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Series Code: MH
Program Code: MH230002S
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00:01 Why is it that children have so much energy?
00:05 One of the reasons is because they have a lot more 00:07 mitochondria than an aging adult. 00:09 And their mitochondria work better. 00:11 Now if you didn't watch our last episode, 00:13 you might be asking, "What is mitochondria?" 00:15 That's a good question. 00:17 If you want to restore some youthful energy, 00:19 it's a good idea to become familiar with them. 00:21 There are several reasons why we lose steam. 00:24 And today we're going to be addressing some of those. 00:26 I'm Rise, and I believe that you were made for health. 00:47 We're talking about energy again today because 00:50 it's such an important topic. 00:52 There's nothing like feeling full of energy. 00:55 And to make that happen, our internal power plants 00:58 use the food you eat and the oxygen you breathe 01:01 to make ATP. 01:02 ATP is the body's energy currency. 01:05 ATP is literally what keeps the lights on inside. 01:09 When we experience chronic low energy levels, 01:12 we more than likely have got mitochondria problems. 01:15 Now in our last episode we learned that the mitochondria 01:18 are our energy producers. 01:19 And today we're going to learn more about what causes 01:22 them to not work as well as we want them to. 01:26 The mitochondria function can be affected by different chronic 01:31 conditions such as diabetes and obesity where the mitochondria 01:36 are getting smaller and also dysfunctional. 01:39 They're not working as well. 01:41 Because if you don't have the energy, 01:44 you don't have the balance. 01:46 And that's why you see it more in older folk. 01:48 They start having balance issues. 01:50 It's very, very common. 01:51 Their energy is down the tube. 01:53 Either because of diet, because of lack of exercise, 01:56 because of underlying problems. 01:58 And that's what we deal with in ENT. 02:00 Yeah, and there are actually quite a few things that 02:03 can damage the mitochondria. 02:07 You know, one of those is actually, probably the biggest 02:10 one is the effect of stress on mitochondria. 02:13 So if you go into a fight or flight sort of situation, 02:17 then guess what happens. 02:18 Well, your energy production has to go up because 02:21 you're getting ready to fight or flee. 02:23 And so that means your mitochondria 02:25 have to work harder. 02:27 And so what happens with the mitochondria 02:30 is that they will start working so hard 02:34 that they will start producing not only the energy, 02:39 but then what's left over as part of that energy production 02:42 is what we call Reactive Oxygen Species. 02:46 And so what those can do is those can actually 02:49 start damaging the DNA of the mitochondria. 02:53 Because the mitochondria actually has its 02:55 own little DNA in there. 02:57 Which is, by the way, inherited by your mother 03:00 and not your father. 03:01 And so when you get stressed and your mitochondria are working 03:05 too hard, you can get these Reactive Oxygen Species 03:09 and you can start damaging the DNA. 03:11 And really, you can start making it so that 03:15 the mitochondria are not functioning properly. 03:17 And that can even permanently damage the mitochondria. 03:21 Just another thing we can blame on mom. 03:23 But stress? I mean, who doesn't have stress? 03:26 Remember ROS, the extremely unstable one that 03:29 easily flies off the handle, is out of control without a wife? 03:32 Well, when he shows up single, he causes a lot of stress 03:36 and distress inside the cell. 03:38 In small doses he's not that bad. 03:40 In fact, he's a natural protector, 03:42 destroying viruses and bad guys, or even taking out bad cells. 03:47 ROS just needs a strong woman to keep him 03:49 simmered down and balanced. 03:51 And that is antioxidant. 03:54 Yeah, you know, I think mitochondrial killers 03:56 are going to be chronic stress where you're not 03:59 taking to the time to rest. 04:01 I mean, I think the literature is probably the clearest 04:04 on that effect of stress and the mitochondria. 04:08 But beyond that, toxins in our environment, 04:12 everything from things like glyphosate and other industrial 04:17 toxins, to mercury and other things. 