The Broader Benefits of Optimal Metabolic Health

It’s a series of chemical reactions that convert the food we eat into energy that can be used to help us function and keep us feeling our best as we age. The body requires the right amount of energy in the form of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals) to drive chemical reactions that keep your metabolism running. This article will explore dietary recommendations, exercise and lifestyle tips for maintaining and enhancing metabolic health.

Dietary Recommendations

Mitochondria play a central role in energy metabolism, and maintaining healthy mitochondria is essential for overall metabolic health. Maintaining the health of your cells by making healthy choices, supporting your stress response and fueling your mitochondria with the right nutrients is the best place to start when it comes to metabolic health.

At the core of our metabolism, mitochondria are what convert the food we eat and the oxygen we breathe into fuel for the body. If mitochondria aren’t functioning optimally, it can impact the way your body efficiently utilizes and produces energy.

Antioxidants and mitochondrial function

Our bodies naturally contain free radicals, which are unstable molecules that have important functions in normal, healthy amounts – but if too many free radicals build up in the body, they can damage your cells and disrupt the foundations of your health.

This is where antioxidants come in. Antioxidants are molecules that neutralize free radicals, reducing the damage they can cause to your cells. By doing this, they can help the body produce energy more efficiently, enabling you to function daily with optimal energy and stamina.

Different antioxidants work in different ways. Some work to neutralize free radicals at their source – within your mitochondria (the tiny energy batteries that live deep within your cells), while others connect with free radicals outside of the mitochondria and the cells themselves. But for antioxidants to be most effective, they must reach the body’s source of oxidative stress – mitochondria.

Foods rich in antioxidants

Eating a diet rich in antioxidants can aid in reducing oxidative stress and provide support to your hardworking cells. There are plenty of foods that contain impressive amounts of antioxidants within the diet, and some of the richest sources include blueberries, strawberries, dark leafy greens like kale, spinach and swiss chard, red cabbage, tomato, beetroot, pecans and other nuts and seeds.

Healthy fats for mitochondrial efficiency

Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for cellular health because they make up an important component of your cell membranes which help your cells communicate with one another and keep their structure. Other benefits of taking omega-3 fatty acids have been extensively explored, with studies showing that these fatty acids can support brain health and development, skin, mood, joints and neurological function.

There are many different variations of omega-3 fatty acids, but the most important ones to remember are EPA, DHA and ALA (which the body converts into EPA and DHA). Both EPA and DHA are commonly found in fatty fish and seafood, while ALA can be found in plant foods like avocado, walnuts, chia seeds, nuts, seeds and olive oil. It’s estimated that around 5% of ALA is converted to EPA and even less into DHA. This means that despite ALA rich foods being more abundant than foods rich in EPA and DHA, relying on chia seeds, flaxseeds and walnuts to help you meet your omega-3 intake can be less effective to achieve daily intake recommendations.

Other key nutrients for mitochondrial function

B vitamins

All 8 B vitamins play an important role in mitochondrial function and energy production. From acting as potent antioxidants to critical coenzymes, B-vitamins provide the keys to the lock that is the Krebs cycle.

CoQ10

During the energy generation process, mitochondria produce free radicals as a byproduct. One of the key antioxidants your body produces inside the mitochondria to control free radicals is CoQ10. MitoQ® Mitoquinol is an advanced, modified form of CoQ10 that is bio-designed to be smaller and is positively charged so it can easily pass through the mitochondrial wall.

MitoQ® Mitoquinol is made of three main parts, each with key functions. The active site of MitoQ® Mitoquinol is its antioxidant head. This is the same as in CoQ10 and is the part of the molecule that neutralizes free radicals. Attached to the antioxidant head is the carbon chain made of 10 repeating units. This chain is much shorter in MitoQ® Mitoquinol than it is in CoQ10, which improves its absorption. At the base of MitoQ® Mitoquinol is a positive charge that electrochemically pulls MitoQ® Mitoquinol through cells into the negatively charged inner mitochondrial wall, where its antioxidant capabilities are released.

Learn more about the science of MitoQ

Glutathione

Abundant in the mitochondria, glutathione is an antioxidant that helps mitigate the oxidative stress in the cell.

Magnesium

Magnesium is a key mineral for maintaining mitochondrial health and it plays a crucial role in ATP production.

Alpha-lipoic acid (ALA)

ALA is a natural antioxidant that supports mitochondrial function by fighting free radicals and regenerating other antioxidants.

Exercise Tips

Metabolic health is defined by the five important markers: blood pressure, fasting triglycerides, waist circumference, fasting high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and fasting blood sugar. When the levels of these markers are within an optimal range, one can be defined as metabolically healthy. The great thing about exercise is that it directly supports all five of these markers, helping the body maintain metabolic health in a sustainable, achievable way.

