Just to review our recent conversation on the podcast and blog…
If we eat a high carb diet… our blood glucose/sugar increases and in result, our hormone insulin increases to help get the glucose into the cells. Next, our cells create energy (ATP) via the powerhouse- the mitochondria and the glucose. If we consume too many carbohydrates – after the needed amount is stored as muscle and liver glycogen, then the excess is stored as fat via lipogenesis.
When we are fasting or eating low levels of carbohydrates (20-50 grams per day), the body will depend on fat fuel for energy stored in the cells. Fat oxidation – the process of metabolizing fatty acids for energy via lipolysis (fat to fatty acids and ketones).
Remember we talked about fat gas tank vs. carb gas tank …40,000-80,000 calories of stored fat energy vs. 2000 calories of stored glycogen? Metabolic efficiency.
I would think we all would like to be the most efficient as possible to use fat fuels for energy and prioritize our fat gas tank over the carb gas tank.
The key is to eat to balance your blood sugar levels and avoid the surges of the fat storing hormone insulin – which inhibits the hormone glucagon. The hormone insulin is released from the beta cells in the pancreas when blood sugar/glucose levels are too high then the hormone glucagon is released in the bloodstream (via the alpha cells in the pancreas) when blood sugar levels are too low. Glucagon helps release and convert stored liver glycogen into useable energy- glucose when needed.
So how does this impact the health of the mitochondria?
I am always talking about methods to improve your ability to BURN FAT, optimize HEALTH and improve PERFORMANCE while improving the aging process along the way. In order to reach these life goals – we should work on reducing sources of internal and external CHRONIC STRESS which includes taking a non-stop ride on the blood sugar roller coaster! IF you don’t get off the roller coaster after one ride- then you are chronically stuck on the roller coaster!
Remember anything that has the word “CHRONIC” attached to it- usually does not result in a positive outcome.
Chronic STRESSORS impact our ability to BURN fat, optimize HEALTH and improve our PERFORMANCE so how do we start reducing these stressors or breaking the “chronic” cycle?
Get off the roller coaster!
Why? Because constant “riding the roller coaster” or being stuck into any “chronic” cycle will most likely lead to low energy and onto the CHRONIC FATIGUE, BURN OUT and WEIGHT GAIN cycle. As well as other health concerns as chronic stress lead to a domino effect of health dysfunctions on the inside and out including hormone imbalances, digestion dysfunction, detoxification and more disturbances to our natural homeostasis.
We can start by identifying common causes of stressors that lead to fatigue.
- NUTRITION- poor food choices, refined sugars, processed foods, vegetable oils, lectins, and improperly prepared grains
- EXERCISE- Overtraining and under recovery
- Chronic STRESS and STRESSORS -internal and external sources
- SLEEP imbalances – circadian rhythm dysfunction, blue light, stress, foods, caffeine, morning sunlight, etc
- TOXINS in our environment, household cleaners, beauty products, foods and more!
- DIGESTION- gut dysfunction, dysbiosis, and leaky gut
After sharing my personal story and history with fatigue, weight gain and low energy in LIFE IS NOT A RACE book, I find this somewhat new research on chronic fatigue and the role of the mitochondria fascinating ….and exactly what I was thinking what was happening to me at a cellular level.
My mighty mitochondria were not functioning at optimal levels leading to poor energy, weight gain and loss of fitness level.
Ari Whitten of The Energy Blueprint and Dr. Mercola in his book “FAT for FUEL” make so much sense with regards to the secret to gaining energy and optimizing our health for performance gains as well as the main goal- to improve our longevity or aging process, is to focus on optimizing the capacity our mitochondria to burn fat as well as improve our resiliency.