04:22 Because the mitochondria, since they are working so hard 04:25 and they're very active, are going to be especially 04:28 susceptible to levels of toxins in our bodies. 04:32 And then eating foods that are high in pro-oxidants 04:36 instead of antioxidants, right? 04:38 So what are we thinking about there? 04:39 We're thinking about fried foods, 04:41 we're talking about barbequed foods. 04:44 Things that actually have already more of those 04:47 Reactive Oxygen Species. 04:50 In other words, those different things that are 04:54 free radicals and will cause more 04:55 oxidative stress to begin with. 04:57 So now your mitochondria are already having to work 05:00 harder to help detox your body, and all that. 05:02 And so, you know, poor diet, high levels of stress, 05:06 lack of exercise, those are all mitochondria killers for sure. 05:11 There are so many different toxins in our environment 05:14 that haven't even been researched. 05:16 And then the interactions between toxins have 05:19 hardly ever been looked at. 05:21 And so we're dealing with a world right now that is 05:25 so much more toxic than it was even a few decades ago. 05:30 And toxins damage mitochondria function. 05:33 They cause oxidation, irritating and causing dysfunction 05:40 in the mitochondria and their ability to produce energy 05:42 so that the rest of the cells can do their job. 05:45 So you've got to look and see at a cell level, 05:47 do we have something else that's interfering with this? 05:52 A lot of times we don't look deep enough and we don't realize 05:55 the earth is waxing old like a garment. 06:00 It's toxic. 06:02 Okay, we're inhaling chemicals, we're eating it in our food. 06:08 If you're not eating organic food, you're eating food 06:10 that's contaminated by definition. 06:12 You've got chemicals on that. 06:14 And that affects your energy. 06:16 It affects the ATP, it affects the mitochondria. 06:19 It's the mitochondria in the cell that actually make the ATP. 06:23 But those mitochondria, you can get mitochondria 06:27 dysfunction where they're not producing 06:30 energy like they should. 06:31 And that's what's happening with a lot of people. 06:34 One of the examples of toxins would be exposure to mercury. 06:38 And so we know that's one of the reasons that we're better off 06:42 not eating fish. 06:43 Because all fish are exposed to the toxins in the sea. 06:48 And the amount of coal burning that is done worldwide 06:52 generates mercury toxins that get into the oceans. 06:56 And basically all fish are exposed to toxins. 07:00 I remember 30 years ago as I was a student 07:04 one of the Surfrider Foundation speakers came 07:09 and was talking about all the toxicity in fish, 07:12 and we were kind of blown away, you know. 07:14 Because back then the public health emphasis was, 07:17 move away from red meat to maybe white meat, 07:20 and even better yet, fish. 07:22 And yet he was saying, "No, no, the fish are so horribly toxic, 07:26 any fishing in the oceans, you're going to generate 07:30 all kinds of toxins that get into your body." 07:32 So mercury is a great example. 07:35 But there's various ways mercury can get into the body as well. 07:39 For instance, I had a patient years ago while practicing 07:43 with the Guam Seventh-day Adventist Clinic 07:46 in Micronesia in the middle of the western Pacific, 07:50 and this was an elderly Korean couple that came in to see me. 07:55 The 65 year old lady was very fatigued. 08:01 She was, you know, tried to eat really healthy, 08:06 and was very health-conscious, and had gone to doctor 08:09 after doctor trying to figure out what was wrong with her. 08:12 And so they were finally referred to the wellness center. 08:15 A kind of last-ditch effort. 08:18 And so I had at the time been doing studies on almost every 08:24 patient to measure their blood mercury levels. 08:28 And I discovered that if somebody ate fish on average 08:32 of twice or more often a week, that their levels of mercury 08:35 would be above 10 micrograms per liter. 08:38 And the goal should be at least under five. 08:40 It really should be zero. 08:42 There shouldn't be any mercury in our bodies, right? 