‘Mighty-chondria’
The easiest way to understand mitochondria is to think of them as an energy factory or battery plant for your cells. Each mitochondrion contains its own DNA, separate to the commonly known nuclear DNA genome, called ‘mitochondrial DNA’, which encodes the wiring diagram for the cell’s power plants. This gets nerdy, but bear with us.
So, what is so ‘mighty’ about mitochondria? Well, first of all, we inherit our mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) solely from our mother. A woman’s mtDNA make-up is heavily influenced by the environment in which she lives and her mtDNA is passed on to her children
Dr Douglas Cecil Wallace and his team demonstrated in the 1970’s that human mtDNA is inherited exclusively from the mother.
Dr Wallace’s new research is finding that alterations in mitochondrial DNA, measured by the levels of percentage of heteroplasmy, can account for 85 per cent of metabolic and degenerative diseases, including cancer and e-s. In simple terms, percent heteroplasmy determines how well-charged your mitochondria batteries are and how healthy you remain.
Normal healthy (green) and mutant mitochondria (red)
Did you know that if a pregnant woman’s mutant mtDNA is high (so her mitochondrial ‘batteries’ have a low charge), this is passed on to her baby? This influences the child’s baseline immune system and his or her ability to handle exposure to environmental toxins and diseases.
The next key thing to appreciate is that mitochondria DNA signalling turns on and turns off DNA functions in your cell nucleus. Your DNA genome is like your hardware, and your mitochondrial DNA is like your software. There is little we can do to fix our genetic hardware, short of surgery and other medical interventions. However, we can update our mitochondrial software to manage and prevent most of the modern diseases in our world today. If you don’t fix deficiencies in percentage of heteroplasmy, it not only leads to diseases like Alzheimer’s, but it reduces the chances of the next generation being in good health.
Dr Wallace’s research coupled with the work of others may one day be known as the most self-empowering knowledge ever discovered. That is, environment matters most and mitochondrial health is tied to our wireless connection to the sun and our hard wiring to the earth.
Let’s dig deeper and discover the electromagnetic effects on your mitochondria and learn ways to repair your mtDNA.
If you would like to take a deep dive into the mitochondrial ethology of various diseases watch this presentation by Dr Wallace.
Sometimes it’s easier to understand complex subjects through song. Here is a musical explanation of the mitochondrial electron transport chain and how mitochondria produce ATP (energy).