed ghee, and coconut.
Antioxidant-rich foods - Oxidative stress harms mitochondria, so eat the rainbow with lots of colorful, antioxidant-rich foods like berries, spinach, kale, broccoli, sweet potato, pomegranate, and green tea.
Protein - Eating plenty of high-quality protein will ensure you get important amino acids like glutathione that protect mitochondria. Think organic poultry, grass-fed beef, wild salmon, eggs, nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes.
What exercises increase mitochondria?
Next up...time to get that body moving! Exercise increases your mitochondrial biogenesis. That’s a fancy way of saying that when you exercise, it triggers your mitochondria to produce more energy. (9) In fact, this article dubs exercise as “mitochondrial medicine for muscle.” (10)
This can be tricky when you’re feeling fatigued. But even moving for 10-15 minutes a day can yield benefits. While any exercise will give your mitochondria a boost, the best type of exercise to enhance mitochondrial health is HIIT.
HIIT, also known as High Intensity Interval Training, consists of short bursts of intense movement, followed by lower impact recovery time. (11) HIIT workouts have gotten a lot of attention for not only being an efficient way to build muscle, but a simple way to increase your mitochondria.
In fact, one study found that interval training increased mitochondrial capacity by 49% in young volunteers (ages 18-30). Even more impressive was that older volunteers (ages 65-80) saw a 69% increase in mitochondrial capacity! (12)
What supplements increase mitochondria?
Just making the subtle shifts in your diet and exercise can do wonders for your mitochondria. But if you want to step it up even more, here’s a few supplements to consider:
CoQ10 - An important antioxidant that supports and protects mitochondria
Alpha-lipoic acid - Another antioxidant that protects cellular energy
L-carnitine - Enhances mitochondrial fatty metabolism (13)
NADH - Restores mitochondrial function
Other ways to boost your mitochondria:
And finally, here’s a few lifestyle shifts that’ll upgrade your mitochondrial health:
Intermittent fasting - Digesting your food requires a huge amount of energy. Intermittent fasting aims to limit the hours you eat during the day. When you decrease your “eating window,” your body can redirect that energy towards cell repair and detoxification.
Vitamin D - Be sure you’re getting your daily dose of sunshine, as vitamin D deficiency has been linked with impaired mitochondrial function. (14)
Cold exposure - Exposure to cold increases mitochondrial biogenesis. Try ending your showers with a 30 second shot of cold water. As a fun bonus this’ll increase your circulation and give your skin a healthy glow!
Detoxification - Toxins harm your mitochondria, so do your best to reduce toxin exposure by eating organic and using non-toxic personal care and cleaning products. Getting plenty of water and sleep will also encourage daily detox.
Diagnosing Mitochondrial Disease: Could Mitochondrial Dysfunction Be Affecting You?
If you suspect you may have some mitochondrial dysfunction going on, but want some clarity there are a couple of lab tests that can be helpful.
Organic acids test - This test can give a bird’s eye view of how effectively your mitochondria are producing ATP.
Oxidative stress panel - This panel assesses your antioxidant reserves, which can indicate if you have impaired mitochondrial function.
Conclusion
By now it’s clear that good mitochondrial health is critical for sustaining your energy. I hope you’ve picked up some helpful tips that’ll get you on the road to improved mitochondrial health -- and increased energy! Which tips resonated with you the most?
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