08:44 But it should be at least under five. 08:46 And so on average, it was double the upper limit 08:50 on the average patient eating fish twice a week or more. 08:54 So I suggested to her to stop eating fish for about a month 09:01 and come back and we retest. 09:03 Well I tested her mercury levels initially and it was 09:07 45 micrograms per liter. 09:10 It was incredibly high. 09:12 That's basically nine times higher than the upper limit 09:16 at that time. 09:18 And so I figured it was fish, right. 09:21 And so I told her to stop eating fish, and she did. 09:24 She came back six weeks later 09:26 and it was still super high above 40. 09:31 So I said there's something else going on. 09:32 So I started asking more questions. 09:34 You know, it's been said that if you listen to your patient 09:39 long enough, they'll tell you exactly 09:41 what you need to do for them, right? 09:43 And so that's why I always spend an hour with every patient 09:45 because often times I don't really understand the condition 09:48 until I've just listened to them long enough. 09:51 So she was talking, and I said, "Well what do you do? 09:53 Tell me about your life." 09:55 And she said, "Well, my husband and I, we own a little business. 10:00 We run a jewelry kiosk at the mall." 10:03 I go, "Really?" 10:05 And so I said, "What kind of jewelry do you sell?" 10:09 And I had just by chance been reading some studies 10:12 about how some jewelry has mercury contamination on it. 10:17 It's not contamination, they actually use mercury 10:21 for some reason with that jewelry. 10:23 And so I realized that what she was likely doing 10:29 is that all day long she was picking up that jewelry 10:34 that had some mercury on it 10:37 and touching it with her fingers. 10:41 And all day long she was exposing her fingers 10:45 to mercury that absorbs into the blood. 10:47 Anything that you touch, any oil that you put on, 10:51 any lotion that you put on, anything you put onto your skin 10:55 gets into your body. 10:57 Make sure you understand that. 11:00 And so that was most likely the reason her mercury levels 11:04 were so high. 11:06 I had another patient who had a business of scrap metal. 11:10 He was buying scrap metal from the military in Guam 11:13 and selling it to China. 11:15 And so he was making a lot of money doing that. 11:18 But he would oftentimes get out there with his employees 11:21 and move all these lead pipes and different things 11:26 and he was putting it into containers to send to China. 11:30 And so I checked his heavy metal levels, 11:33 and his lead levels were through the roof. 11:37 And I go, "Where are you getting exposed to lead?" 11:40 And little by little we realized by listening to his history 11:47 that he was not using gloves when, when, when... 11:51 You know, most of us wouldn't use gloves 11:53 if we're just moving these pipes around. 11:55 And so by just constant touching these lead pipes 12:00 he was actually getting lead into his blood. 12:02 And therefore, in his brain, in his bones, and so forth. 12:06 And that's one of the reasons that many people don't really 12:09 feel toxic or start getting chronically ill 12:12 until they're older. 12:14 Because as we age, we lose bone mass. 12:18 Our bones demineralize. 12:20 And guess what comes out with the calcium 12:23 when the bones demineralize. 12:25 All the lead and other, especially lead, 12:28 that tends to concentrate in the bones. 12:30 In other words, we get re-exposed to that same lead 12:34 we had been exposed to our entire life. 12:37 Especially in those older individuals that were exposed 12:40 to leaded gasoline fumes. 12:43 And now they're being re-exposed to that same lead 12:47 50 or 60 years later because their bones are disintegrating. 12:51 Yeah, so a lot of toxins can actually contribute 12:54 to mitochondria dysfunction. 12:56 And I think we're just starting to get an idea 12:59 of what some of those toxins are. 13:02 And I think when we think about our environment 13:05 and what's happening with our environment, 13:07 there are so many things that are in our water, our air, 13:10 so many things we're put in our furniture, 13:13 products that we're putting on our face, on our hair, 13:16 on our skin, and all these types of things that are 13:18 really influencing our mitochondria. 13:20 But we also think about all the other components 13:22 of how we live, how we exercise or don't exercise, 13:28 that influence our energy, our mitochondria and their function. 