The Secret Life of Mitochondria (And Why You Should Befriend Them)
First of all, what are mitochondria? If you did great in your biology class, and you’re a grown-up man right now, you might remember them as “power plants” in the cells.
But if you’re like me who ditched reading biology textbooks, you might not want to miss this article ’cause it turns out these little bastards (I’ll tell you later why they’re bastards) could be your best friend or worst enemy.
When you read towards the end, you’ll figure out hacks on how to interact with them a little nicer to serve you better.
Who are these mitochondria?
Mitochondria has been existing in the world before we did. They are ancient bacteria who incorporated themselves to other cells 2 billion years ago.
Mind you they used to be independent organisms. Their DNA is different from the DNA found inside your cells’ nucleus.
Nobody knows the real story how, but these mitochondria made their way into the cells. Mitochondria and cells became dependent on each other. And up to this day, they are inseparable.
You and I have been conquered by these ancient bacteria!
What’s the role of mitochondria?
Dubbed as the “powerhouse” of the cells.
Mitochondria’s ONLY job is to convert food and air to energy.
By energy, I’m not just referring to the physical aspect. But EVERYTHING.
- Emotions
- Thoughts
- How you learn
- Feelings
- Willpower
- How to resist that cookie
Everything you do requires energy. So it makes sense to make sure the source of your energy (mitochondria) is operating at its fullest potential. Because as I mentioned, energy affects everything.
How to make efficient mitochondria?
Mitochondria don’t have brains. Believe it or not they are responding to their environment with one and only goal. To keep you alive.
They don’t listen to you, but to the environment around you. That means you can affect your mitochondria by altering the signals they are getting.
This ranges from your lifestyle, the food you eat, the air you breathe, how you sleep. Your mitochondria interprets every single one of these.
Imagine giving the right signals to your mitochondria. That translates to showing up to the world with more energy. More energy equals more opportunities to do something cool and fun!
And did I mention mitochondrial dysfunction is tightly linked to degenerative disease and aging?
What’s in it for you?
#1 Increase efficiency of existing mitochondria
Mitochondria needs raw materials in order to create energy for you. And what are those? Food and air.
If you breathe in toxic air and eat junk food to fuel up your mitochondria, what would you expect?
You can’t produce quality product with low-quality raw materials!
Mitochondria love using fat/ketones as fuel. You can give them some love by consuming high-quality fat (grass-fed butter, coconut oil, olive oil, avocado oil) and/or incorporating MCT oil to your diet.
#2 Create new mitochondria
When you go to the gym, and lift heavier weights, your mitochondria listens! The demand for energy became higher, and so as the demand for new mitochondria.
You might think of going to the gym more often but Dave Asprey (Bulletproof Coffee creator) mentioned in multiple interviews, all it takes is to move 20mins everyday. Beat yourself up once or twice a week.
That’s the minimum effort you need to exert to ensure your mitochondria are as tough as ever.
I am fascinated with this core principle. Come to think of it, the voice inside your head might not be yours. They might be coming from your mitochondria!
Bastards, right? 😂 Not if we befriend them!
They determine how you think, feel and show up to the world. So befriending them and knowing what they want will greatly increase the quality of your life. It’s all about energy.
Now, Tesla makes more sense to me now:
If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.
Thanks for reading!
