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What are Mitochondria?
I’ve been hearing a lot lately about the importance of feeding your mitochondria. But what is a mitochondria? It’s an interesting word to pronounce. I like the way it rolls off my tongue. It sounds very smart, like it wears glasses and tutors the art students in biology.
I'm not a scientist, but from what I’ve read, mitochondria are the energy centers of the cell. When you eat food and that food is digested into usable nutrients, the cell will take in those nutrients. It is the mitochondria in the cell that uses those nutrients and turns them into energy that your cells can use to do what your cells need to do, depending on their function. You know, the heart cells do things that make the blood go round. The liver cells do livery things, like remove toxins from the blood, and the brain cells do brainy things, like math and keeping us alive in general. The number of mitochondria in a cell can vary based on the cell. If a cell needs more energy for its designated function, it will have a greater number of mitochondria.
The problem is when your cells are unable to obtain the nutrition that they need for the mitochondria to function properly. A variety of diseases can develop, such as gastro-intestinal diseases, cardiac-related diseases, respiratory illnesses, just to name a few. Your body can even become more susceptible to illness in general.
Think about it. How many of us notice a greater degree of illnesses in our children or even ourselves in November, December or January? What is happening around that time? Well, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s. All events that have their own parties at school or work, usually with sugary treats, treats at home, and treats at every function you attend. You go visit Santa at the mall and what does he hand out? Candy canes. Between the cookie-making parties and the giant tins of junk sitting out at holiday functions, it is hard to avoid. Just the other day someone left several items in our work kitchen marked “free” and someone else placed a box of chocolate candies, a gift from a vendor, on the table right outside my cube.
If I’m being honest, my sugar dragon has come out of deep hibernation the last few weeks, and my sinuses are feeling it. And I don’t eat a lot of sugar compared with what I used to eat before I changed my diet. But I can definitely tell that I am eating more of it, and that needs to stop. Pronto. Seriously. I’m tired of feeling like Miss Poo Blob.
So how can I go about avoiding the giant sugar dump over the next week or two of the holidays? My plan is to eat for nutrition first. I’m not going to eliminate dessert. That would be crazy at the holidays, but I am going to control what I eat by making it myself and not making it a meal. I’m not a fan of some vegetables, like broccoli, but I’m going to eat them anyway. I’m going to make sure there are a few items on the buffet table that I can safely eat at the family Christmas. I’ll plan ahead before eating out and make sure to order something that is as safe for me as I can get it.
I am also going to take responsibility for my decisions. I know that how I feel overall is a direct result of what I am eating. If I choose to eat poorly, that is my decision, but I also have to accept that feeling like Miss Poo Blob is a result of my choice. So I’m going into the last days of the 2015 with a strategy that I hope will keep Miss Poo Blob at bay.
In short, I’m going to feed my mitochondria first and my sugar dragon last.
References:
http://www.softschools.com/science/biology/function_of_mitochondria/
http://biology.tutorvista.com/animal-and-plant-cells/mitochondria.html
