Our Mighty Mitochondria
- BeWellLongevity
- By Be Well
Happy Friday!
Increasingly statistics like ‘2 in 5 people will develop cancer in Australia’ are being spoken about as an inevitability. Cancer has impacted my family, like many others, and we have looked to new drugs and treatments to change outcomes.
Recently I have been reading and listening to the pioneering Professor Thomas Seyfried from Boston, author of 150 peer reviewed articles and books including: Cancer as a Metabolic Disease.
Professor Seyfried argues that cancer is primarily a mitochondrial metabolic disease, not a genetic one, as traditionally believed. As he puts it, cancer is simply cells division out of control.
Seyfried’s research suggests that cancer cells rely on fermentation for energy due to damaged mitochondria, using glucose and glutamine as primary fuels. This dysfunction prevents normal cellular respiration and leads to the uncontrolled growth of cancer cells.
Non-toxic Metabolic Therapies
Seyfried advocates for non-toxic metabolic therapies, such as calorie restriction and ketogenic diets, which deprive cancer cells of fermentable fuels while supporting healthy cells with ketone bodies. These therapies aim to target the metabolic vulnerabilities of cancer cells, offering a promising alternative to traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation.
Seyfried also recommends using hyperbaric oxygen therapy as part of a “press-pulse” therapeutic strategy for cancer treatment. This approach involves combining the ketogenic diet with hyperbaric oxygen therapy to complement traditional cancer treatments.
How to boost your mitochondria health quickly!
It seems mitochondrial health is crucial to preventing and treating cancer and
recent research suggests several strategies to quickly boost your mitochondrial health:
1. Caloric Restriction has been shown to enhance mitochondrial biogenesis, improve respiratory activity, and increase ATP concentration – the molecule that stores and provides energy or fuel for our cells.
2. Exercise: Regular physical activity, especially endurance training, increases mitochondrial content and improves oxidative capacity.
3. Supplements: Urolithin A, a compound derived from gut bacteria, can enhance mitophagy and improve muscle endurance. Other supplements like CoQ10, NAD+, and PQQ support mitochondrial function. NB always get tested and access expert advice re supplements.
4. Intermittent Fasting: promotes mitochondrial biogenesis and reduces oxidative stress by switching energy sources from glucose to fatty acids and ketones.
You can listen to a full interview with the remarkable 78yr old Professor Thomas Seyfried here:
As the Professor says, it’s up to each of us to decide our path but he is a great proponent of the core philosophy of Be Well: our lifestyle (truly) is our medicine.
Sleep, diet, exercise and recovery are our superpowers and completely within our control.
Let’s use them to live longer, better, healthier and happier lives.
Be Well is the first-of-its- kind urban health, wellness and lifestyle club in Melbourne, Australia. Informed by the science of longevity, Be Well nurtures the relationship you have with yourself and others, to optimise your lifestyle, and live your longest, best life.