What powers our bodies?
Our body turns nutrients into energy, and energy fuels the body’s cells. All cells have tiny generators called mitochondria, they are the singular part of the cell where our basic life requirements, air and food, are combined to make energy. They are the source of our cellular energy, meaning they are vital to nearly every biochemical reaction and cellular process in our body. If we increase mitochondrial function, then we boost these processes, and as a result, our overall energy levels increase. The energy is called adenosine triphosphate (ATP), mitochondria can produce more ATP with oxygen.
What does this have to do with our physical performance?
Mitochondrial health translates into better performance, endurance and recovery. Our muscles need ATP to contract, so the more ATP our muscles get, the longer, stronger and more efficiently they can actually perform that work.
How do we boost our mitochondria?
- Diet - the quality of food that we choose to fuel our bodies with is essential to ensure that we are providing our mitochondria with the nutrients needed to work efficiently.
Research shows that limiting our intake to an 8–10-hour window can trigger our mitochondria to adapt. Intermittent fasting supports the mitochondrial network by removing damaged mitochondria and triggering biogenesis, a process that increases the number of mitochondria in our cells (1).
Foods that increase mitochondrial function, contain key nutrients carnitine (2) and creatine (3), which are vital for supplying energy to mitochondria. Carnitine is in many animal products, such as red meat, pork, whole milk, chicken and cod but avocado does contain a bit of the compound.
Omega-3 (4) and alpha lipoic acid (5) boost respiratory enzymes, improving mitochondrial function. Wild-caught salmon, mackerel, seabass, sardines and anchovies are examples of foods rich in omega-3. If you are vegetarian or vegan, algae, such as chlorella, which is found in our organic, plant-based, Perform + Recover protein, is a source of omega-3. Seeds, such as chia, hemp and flaxseeds, are good sources of omega-3. Sources of alpha-lipoid acid, include vegetables, such as spinach, broccoli, Brussel sprouts and carrots.
Our mitochondria are busy generating energy, they’re also generating highly reactive molecules called oxidants, which can be damaging to our cells. The more efficiently our mitochondria work, the less oxidants they produce. So, a diet rich in antioxidants, is the best way to keep our mitochondria on their A-game. The ingredients of chlorella, echinacea, olive leaf extract, reishi and turmeric extract, which are found in our Perform + Recover protein, are all powerful antioxidants.
The antioxidant plant molecule resveratrol is known to improve mitochondrial function (6), foods, such as, grapes, red wine, dark chocolate and pistachios contain resveratrol.
- Exercise creates a positive feedback loop for our mitochondria. Exercise increases our oxygen intake, which is critical for mitochondria. As our bodies use energy, they produce more mitochondria to keep up with the demand. If we aren’t expending energy or using up our oxygen, then our bodies and our mitochondria grow complacent. Not only does it increase the number of mitochondria in our bodies, it increases to quality of those mitochondria (7). The higher the quality of our mitochondria, the more efficiently they work, and the better we can perform.
Endurance exercise has been found to stimulate mitochondrial biogenesis (8), in fact, mitochondrial volume density can increase by up to around 40% in response to endurance training (9). High-intensity training was found to be comparable to endurance training, with regard to mitochondrial adaptations, with an increased mitochondrial respiratory capacity (10).
- Relax! Stress hormones can alter mitochondrial function. Most evidence indicates that the circadian clock, our sleep-wake pattern over the course of a 24-hour day, and mitochondrial function are related; evidence shows that the circadian clock controls the abundance and morphology of mitochondria (11, 12). Massage (13) has been found to promote the growth of new mitochondria, potentially due to the pressure on the muscle.