It can be easy to feel overwhelmed with the varying styles of training when it comes to maintaining an optimal level of fitness, but the most important thing to remember is that consistency is key. Of all types and styles of workouts, the one that you successfully integrate into your routine and maintain in the long-term is always going to be the best option. For some of us, that may be daily walks with 1-2 strength training sessions per week – and for others, it may look like a few HIIT workouts a week and a strength training session sprinkled in for good measure. The best routine is always going to be the one you enjoy the most.

Enhancing mitochondrial efficiency through exercise

Strength training

From increasing the amount of mitochondria within muscle tissue and enhancing the ability of mitochondria to produce ATP (energy). strength training and building lean muscle mass supports mitochondrial health in many ways. One of the most important ways strength training supports overall health has to do with insulin – a hormone that keeps our blood sugar in check.

Insulin is responsible for taking the glucose from the food we eat and moving it from the bloodstream into our cells to be used for energy. This hormone is closely linked to the function of mitochondria. Studies show that strength training may improve the body’s response to insulin.

It’s understood that the more muscle mass we have, the less vulnerable we are to the common changes in health associated with aging. After the age of around 30-35 years old, our muscle power slowly declines in a linear fashion but after the age of 65 (age 70 for men), the decline in muscle mass and strength speeds up.

Aerobic exercise: Zone 2 training

Aerobic exercise includes any physical activity that increases your heart rate and breathing. With this type of exercise, large muscle groups require oxygen to sustain movement over a long period of time. Aerobic simply means “with oxygen”, and muscles use that oxygen to generate energy the body needs to keep going. Aerobic exercises can range from walking, running or bike riding – but the key thing here is that these forms of exercise are all steady-state activities.

Aerobic exercise is often referred to as Zone 2 training because the heart reaches around 60-75% of your max heart rate – a low to moderate level of cardiovascular exertion. Exercising at this lower intensity has been shown to increase mitochondrial function by training mitochondria to produce energy efficiently by utilizing fatty acids, rather than glucose. This metabolic flexibility is extremely beneficial for our health, and it’s a sign that mitochondria are functioning optimally. Zone 2 training has also been shown to support longevity by increasing VO2 max and clearing out old, declining mitochondria via mitophagy.

High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT)

Studies show that HIIT is an effective way to boost mitochondrial function. One study consisted of “young” volunteers (men and women between the ages of 18-30) and “old” volunteers (men and women between the ages of 65-80) who were instructed to perform either strength training, cardio based high intensity interval training, or a combination of the two.

The study found that while strength training provided effective results when it came to building muscle mass, the high intensity interval training showed the greatest benefits at a cellular level. It was revealed that the younger training groups experienced a 49% increase in mitochondrial capacity, and the older subjects saw a 69% increase.

Lifestyle Changes

The importance of protein

We don’t often think about the calories it takes to digest food (aka the ‘thermic effect of food’), and some nutrients like protein require more calories to digest. The thermic effect of protein is a lot higher than carbohydrates, which means that high protein foods take more calories, or energy, to digest. Because eating more protein increases the amount of energy you burn, eating a high protein diet has been linked to a healthy, firing metabolism.

Stress management techniques

Cortisol plays an important role in regulating metabolic function. When cortisol is released, it causes a rise in glucose to help the body utilize fuel. This provides the body with the energy needed to deal with the perceived stressor, and it also dampens appetite. When glucose levels are increased, so too are blood insulin levels in an attempt to manage blood sugar. If stress is ongoing, we can experience high levels of insulin which can disrupt the way our cells respond to it. Having cells that no longer respond correctly to insulin is a hallmark of poor metabolic health. Abnormal cortisol patterns caused by ongoing stress have also been shown to contribute to increased cravings and overall increased consumption of food as the body attempts to control blood sugar levels. Implementing stress management techniques such as meditation, yoga and deep breathing exercises can help to lower cortisol which can in turn, promote metabolic health.

Sleep hygiene

Getting enough sleep supports a healthy metabolism by helping you better regulate your appetite. Sleep deprivation influences leptin and ghrelin – two hunger hormones responsible for controlling feelings of hunger and fullness. When you’re lacking sleep, you’re also more likely to make poor food choices, which can lead to overloading on foods that won’t support a healthy metabolic rate.

Hydration and its role in metabolic function

Staying hydrated is one of the simplest ways we can support our overall health and metabolic function. The body is comprised of around 60% water and our cells and tissues require water to support their basic functions. Water acts as a metabolic signal between cells, supporting enzymatic activity and facilitating biochemical reactions. Staying hydrated doesn’t need to be complicated, and it’s an easy way to support the complex systems in the body at the cellular level.

Metabolic function is at the core of maintaining optimal health. Making healthy choices, supporting your stress response and fueling your cells with the right nutrients is the most effective way to holistically support metabolic function.