Obesity and Mitochondrial dysfunction

September 3, 2014

Obesity and Mitochondrial dysfunction – What you didn’t know Exposed

Obesity and Mitochondrial dysfunction diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells

Dysfunction means that something is not working or functioning in appropriately and mitochondrial dysfunction refers to a situation in which the mitochondria are not working properly.

Mitochondrial diseases result from failures of the mitochondria, specialized compartments present in every cell of the body except red blood cells. They are responsible for creating more than 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life and support growth.

When they fail, inadequate amount of energy is generated within the cells and this result to cell injury and occasionally the cell may die all together. In the event that this process is recurring throughout the body, whole systems begin to fail, and the life of the person in whom this is happening is severely compromised. The disease primarily affects children, but adult onset is becoming more and more common.

Depending on which cells are affected, symptoms may include loss of motor control, muscle weakness and pain, gastro-intestinal disorders and swallowing difficulties, poor growth, cardiac disease, liver disease, diabetes, respiratory complications, seizures, visual/hearing problems, lactic acidosis, developmental delays and susceptibility to infection

Methods of Reviving Aging Mitochondria

Understanding the proposed mechanisms by which mitochondrial dysfunction can contribute to aging and aging related diseases suggests several potential interventions. These include:

Maintenance of optimal Krebs cycle and respiratory chain efficiency.
Restoration of mitochondrial membrane fluidity.
Reduction in deleterious free radical activity.

CoQ10

Coenzyme Q10 is probably the most widely used cofactor for treating mitochondrial-related diseases. CoQ10 functions as the electron carrier in the inner mitochondrial membrane, transferring electrons from complexes I and II to complex III. In addition to increasing biosynthesis of ATP (the universal energy molecule), and acting as a potent free radical scavenger, CoQ10 also reduces lactic acid levels, improves muscle strength, and decreases muscle fatigability.¹

Mitochondrial restoration will cause weight loss

The role of your metabolism is to take the oxygen we breathe and the food we eat and process it to make energy, the fuel for life. (The fuel for your car is called gas. The fuel for your body is called ATP and it is produced from the combustion of food and oxygen).When they are not working properly, you suffer all the symptoms of low energy like:

Fatigue
Memory loss
Pain
Rapid aging and more.

Along the way, many things can go wrong that may impede your metabolism, make it run less efficiently, or practically shut it down. Fatigue is the most common symptom of poorly functioning mitochondria. We need to keep them in top shape. The reason we poop out as we age is the constant insult and injury we give our mitochondria.

We have over 100,000 trillion of these powerhouses in our body, and each one contains 17,000 little assembly lines for making ATP, our major fuel. They use over ninety percent of the oxygen we breathe. They take up forty percent of the space inside the heart cells. The only problem is they are very sensitive to damage. And the injury is from uncontrolled oxidative stress, which results from:

Toxic insults
Infections
Allergens
Stress and eating too much poor quality food.

Experts from the University of California at Berkeley have spent the last decade discovering how we can give ourselves a metabolic tune up. In one the studies they (experts) gave old rats who were tired, wouldn’t get on the treadmill anymore, and couldn’t find the cheese in the maze, or swim very far, two molecules that boost metabolism, that make the mitochondria run better. They are alpha lipoic acid and acetyl-L-carnitine. Overnight these rats became young rats. They got up on the treadmill themselves, swam long distances without fatiguing and could easily find the cheese in the maze like young healthy rats. The question which begs for an answer is “How could that happen?” Well, the simply gave the cells the raw materials they need for optimal function, meaning that as we age, our metabolism burns out from a lifetime of damage and insults. So again, the way to get healthy, the way to ultra-Wellness is very simple. Ultimately the goal of Ultra Wellness is to give everyone a metabolic tune up.

First, find the things that damage your metabolism and mitochondria.
Second, give your body the things that help the mitochondria function optimally.
Getting rid of toxins in the body will give you more energy. So here’s another reason to exercise: Exercise accelerates the detoxification process.
Exercise pushes the blood to circulate more efficiently through the body, allowing nutrients to move easily to reach all the organs and muscles.
Exercise helps lymph fluids circulate through the body, which removes toxins and other harmful materials. When you exercise, you naturally take in more oxygen; to make room for the added oxygen, your cells kick out toxins that are taking up space. When you exercise properly, your build up a sweat and toxins are released through the pores of the skin.
Playing at anaerobic levels is a great way to get in peak shape. It doesn’t do anything for longevity, or probably for overall health, but it’s great for vim, vigor and pure fitness.
Regular exercise is one of the most important things you can do for health. Participation in physical activity improves several body functions. These include: weight control, decreased risk of cardiovascular disease, decreased risk of diabetes, reduced risk of cancer, improved strength of bones and muscle, enhanced emotional status, decreases the natural degenerative changes that come with aging, and increases your chances to live longer.
Having said that being consistently active can actually cause degeneration. Rest and recovery periods are essential as these periods allow the body to repair and rebuild itself.

Exercise and the mitochondria

In conclusion it is worth noting that consistent exercising can lead to overuse injury. The motivation to bring your obese condition to manageable level must not inflict on you more harm. Be sure to separate between consistently exercising and regular exercise. As you take this worthy step it is important that you consult with the experts and doctor Akoury who is also the founder of AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center is one of the most experienced medical professionals who has been in this practice for over two decades now. Calling her will be the best decision you can make because while at her office she will together with her team of experts attend to you professionally while focusing on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE.

Obesity and Mitochondrial dysfunction – What you didn’t know Exposed

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight

February 24, 2014

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight-Discussed

Vitamin A deficiency caused oxidative damage to liver mitochondria

Mitochondria are what we would call tiny factories that turn food and oxygen into energy. In each cell, there are hundreds to thousands of these little energy factories (mitochondria). They exist in greater numbers in active organs and tissues, like the muscles, heart and brain. Their malfunction needs to be corrected to heal completely for effectiveness in weight loss. This article discusses the relevant tools needed to have a strong working mitochondrial.

