What we eat dictates how we feel, how healthy we are and can have a substantial effect on how long we live. Clearly then it is important to be eating and drinking the most beneficial foods! Believe it or not that parts of you which are very small are the parts which have one of the more significant impacts on your body. What I'm talking about is mitochondria. A tiny part of a cell, the mitochondria is indeed the most powerful part and your lifestyle may have a large impact on these mitochondria.
What Are Mitochondria
Mitochondria is the part of you which helps to produce adequate levels of energy as well as working to run and regulate the respiration segments of the body. Known as organelle, basically tiny (microscopic) organs that work with a cell mitochondria exist in their hundreds (or even thousands) in every cell andare very important to your health.
What Do Mitochondria Do?
The job of the mitochondria is to covert the fat or sugar that we ingest into energy. Mitochondria also have a lot to do with the cellular cycle, growth and have been linked to a number of functions therefore taking care of these little organs and making wise choices in order to boost mitochondria is always a wise choice!
How Do We Benefit From Having Mitochondria
Obviously these tiny mitochondria have a fairly large impact on our health and well-being. Indeed, doctors are now saying that dysfunctional mitochondria will have a significant effect on both aging and fatigue. Other conditions linked to mitochondrial issues include diabetes, heart disease, Parkinson's disease and more.
Clearly increasing the number of and the efficiency of the mitochondriawithin your cells is of the upmost importance if you are to benefit from all that they offer.
Boosting Mitochondria
The two main ways to boost your mitochondria are through a healthy diet and exercise.
Exercise
When you exercise your body uses up some of its energy reserves and this serves to stimulate AMPK production. Basically the more AMPK is produced the more mitochondria is produced. Exercise really does increase your health from the inside out.
Diet
Certain foods as part of a healthy diet are great for increasing the production of mitochondria and others should be avoided.
Increase:
Leafy Greens, (think spinach, kale etc)
Omega-3 essential fatty acids (from organ meats and fish for example)
Decrease:
Processed foods
Carbohydrates
Commercial dairy products (dairy products with added flavours, sugars etc)
While a healthier balance diet including these foods and reducing those that which do not benefit mitochondria is a great idea, as is increasing activity it may be worthwhile considering a supplement. Magnesium, iron, vitamins A and C was well as zinc and CoQ10 are all mitochondriaboosting nutrients so perhaps a multivitamin combination might be worth considering.
In Summary
If you want to boost your energy levels, reduce fatigue and generally increase your health levels you need to be looking at your mitochondria. Caffeine might give you a quick artificial boost however for those who are serious about increasing their energy all you need to know is above!
Get in touch with me (Roel Jansen) at Fit For Anything on 07786652095 for further information on my fitness and nutritional support packages.