Love Your Mitochondria

Remember the powerhouses in our cells that we learned about in high school biology.

Oh yes, our mitochondria!

They play such a vital role in our metabolic health by producing all of our ATP, the energy of life.

When they are under attack, they produce less energy and go into cell defense mode.

Many kids with ASD can have low muscle tone, weakness, headaches, constipation, and seizures due to weak mitochondria not producing enough ATP to power up organs such as the muscles, the gut, and the brain.

They operate like the engine in our car- we want to provide our engine with the best fuel, replace filters, and take care of them to allow our cars to perform at their peak and not break down.

Same with our mitochondria- we want to provide our “mitochondrial engines” with all of the proper inputs and remove all the problems that could impair them.

There are lab tests such as pyruvate, lactate, amino acids, and urine organic acids to help determine if there’s mitochondrial dysfunction.

Sone supplements that support the mitochondria are CoQ10, PQQ, Carnitine, alpha lipoic acid, creatine, astaxanthin, magnesium, and B vitamins.

Here are some other strategies for us and our kids to strengthen current mitochondria and increase the amount that we have:

1.      Get 20 minutes of sunlight in the morning to set circadian rhythm- the sun will provide infrared light which increases mitochondrial melatonin which is important for mitochondrial function.

2.      Reduce stress since this affects hormones and the immune system which can impair the mitochondria.

3.      Maintain a healthy gut microbiome by feeding our gut buddies fiber and polyphenols which are nutrients from vegetables, fruits, and spices – a healthy microbiome produces metabolites to stimulate our mitochondria.

4.      Avoid highly inflammatory foods weakening mitochondria such as ultra processed foods, sugar, refined carbs, high fructose corn syrup, trans-fats, and vegetable (seed) oils.

5.      Sleep at least 7 hours to strengthen our engines and reduce the combustion (oxidative stress) that occurs.

6.      Avoid mitochondrial toxins such as heavy metals, BPA, PFAS, phthalates, and pesticides.

7.      Hormetic stress is a good type of short-term stress that causes the body to make adaptations for the mitochondria to grow stronger- exercise and using infrared sauna are 2 good examples.

Message me on IG @ https://www.instagram.com/myhopewellness/?hl=en if you have any concerns about mitochondrial dysfunction affecting your child- this is a component of our Autism Healing Program.