Mitochondria: The Power Source
To go fast, you need a well-tuned, big engine.
Startling Facts:
Lack of energy is one of the top symptoms people mention when visiting a doctor.
The risk for fatigue in women is about 1.5 times the risk for men.
The risk for people who do not exercise is twice that of active people.
Lack of energy often indicates an underlying health problem.
“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
—Will Rogers
Let’s imagine that the other three Systems have been working correctly to this point:
The Structural System is supported with real food.
The Digestive System breaks the food down into micronutrients.
The Delivery System picks up the nutrients and delivers them to the cells.
Now that the cells have the nutrients they need let’s discover the Energy System where those nutrients are turned into energy.
The Energy System
Research shows that most diseases today start with the dysfunction of the Energy System.
The Energy System takes the nutrients delivered to the cells and turns them into energy that powers all the body Systems. If this System is not producing adequate energy, all the other Systems will sputter. Consider what happens when a power plant goes down—the whole region is plunged into darkness.
This “power outage” often happens without an individual even knowing it. They ease into decreased energy production over many years and forget what having energy feels like. Look around. Everyone seems to be tired. Many patients come to me after seeing numerous health professionals for issues related to a lack of energy.
Without a healthy supply of energy, we cannot make proper decisions. As a result, every facet of our lives is affected — emotional, relational, spiritual, and physical.
If you constantly feel drained, more profound issues are probably happening beneath the surface — on the cellular level. Until you address these underlying problems, you’ll keep sabotaging your health efforts. Thankfully, you can reverse chronic weariness quickly with the 7 Systems Plan. You’ll discover how to increase your energy by up to 600%!
7 Signs That Your Energy System Is Working Against You:
Weight gain
Low energy, fatigue, or not feeling rested after a good night’s sleep
Brain fog or forgetfulness
Easily winded
Headaches
Loss of smell or taste
Just plain feeling old
Meet Alice
One afternoon, an overweight woman in her mid-70s shuffled into my office. Although she had a pleasant smile, there was no sparkle in her eye. In the first few minutes, she explained why.
In her own words, she had no energy. Although she often slept, she never felt rested. Alice had chronic conditions like elevated blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure. Moreover, her family had noticed her increased forgetfulness. She had a poor diet, did not take vitamins, failed to exercise, and did not know how to fix her problems.
Her medical doctor had a solution: prescription medicine. It started with one prescription and eventually increased to eight per day. Her reason for visiting me was apparent — she just wanted to “feel good again.”
She had all the signs of a malfunctioning Energy System.
Alice jumped into the 7 Systems Plan and began to make changes. After six months, her family doctor took her off all the prescription medications because she no longer needed them. Her blood pressure was normal, and so were her cholesterol, blood sugar, and thyroid levels. Her energy had increased tremendously, and she no longer needed to nap. She’d gained muscle and lost 43 pounds of fat.
Alice regained her youthful body in a very short time and started enjoying life. She’d been a widow for many years but began dating again. She told her family and friends, “I wish I had done this when I was 40.”
How To Ramp Up Your Energy System
Mitochondria are the key to energy, metabolism, weight, and health. Robust mitochondria increase exercise performance, muscle mass, and overall lifespan. If we have an abundance of optimally functioning mitochondria, we’ll have a fast metabolism and burn calories effectively. On the other hand, mitochondrial dysfunction is linked to aging, diabetes, heart disease, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, schizophrenia, and depression.
The body’s energy production process is called oxidative phosphorylation. This process produces adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which the body uses for energy. We could get bogged down in all this science, so let me simplify it.
The body takes in food (fuel), breaks it down in the Digestive System, and transports it to the cells. The nutrients enter the cells and are taken to the mitochondria.
Mitochondria are like microscopic power plants inside cells. They generate 95% of our energy. In these power plants, fat and carbohydrates combine with oxygen to produce energy that powers cells, organs, and the entire body.
Mitochondria provide the energy that drives all cellular processes, including nutrient transport into the cell, waste elimination, repair, and problem assessment. This last step includes ensuring a cell self-destructs when it becomes abnormal or cancerous. Many experts believe that mitochondrial malfunction plays a significant role in today’s cancer epidemic.
Patients often say, “No matter what I do, I cannot lose weight.” When they say that, it is most likely a mitochondrial problem. If mitochondria are unprotected, poorly functioning, or low in number, the result is a slow metabolism and low energy. In this situation, burning many calories and losing weight is impossible. People can solve this problem by discovering how to protect their mitochondria, supply them with what they need, and create more of them.
Let’s continue our journey by utilizing a car analogy. How do you get the best performance out of your car?
Protect It
No one would purchase an expensive racing car and fail to change the oil, air filters, and tires. Taking these precautions protects the vehicle from damage. Unfortunately, many people take better care of their cars than their bodies. The 7 Systems Plan will give you the tools to protect your mitochondria.
Give It Quality Fuel
If you put low-octane fuel in a race car, it will sputter and perform poorly regardless of the motor’s size. The same is true for your body. It is a high-performance biochemical machine that requires high-octane fuel to produce optimal energy and experience peak performance.
In the previous newsletters, you have learned what you should eat and what you should avoid. Low-octane foods like white sugar, white flour, white bread, potatoes, fruit juice, junk food, and bad fats impair your body’s performance.
Eating sugary food results in weight gain, inflammation, pain, and poor sleep. One junk food meal can decrease blood flow to all your vital organs and muscles by 25% for several hours. Like a car, your body will sputter. When mitochondria fail to produce energy, all your Systems suffer.
High-octane foods like vegetables, fruits, good fats, nuts, legumes, and quality proteins help your body perform at peak capacity. The effects of implementing the 7 Systems Plan are significant and usually noticeable within 7–10 days.
Install A Bigger Motor
You can add a supercharger or even put in a bigger motor to increase a car’s performance. God created your body with extraordinary abilities. Not only can you supercharge your mitochondria and make them grow, but you can also double the number in each cell.
If you know how, you can significantly increase the power produced by the mitochondria in your body.
The 7 Systems Plan shows you three ways to double your mitochondria and optimize their function to give you unbelievable energy:
Protect your mitochondria.
Give your mitochondria what they need.
Direct your body to produce more mitochondria.
Stay tuned for more tips to ramp up your Energy System.
For your health,
Dr. Pat
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