TL:DR - Mitochondria are organelles within each cell of our body (except red blood cells). Healthy mitochondria keep us alive and our goal is to increase mitochondrial density and function. I’m more convinced that the goal of any lifestyle or therapy is first and foremost to protect and improve the function of our mitochondria.

If you are one of my clients (or my wife 🙂 ), you have heard me talk passionately about getting more sun and getting in sync with circadian rhythms.

Why?

All roads lead to mitochondria.

I believe most supplements can be replaced with a reasonable whole foods nutrition plan, sufficient physical activity outside, and a lifestyle that prioritizes healthy mitochondria.

Mitochondria 101

You may have learned in biology that eukaryotic cells, cells that have a membrane-bound nucleus, contain organelles. Each organelle serves a function in the cell. Eukaryotes include plants, animals, and fungi. They all have mitochondria.

There are theories that mitochondria evolved from bacteria before eukaryotic cells somehow engulfed them and appropriated them for their own use over the course of evolution. The mitochondria allowed theses cells to turn oxygen into energy.

Why are these mitochondria important to us?

I remember reading the introduction to my pathology textbook that when mitochondria functions stops, that is the definition of death of a human being.

No more energy. No more life.

The mitochondria do act as a powerhouses but they are also a control center for adapting to our environment. The body does an amazing job of sensing changes in the external and internal environment and adjust their output to keep us alive.

I couldn’t remember all the functions off the top of my head, so I asked AI to give me a list of key functions of mitochondria:

• Oxidative Phosphorylation - The primary ATP synthesis pathway using the electron transport chain and ATP synthase

• Beta Oxidation - Breaking down fatty acids into acetyl-CoA for energy production

• Citric Acid Cycle (Krebs Cycle) - Converting acetyl-CoA into NADH, FADH2, and GTP/ATP while producing CO2

• Pyruvate Oxidation - Converting pyruvate from glycolysis into acetyl-CoA via pyruvate dehydrogenase complex

• Amino Acid Metabolism - Deamination and conversion of amino acids for energy or biosynthetic purposes

• Ketogenesis - Production of ketone bodies from acetyl-CoA, particularly during fasting states

• Gluconeogenesis - Contributing enzymes for glucose synthesis from non-carbohydrate sources

• Steroid Hormone Synthesis - Cholesterol metabolism and steroidogenesis (testosterone, estrogen, cortisol, aldosterone)

• Heme Synthesis - Production of heme groups for hemoglobin and cytochromes

• Iron-Sulfur Cluster Assembly - Biosynthesis of Fe-S clusters essential for many enzymes

• Calcium Homeostasis - Calcium uptake, storage, and release for cellular signaling

• Apoptosis Regulation - Release of cytochrome c and other pro-apoptotic factors (An important process for cleaning up potentially cancerous cells.)

• Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) Production - Both as metabolic byproducts and for cellular signaling

• Thermogenesis - Heat production via uncoupling proteins, especially in brown adipose tissue

• Mitochondrial Biogenesis - Self-replication and synthesis of mitochondrial components

• Mitophagy Regulation - Quality control through selective autophagy of damaged mitochondria

• Cardiolipin Synthesis - Production of this unique phospholipid essential for mitochondrial membrane integrity

• Urea Cycle Contribution - Providing intermediates for nitrogen disposal (carbamoyl phosphate synthetase I)

This is why mitochondrial dysfunction can lead to chronic fatigue, hormone deficiencies and imbalances, poor immunity, weight gain, cancer, metabolic diseases, and mental health challenges.

What are the biggest threats to our mitochondria?

Poor maternal health - Mitochondria have their own set of 37 genes inherited primarily from female eggs. Maternal health sets the stage for a child’s health. Healthy mothers give birth to healthy, happy children. It might be too late to change our mitochondrial DNA, but it’s not too late to change the fate of unborn children.

Non-native EMF - Mitochondria are like little antennae and electrical power plants. Mitochondria respond to light and the natural electromagnetic field (see my last post on nature’s natural rhythms). Today, we are bombarded with alien electromagnetic radiation from radio waves, artificial light and screens, microwaves, wi-fi, cell towers, and electrical wiring. We are receiving an over-abundance of unnatural signals.

Light deficiency - Sunlight we absorb through our eyes and skin are the key nutrients for mitochondrial function. Sunlight is not just the visible light, but also includes an abundance of non-visible red and infrared light. Modern LED’s have eliminated the red and infrared because we’ve been told that this red and IR light is "wasted" as heat. Most artificial light also has unnaturally high levels of blue light, which in itself can raise blood glucose and insulin levels (think type II diabetes).

Environmental toxins - Many of the thousands of chemicals that off-gas from construction materials, polyester, pesticides, household cleaners, cosmetics and skin care, and plastics can all damage mitochondria.

Medications - Many medications are mito-toxic. One class of particularly dangerous and highly mito-toxic medications are statins (cholesterol lowering medication). Statins are one of the most prescribed medications even though it is well known that it depletes CoQ10, which is important for mitochondrial function.

mRNA Vaccine injury - The FDA in June 2025 is now requiring updated warning labels for myocarditis and pericarditis following vaccination. There have been many warnings from doctors and scientists for years that they have been seeing abnormally high levels of spike protein from the mRNA vaccines in patients along with neurological, cardiovascular, and immune symptoms. I have also seen cases myself of spike-induced autoimmunity. The spike protein damages mitochondria.

Disconnection from nature - Modern life is often un-grounding and disconnected. We are separated from the connection to the Earth. We live in air conditioned, glass containers. We wear insulating rubber and foam shoes. We wear sunglasses and cover slather our skin with UV-blocking sunscreens.

Lack of exercise - Being sedentary is one of the fastest ways to decrease mitochondrial density. As little as 20-30 minutes of aerobic exercise can increase mitochondrial density in the tissues with the highest amount of mitochondria—muscles (including the heart) and the brain. Most people just are not moving their bodies frequently or vigorously enough.

Poor nutrition - While our mitochondria primarily eat light photons, they still require minerals like magnesium, zinc, and iron along with vitamins to keep the biochemical assembly line moving. Much of our ultra-processed food diets are becoming higher in calories but deficient in nutrients.

What does this mean for you?

The goal of this post is to give you a sense of how elegant and complex mitochondria are and their role in our health. This is just the tip of the science rabbit hole around mitochondria.

Luckily, the daily actions for supporting mitochondrial health can be summarized quite simply:

• Watch a sunrise and sunset every day.

• Get outside more often and let the sun’s rays touch your bare skin and enter your eyes—even if it is cloudy or overcast.

• Connect with nature by putting the soles of your feet on the ground, touch a tree, or immerse yourself in a body of water.

• Eat real food from plants and animals that eat plants because it is energy captured from the sun.

• Keep your nights dark and devoid of unnatural light and electromagnetic fields.

Anything that breaks your connection with nature and disrupts mitochondria should be minimized as much as possible.

Start making baby steps towards shaping your life around these habits and optimizing your health becomes easier, and you won’t have to take as many supplements, spend tons of money on fancy peptides or bio-hacks.

There are countless ways to get sick, but only a handful of ways to stay healthy. And one of the most important ways is to protect your mitochondria.

P.S. Are you looking for someone to look at your health through a mitochondrial health lens?

Schedule one here https://l.bttr.to/uYxzi or reach out via email.