Let's talk about a word you probably haven't heard much about, but that is absolutely critical to your health, your energy levels, and your ability to manage weight: mitochondria.
If you're one of my clients, you know I'm always looking at the root cause of health issues. Well, many of those issues start right here.
So, What Are Mitochondria?
In the simplest terms, mitochondria are the "power plants" or "engines" inside almost every cell in your body. You have trillions of them. Their main job is to take the food you eat (like glucose from carbohydrates and fatty acids from fats) and convert it into a special energy molecule called ATP.
This ATP is the "energy currency" for your body. It's what fuels everythingā€”from thinking and blinking to breathing and lifting weights.
Why They Are Critical for Weight Loss & Health
This is where it gets really interesting. We often think of weight loss as just "calories in, calories out," but it's so much more complex. Your mitochondria are at the very center of it all.
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They Burn Fat: Mitochondria are directly involved in metabolizing fatty acids. You want your body to be an efficient fat-burning machine? You need healthy, happy mitochondria to do that job.
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They Run Your Metabolism: These "engines" are a key part of what we call "metabolic homeostasis". That's just a way of saying they keep your entire metabolism balanced and running efficiently. If your mitochondria are sluggish, your metabolism will be, too.
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They Do More Than Just Energy: Mitochondrial health is also linked to creating hormones, managing inflammation, and even the aging process itself.
So, in short, if you want to lose weight, have more energy, and manage inflammation, you need your mitochondria to be healthy. They are the literal engines of your body.
But what happens when these engines get damaged? In Part 2, we'll look at 13 common things in our modern lives that might be sabotaging your health at a cellular level.
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