ONE of the secrets to reducing chronic fatigue and gaining energy includes paying attention to our mighty mitochondria. We thought our mitochondria had one main role- metabolism as they are the “powerhouses” in our cells. This is true, but chronic fatigue researchers discovered that the mitochondria have two main roles:
- Energy production- energy regulators/metabolism mode or “PeaceTime Metabolism” (Dr. Naviaux)
- Cell Danger Response sensors – defense mode
Our mighty mitochondria have two jobs to juggle- and they have to decide which one takes priority (as our HPA Axis). The mitochondria should be spending most of their time producing energy instead of dealing with stressor or danger alerts to the cells. Just as Yin and Yang and our Heart Rate Variability (HRV)…we need a healthy balance of shifting back and forth between the two. Not one or the other is bad or evil…but its as I always say “the Goldilocks Effect”. Too much of anything can be toxic but too little of anything can lead to deficiencies.
Apply my theory to maintaining the optimal health of our mighty mitochondria, the delicate balance between the two roles determines how we deal with stress in our internal and external environment. The health of our mitochondria impacts not only our energy levels but also our risk for diseases and accelerating the aging process.
Ari explains in The Energy Blueprint, if you want to overcome fatigue and regain lost energy (which results in improved performance and longevity) we need to reduce the time our mitochondria spend in the “cell defense mode” and increase the time in the “energy mode” by improving our body’s resiliency and ability to adapt to stress. If we can optimize our health at a cellular level, via the health of the mitochondria, then we should ideally be increasing our energy levels because we are reducing fatigue!
How do we reboot and revive ourselves at a cellular level to feel ALIVE and THRIVING??
Are you able to deal with daily stressors now while maintaining high levels of energy? Or do you struggle with FATIGUE?
We have the two roles of the cell powerhouse that we need to learn how to strengthen and support- The “cell danger response” as Dr. Robert Naviaux explains.
“Mitochondria lie at the hub of the wheel of metabolism. Because mitochondria are also the concert masters of innate immunity and inflammation, it makes them uniquely positioned to help the cell decide whether to devote energy and resources to “peacetimme” metabolism, or “cellular defense”. – Robert Naviaus, MD
Ari of The Energy Blueprint dives into these concepts deeper in his program. Do the mitochondria focus their energy on maintaining “peace” or rather energy metabolism in the body or do they work on defending the cells to avoid damage?
- Mitochondria Cell Defense Mode: alter to deal with stress and danger signals
- Mitochondria Energy Mode: breaking down glucose and fat for energy
These chronic fatigue researchers are concluding that one of the main causes of low energy levels is because the mitochondria are spending too much time or stuck in “cell defense” mode. Our mighty mitochondria that are supposed to be the “powerhouses” and energy producers of our cells- become weak and fragile.
Are you overwhelming your body from excessive stress?
Are you speeding up the aging process?
Are you surrounded by EMF signals?
Who isn’t?
If you are always struggling with FATIGUE and low ENERGY then I would love to help you get to the root cause of your fatigue – starting at the cellular level as well as working with lifestyle habits to reduce those sources of STRESS! Start with the root cause of dysfunction or imbalances from the cellular level – the foundation… the optimization of our mitochondria and cell health.
You may have a weakened resilience threshold plus an overload of STRESSORS – creating a low resilience threshold.
The WHOLESTIC Method Coaching program for athletes of all levels.
If you are feeling overwhelmed as I used to feel each day and feel unable to cope with stressors, then we want to strengthen your resiliency! We want to help our mitochondria make the shift to energy mode and spend less time defending themselves which takes them away from producing energy (metabolism).
We need to reduce our beaker of stress as most of us are living life as a race which often overloads our “beaker of stress”. We can only tolerate so much and then we recover but when anything becomes chronic or dominant- well you know the rest of the story. We need to improve the strength, numbers, and resilience of our mitochondria.
Exercise, toxins, poor diet, aging, and stress impact the health of our mitochondria (and more!).
How can we improve the strength and the number of our mitochondria? If we improve the health and number of our energy generators- our mitochondria then…
- the greater capacity we have to deal or adapt to a variety of stressors.
