Last week we talked about mitochondria (bacteria that produce our energy), our energy supplier in our body. Today I would like to give you more information about it.
Humans have about 37 trillion cells (our city’s inhabitants), each inhabitant has up to 10,000 power plants (mitochondria), these small “power plants” in our cells provide about 90% of the energy (ATP) necessary for life. And this energy is needed – like fuel – for very many processes in our body, especially in muscles, heart, nervous system, brain and the detoxification organs liver and kidney.
Without properly functioning power plants (mitochondria) we would lack any energy – life would not be possible!
If the energy in the city decreases, then the individual lights go out one after the other, the factories (organs, nerve cells, muscles…) work only reduced. The question now is what exactly mitochondria are, what nutrients they need and how to support them well.
Mitochondria are the smallest components (our inhabitants) in each of our approximately 37 trillion body cells – with the exception of red blood cells. They are only about 1 µm wide and 2-5 µm long, so they are very small. The more energy a cell needs to function properly, the more mitochondria it usually has.
In fact, the mitochondria’s main job is to extract energy from food – like a “power plant.” And energy is needed by our body around the clock, including at night, as already mentioned. The brain works with a constant consumption of energy, it consumes about 20% of the total power plant energy, although it represents only about 2% of the body weight. If it is poorly supplied, it favors sleep disorders.
A deficiency of micronutrients can be caused by various factors that complement and multiply each other, such as:
– prolonged stress
– competitive sports
– unhealthy diet
– preservatives, pesticides
– heavy metals
– smoking
– ozone
– excessive alcohol consumption
– taking certain medications
– pregnancy and breastfeeding
– increasing age
In order for energy production from food to actually take place, mitochondria need certain micronutrients such as vitamins, minerals or trace elements, there are a total of 47 building blocks that support them in their work. In addition, mitochondria need to be protected from harmful influences, especially from aggressive radicals, more about this in our next post #3 next week.
In summary, the following micronutrients are particularly abundant in mitochondria:
– B vitamins: B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, biotin, B9 (folic acid)
– Omega-3 fatty acids (especially EPA, DHA)
– Vitamins C
– Vitamin D3
– Coenzyme Q10 (the body’s own formation may decrease with age)
– Magnesium, calcium
– Selenium, zinc, manganese, iron, sulfur