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight -Magnesium

Ah, magnesium, darling mineral of the Primal world, participant in nearly every physiological function known to man, and now essential cofactor for proper mitochondrial function. I believe so. Magnesium deficiency led to decreased mitochondria-per-cell count and increased size of individual mitochondrion in liver and kidney cells, which indicates that not only did low magnesium drop the overall number of mitochondria, but also increased the workload of the remaining mitochondria. Eat plenty of leafy greens, the occasional handful of nuts or seeds, and a starchy tuber when it suits you, taking care to supplement with good and you should be fine on magnesium.

Zinc and Iron

Deficiencies in both zinc and iron can reduce the mitochondria’s ability to synthesize heme, which leads to oxidant leakage (the increased free radicals that I mentioned in last week’s post), “DNA damage, neural decay, and aging.” Luckily, zinc and iron are present in animal products and shellfish, so few Primal eaters run the risk of severe deficiencies. If you need to, supplement, but do so wisely: zinc toxicity alters mitochondrial metabolism and lowers ATP production in liver mitochondria. The liver processes both fats and sugars and healthy liver mitochondria are crucial for that important task.

Manganese

You don’t hear a lot about manganese, but it plays a role in creating a potent mitochondrial antioxidant: manganese superoxide dismutase. Without adequate manganese, you won’t make enough superoxide dismutase, and without enough mitochondrial manganese superoxide dismutase, you run the risk of developing a neuropathology or suffering an ischemic brain injury (what often happens after stroke). Eat your mussels, raspberries, and dark chocolate.

Carnosine

In rats with a genetic predisposition to developing Alzheimer’s disease, supplementing with carnosine reduced the prevalence of classic AD hallmarks, the first and foremost of which was mitochondrial dysfunction. Carnosine is a potent scavenger of free radicals, and it’s a dipeptide of the amino acids beta-alanine and histidine. Meat eaters get plenty of carnosine, but supplements exist if you want to go that route.

Carnitine

Carnitine is biosynthesized from methionine and lysine, two amino acids which are highly prevalent in red meat and your mitochondria like a lot of carnitine because it’s required for shuttling fatty acids into the mitochondria for processing. Yeah, if you want mitochondria to do one of their most basic jobs – break down fatty acids for energy – you better consume ample amounts of meat, or supplement with L-carnitine.

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight -Vitamin A

Vitamin A deficiency caused oxidative damage to liver mitochondria in rats. Folks, in addition to handling fat and sugar metabolism, liver mitochondria also process ammonia, a potentially toxic byproduct of protein metabolism, so you’d better eat your egg yolks and liver and even cod liver oil along with your egg whites and steak and cod filets.

Vitamin C

Vitamin C is a universal antioxidant, internally produced by most organisms (except for us and a couple others), and it should come as no surprise to learn that it (along with resveratrol and alpha-lipoic acid) reduces excessive reactive oxygen species production by the mitochondria. It does so by increasing manganese superoxide dismutase (remember that?). Just be careful about supplementing during heavy cardio, as vitamin C has been shown to dampen mitochondrial biogenesis by interfering with normal cellular adaptations to endurance exercise. Maybe that was the problem back in my endurance days when I was downing 25,000 milligrams of C a day during training (hey, Linus Pauling said to supplement vitamin C “to bowel tolerance.” How times have changed.) I doubt sticking to natural sources of vitamin C, like fruit, raw meat, or fresh vegetables would have the same negative effect on exercise adaptation.

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight-Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

Our bodies make CoQ10, which is required for the transfer of electrons during mitochondrial oxidative respiration. Mitochondrial oxidative respiration is how we produce ATP for bodily functions and day-to-day life. Without enough of it (maybe we’re taking statins, which block the pathway responsible for synthesizing CoQ10, or we’re not eating enough foods high in CoQ10), our mitochondria’s ability to make ATP suffers, since CoQ10 is the only compound that can do its job. The best dietary sources of CoQ10 include animal hearts (since hearts need a lot of CoQ10 to generate the energy required functioning), sardines, and virgin red palm oil. Even so, it’s still tough to get significant CoQ10 from food, which is why I like to supplement it.

Resveratrol

Resveratrol is the darling of the life extension set, and while I think some of its effects might be overstated, it does appear to improve mitochondrial function (in mice) and induce mitochondrial biogenesis (in rodent epithelial cells, the cells that comprise the lining of blood vessels). Furry little human’s mice are not, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight-Alpha lipoic acid

Naturally occurring most richly in heart, liver, kidney, spinach, and broccoli, lipoic acid supplements have been shown to reduce mitochondrial decay in humans. Another study, albeit in rats, found that alpha-lipoic acid, along with a few other “mitochondria supportive” supplements, improved rats’ athletic performance and recovery. In both cases, it stimulated mitochondrial biogenesis.

I’m sure there are more nutrients, minerals, vitamins and supplements that affect mitochondrial function, but this is a decent list to consider when trying manning your cellular power plant workforce. And I bet if you take care of the bulk of these, either by eating good food or supplementing, you can keep a couple Homer Simpsons around for comic relief without too many problems.

In all you do if functioning mitochondrial is not working for you in attaining optimal weight loss, a visit to AWAREmed Health and Wellness Resource Center under Doctor Akoury’s will offer much needed solution. Dr. Dalal Akoury cares she focuses on Neuroendocrine Restoration (NER) to reinstate normality through realization of the oneness of Spirit, Mind, and Body, Unifying the threesome into ONE

Heal the Mitochondrial to lose weight-Discussed

Tag Archives: Mitochondrial