- higher energy levels
- improved overall health
if we have fewer mitochondria as well as those cells that are weak, damaged, and fragile – then we lower our “resiliency threshold” that leads to a lower capacity to tolerate stress/stressors. If our threshold is low, then perhaps we will find ourselves feeling more easily stressed, anxious, tired and struggling with daily life?
Our goal in Nutritional Therapy is to maintain balance or bring the body back into homeostasis with support and it’s own innate intelligence. Perhaps if you struggle with fatigue, energy, body weight and performance, then we need to rebuild the strength and amount mitochondria powerhouses in our cells?!
Do you want the role of your mitochondria to be focused on producing energy or creating fatigue? We can help support the decision of the mitochondria to choose “cell defense mode” or to be on “energy mode” by improving our capacity to adapt to stress. Remember- the more powerful, large, strong mitochondria we have in our cells- the higher the threshold we create, the more we improve our homeostasis, optimize health and improve energy levels.
Low resiliency = Increased ability to be in stress and fatigue mode; more fragile and lose of energy
High resiliency = Increased ability to adapt to stressors while maintaining homeostasis or balance
We are in a constant battle against the stressors in our environment in today’s society. The fight is to not only manage and reduce stressors but improve our ability to deal with the sources of stress without damaging our cells with free radicals and overloading with stressors (which turn off the energy mode and turn on the cell defense mode). We have chemical, physical and biological stressors all around us constantly that exceed our cell’s ability to maintain homeostasis. Mitochondrial dysfunction is the end result as well as signs and symptoms as we explained… chronic fatigue, poor energy, weight gain, and sluggish workouts.
Perhaps looking at the adrenal response, excessive cortisol, circadian rhythm- the HPA Axis function isn’t the only solution. It is never just ONE thing- not one magic pill or supplement or tweak but perhaps taking care of the WHOLE you with the elements in The WHOLESTIC Method program is the answer we have been looking for all this time. I created this program based on my own innate intelligence, experience, and wisdom but now it is all coming together and research is proving my own theories based on life experience. Chronic fatigue, burnout and weight gain (plus memory fog, depression, anxiety…the list goes on) are related to a variety of CAUSES but we always start NORTH to SOUTH in Nutritional Therapy as well as start with lifestyle changes and health at a CELLULAR level! The mighty mitochondria need to be rescued with The WHOLESTIC Method approach to transforming the WHOLE you from the inside out at a cellular level. I have been saying this for some time but now it makes even more sense!
If you have fatigue, low energy and increased amount of free radicals in your bloodstream then we can assume your mitochondrial need some love and support so they can turn off the “cell defense mode” and get back to being the powerhouses in their main role “energy mode”.
Remember- the more frequently your mitochondria are used for “cell defense mode”, the more frequently our energy metabolism is slowed down or turned off and reduces our ability to produce energy. If we are not able to produce energy via FAT, then we are not only feeling fatigued but also fat because we are not able to burn fat!
We do not want to overwork our mighty mitochondria in their role of “cell defense”. We need fat metabolism to burn fat and to produce energy for our workouts for peak performance as well as for energy to survive our busy daily schedules.
Dr. Mercola talks about Mitochondrial Targeted Therapy in his book “FAT IS FUEL”. If we want to improve our performance and longevity, then we may want to pay attention to not only eating and training as a LOW-CARB Athlete but also look at our resilience, total stress load and health of our mitochondria!
Excess stress overfills our beaker of stress – overloads the body stress response system as the HPA Axis but also our cells starting with the powerhouse – MITOCHONDRIA.
If we continue going over the speed limit in life by living life as a race instead of a journey- then you will pay the price eventually in one form or another.
Unless you want to speed up the aging process, gain weight, feel depressed, lack of motivation and drive, then keep doing what you are doing now!
We are not good at multi-tasking, nor are our mitochondria so let’s work on improving our energy and fat metabolism by decreasing the workload of our mitochondria in “cell defense mode”. Turn on the “energy mode” light and keep it over there MOST of the time.
NEXT we will dive into Dr. Mercola’s book FAT FOR FUEL.
The WHOLESTIC Method Coach,
Debbie