13:31 What we eat can actually influence inflammation. 13:37 And the inflammation actually influences 13:39 the function of our mitochondria. 13:40 And then even the way we think. 13:42 The way we think can influence our mitochondria 13:45 and how our body is able to function. 13:47 And so I think oftentimes we don't give due process to 13:53 all these different components and how they all 13:54 play a role in our mitochondria. 13:56 And a lot of people are walking around fatigued, right? 13:59 And so one of the first things you have to think about 14:02 is, what's happening to the mitochondria? 14:03 Because they're the powerhouse of our body. 14:06 And so this fatigue is really one of the first things 14:10 you go after is the mitochondria. 14:12 Toxins are a bigger deal than we realize. 14:14 What do you think of when you use that word? 14:17 A toxin is defined as any substance that's poisonous 14:20 to an organism. 14:22 But just to clarify, there's actually two words that we use. 14:25 Toxicant is the term used for a toxic substance 14:28 that's introduced into an environment, like a pesticide. 14:32 A toxin is a naturally occurring substance like snake venom. 14:36 But for our purposes, we're just going to use the word, toxin, 14:40 to refer to all of the above. 14:42 And like Dr. Rea said, they are virtually everywhere. 14:46 It can get overwhelming to realize that environmental 14:49 toxins are found in air, cleaners, 14:52 personal beauty products, cookware, even our furniture. 14:56 Rather than tackling it all at once, and giving up, 14:59 start with something simple. 15:01 Like start swapping out cleaning products 15:03 for maybe natural alternatives. 15:05 Reducing processed food in your diet. 15:08 Open the windows in your home so you aren't constantly 15:10 breathing in the off-gassing from our furniture. 15:13 These things can add up. 15:16 It reminds me of a phrase that Dr. Sid Baker, professor 15:22 emeritus of medicine at Yale University, 15:26 as he lectures to his medical students, he would tell them 15:29 about the molecular basis of health and disease. 15:33 And let me actually read what he says about this, he says... 15:50 So he actually condenses health and healing potential 15:56 to two basic key factors. 15:59 And that is, we have to have the necessary elements. 16:02 And those are the nutrients, essentially, 16:04 in the broadest sense of the term. 16:06 We have to have all the right nutrients in optimal amounts, 16:10 or else we're not going to be health. 16:12 And we're not going to be able to initiate 16:14 effective healing process. 16:16 And secondarily, we have to remove the interfering elements. 16:21 Those are essentially the toxins. 16:23 All the things that irritate the body and prevent the body from 16:26 doing what it should do. 16:28 So we have to be really good at how to optimize nutrients 16:32 and how to avoid or remove the interfering elements, 16:35 which are the toxins. 16:37 I like that. Keeping it simple. 16:40 Optimizing what we need and removing interfering elements. 16:44 Got it. 16:45 Environmental toxins are not the only interfering elements. 16:49 Even if we start living clean, we're quite capable of producing 16:52 our own toxins. 16:54 One of the ways we do that is by overeating food 16:57 that is undernourishing. 16:58 What Dr. Youngberg refers to as hyper-caloric malnutrition. 17:04 Now when we think of malnutrition, we think of 17:07 not having enough to eat. 17:09 Hyper-caloric malnutrition, though, is when we're 17:12 over-consuming calories, but the foods we're eating 17:15 lack nutrition; lack nutrients that we need for optimal health. 17:20 The mitochondria and other parts of the cell start malfunctioning 17:24 and we start developing diseases. 17:26 So this is where the hyper- caloric malnutrition comes in. 17:29 When we're consuming too much of refined foods, 17:32 basically sugary foods, or fatty foods, or just refined oils, 17:37 what happens is we get this glut of energy without the necessary 17:42 micro-nutrients that are needed to actually 17:45 metabolize that effectively and keep the body safe 17:48 and doing that. 17:50 The breakdown of food into ATP, energy, actually releases 17:55 a lot of free radicals that have to be properly mopped up. 17:59 So the mitochondria oxidize food into healthy ATP, 18:07 but they do that in a controlled environment that was designed 18:10 by God to be protected with all the other antioxidants 18:14 that we have in our diet, et cetera. 