Mitochondrial Performance

The final layer of the condition evolution onion is so fundamental that when I first learned of this it shook me to the core – literally!

Within every cell in our body we have tiny power houses called ‘mitochondria’. Depending on the cell and location in the body, there are vast numbers of these necessary alien organisms e.g. the cells in the liver have tens of thousands of mitochondria.

Mitochondria Organelle

I say alien organisms because they are actually foreign bodies not originally part of human cells. They exist, hosted by our cells, in a symbiotic (quid pro quo) relationship, supporting our growth and development since the beginnings of early life on earth. Wow, the aliens within!

The point is that for these microscopic power houses to perform properly and generate the chemical energy (Adenosine Triphosphate ‘ATP’ production) our cells need to power their biochemical reactions, to grow and repair, and in turn support our organ and overall bodily functions, they need a regular supply of fuel and nutrients. If this flow is interrupted or irregular then the 4 stage complex process of ATP production will be disrupted and/or overloaded.

The impacts of this function disruption can be quite far reaching and most unwelcome.

•       Free radical production

•       Oxidative stress

•       Energy depleted (miss-directed)

•       Delayed impact of exertion

•       Cell re-charge – peak in night

•       Body temperature increases

•       Sleep quality/duration poor

•       Limited restore & repair

In summation, the sufferer is left with limited energy, not helped by disrupted sleep patterns, limiting necessary repair and re-charge. Worse still is the excess free radical production and oxidative stress that, over time, can seriously impact the sufferer’s health and lead to other unpleasant conditions developing.

Given the above, I am sure that you would want to waste no more time and get on with the process of recovery. Look out for my next post within which I describe my own ‘onion layer peeling’ approach to first manage and eventually recover from CFS/ME.