Improve your mitochondria, reduce your cellular age!

Before you roll your eyes about my obsession with the coolest organelle… read this.

Researchers keep tapping into the wellspring of functions that the mitochondria is responsible for, and they are related to energy, anti-aging, metabolic, and immune functions! The bottom line is that we want more mitochondria, bigger mitochondria, and healthier mitochondria. How to get this result? Exercise.

Our muscles do not just receive information, they also send information to other parts of the body. Mitochondria are organelles inside of our muscle cells. When we eat food, it is broken down into its chemical structures (Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and if it is a protein, Nitrogen). These enter the Krebs Cycle in the mitochondria to go through a series of steps that end up producing ATP, which is the start of any muscle contraction. This is metabolism. The production and use of energy! (If you want to know more, I am HAPPY to elaborate on this fascinating topic!!)

When the mitochondria are adapting due to the stress of exercise, they send signals to the rest of the body about what is going on. This results in things like an increase in the USE of glucose and fat for fuel, better oxygen uptake, and improving the way our bodies handle other stressors, such as viruses. Researchers are finding some incredible evidence of the wide range of roles the mitochondria has. It explains why exercise is such a panacea for health!

I recently heard someone describe the mitochondria as the “Google” of our body systems, sending information to other cells to inform and influence what they do. When we workout, we stimulate changes in the mitochondria from the stress of exercise on our muscles. The response is not only bigger or more mitochondria, but the mitochondria themselves are sending out messages to other cells DURING exercise that influence their functioning. It is like having an important board meeting and during the meeting there are runners who tell people what to do in real time to create an effective and efficient system to improve the functioning of the organization.

The “Organization” that is your body system is just WAITING for you to create more energy, more fun, and better functioning! There are some specifics about which kind of exercise (endurance versus strength, for example) elicits which response the most. These may be relevant to you, so I am happy to elaborate in a later post. Take this away from today: every time you get your heart rate up and work your muscles you are generating cellular activity that keeps you younger and healthier.

Here is just one example of the effect of exercise on your health and metabolism (read: anti-aging). During exercise there is a substance called MOTS-c that is released by the mitochondria in muscle cells. MOTS-c is a mitochondrial-derived peptide that has been shown to improve healthy aging, enhance insulin sensitivity, and offer protection from a host of age-related metabolic disorders. It acts as a cellular connector of sorts, regulating REALLY important functions of the body. MOTS-c was recently shown to decrease the cellular age of mice that were injected with it.* Human muscles ALSO produce this peptide during exercise, so… it makes sense that we also get the benefits!

Put on your workout clothes and sign up for class! **

* MOTS-c is an exercise-induced mitochondrial...

** Low-volume high-intensity interval training induces mitochondrial biogenesis