18:16 So when we change the diet, when we refine the diet 18:20 and we consume largely a refined carbohydrate 18:24 or a refined fat, what happens is that the mitochondria 18:28 now have to work harder to produce the ATP. 18:32 They get stressed by the insulin resistance 18:34 caused by the inflammation and all the free radical 18:39 activity that occurs with the excess sugars and fat. 18:43 That overload, that hyper-caloric malnutrition 18:47 will lead to an inflammatory process because of the 18:53 free radicals that are damaging to cells. 18:56 That inflammatory process electromagnetically 18:59 actually causes a resistance to the effect of insulin 19:03 in storing sugar from the blood into the cells. 19:07 And that leads to higher blood sugars. 19:09 Well now what the pancreas does is it just starts 19:12 over-producing insulin to try to correct blood sugar. 19:16 That's why many studies that use healthy young subjects, 19:21 and they say, "Wow, we gave these subjects lots of 19:26 artificial sweeteners for seven whole days 19:28 and it didn't increase their blood sugars at all." 19:31 Well of course not. 19:32 Because what happened in that case, they're young and healthy. 19:35 They just produce a lot more insulin to control 19:39 for that insulin resistance that's caused. 19:42 And that extra insulin lowers the blood sugars 19:44 to what's called normal levels. 19:46 But that is a state of disease of dysfunction 19:50 that will rapidly over time lead to all kinds of problems, 19:55 including cardiovascular disease, neurologic diseases, 19:59 and basically heart attacks, strokes, 20:03 kidney failure, et cetera. 20:06 Remember, mitochondria are literally found in nearly 20:09 every cell of the body. 20:11 And that's why when they aren't functioning optimally 20:14 they can promote the development of different 20:16 seemingly unrelated diseases, but that all have a common 20:20 origin in sub-optimal mitochondria. 20:23 Once you have high lipids or glucose, this can actually 20:26 create this cascade of free radicals that can damage the 20:30 mitochondria and the rest of the cell. 20:32 But how do you affect all these? 20:34 Food, exercise, stress management, sleep. 20:39 It's amazing that if you put people on a high-fat diet, 20:43 this exact thing happens within a few days. 20:47 Their mitochondria are becoming just dysfunctional, 20:51 they are lesser in count, and they're smaller. 20:55 And so this just tells you how powerful the diet is. 21:00 And what's good news is that these processes are reversible. 21:05 We can completely change that. 21:07 We don't need to consume a high-fat diet anymore. 21:11 We can start consuming a plant-based diet, 21:13 and we can turn up the heat. 21:15 By eating more plants, we can turn up the heat. 21:18 I like that. 21:21 When we're talking about turning up the heat, 21:25 brown fat is one of the most important 21:29 organs in the body. 21:31 We know that newborns have brown fat 21:35 to help them with thermogenesis. 21:38 And until a decade ago or so we didn't know really 21:44 where the brown fat disappeared. 21:46 And it seemed like the adults didn't have any brown fat. 21:51 But with technology, we learned that there is still some 21:56 brown fat even in adults, 21:58 although the amount is fairly small. 22:00 Somewhere between one and two ounces of brown fat 22:03 in the neck area and around the spine. 22:07 Now even though it's so small, 22:12 it can really burn a lot of energy. 22:15 So can we activate the brown fat which would help us 22:19 release the extra energy in the form of heat? 22:23 Absolutely, we can activate it. 22:25 But one of the easiest ways of how to activate their brown fat 22:29 is taking a cold shower. 22:32 Cold expose is one of the easiest ways how to 22:36 activate your brown fat. 22:38 Also physical exercise is a brown fat activator. 22:43 Also intermittent fasting. 22:46 And it turns out that there are also some foods that 22:49 may help to activate the brown fat. 22:51 For example, jalapeno peppers. 22:55 But if you don't like spicy foods, 22:58 there's also other foods. 22:59 L-arginine is one of the amino acids found in soy foods, 23:04 but also beans, and nuts, and seeds. 23:07 So plant foods in general may help you activate 23:11 your brown fat. 23:13 And at a cellular level, there is this enzyme 23:18 that's called AMP Kinase which is like a fuel gauge. 23:24 When you drive, it's important to pay attention 23:27 how much fuel you have left. 23:29 And that's exactly the role of the AMPK. 23:33 If it's getting too low, the AMPK gets activated 23:37 and will help us activate the metabolism. 23:40 And that's exactly what we can do with the cold exposure, 23:48 with some plant foods that contain, for example, 23:52 quercetin, with ginseng, with other phytochemicals 23:57 that are rich in plant foods. 24:01 Yes, that is exactly what we want. 24:04 This AMPK fuel gauge is a big deal. 24:08 It's like medicine to your mitochondria. 24:10 And it's one of the keys to longevity. 24:13 It promotes long life by increasing energy production 24:16 and cell repair. 24:17 And when mitochondria produce energy, 24:19 they also produce waste. 24:21 As we age, the cells are less efficient 24:24 at clearing out that waste. 24:25 But when AMP comes along, it takes the trash out. 24:29 AMPK also takes care of the mitochondria when they 24:32 become damaged and it replaces them with new mitochondria, 24:36 which means better energy production. 24:41 I've got to share with you a couple more things about AMPK. 24:44 It's good for your heart, and it increases insulin sensitivity, 24:47 and it improves blood glucose levels. 24:50 It also reduces inflammation. 24:52 So do you remember some of the practical strategies 24:55 that Dr. Kahleova mentioned to stimulate AMPK? 24:59 Cold water exposure. 25:01 You know, after learning about AMPK from Dr. Kahleova 25:03 I was much braver to dip into an ice-cold 25:06 Oregon river this spring. 25:08 Quercetin. 25:09 That's an easier one. 25:10 And it's found in plant-based foods like 25:12 onions, broccoli, blueberries, and apples. 25:15 Although, don't peel your apple, as the quercetin 25:17 is found mainly in the skin. 25:19 Red light therapy is another one. 25:21 And even rosehip tea. 25:24 You can't have health and you can't address disease 25:27 unless you have energy to do that. 25:29 And the only place in the body that creates energy 25:33 that the other tissues, organelles, or cells of the 25:37 body can use mitochondria. 25:40 So mitochondria are the generators of the cell. 25:43 Just like countries will pipe in gasoline 25:48 in order to generate electricity. 25:50 You have no electricity without gasoline. 25:53 Likewise, in our body you have no electrical energy, 25:57 no nervous energy, no energy at all 26:00 without functioning mitochondria. 26:02 And so in order to have even minimal health you have to have 26:07 adequate mitochondrial function and production 26:10 of that currency of energy in the body called ATP. 26:13 But in order to have optimal health, you have to have 26:16 abundant amounts of ATP, but used in the right way. 26:22 Glucose plus oxygen yields carbon dioxide and ATP. 26:30 Okay, that's basically... And water. 26:32 That's that whole thing that's supposed to be happening, okay. 26:37 And it's the ATP, adenosine triphosphate, 26:40 that actually gives you energy. 26:41 Without that, you have no energy. 26:45 So what did we get out of today's episode? 26:48 We've learned that our energy is dependent on good 26:51 functioning mitochondria. 26:53 But we've also learned that our mitochondria 26:55 can become impaired and not work so well for us. 26:58 What hurts them? 27:00 Stress. 27:01 You'll get 90% of my questions right if you answer stress. 27:04 Overeating is another. 27:06 What did Dr. Youngberg call it? 27:08 Hyper-caloric malnutrition. 27:10 Too many calories while at the same time 27:12 not getting enough good nutrition. 27:14 Then there was the environmental toxicants, or toxins. 27:17 That's the big one that we don't give enough credit to. 27:20 Making changes in the products you purchase, 27:22 what you drink your water out of, 27:24 what you cook on, what you put on your body, 27:27 can give your mitochondria a break. 27:30 Elevated blood sugar and blood fat levels 27:32 can damage the mitochondria as well. 27:35 And we learned about our fuel gauge, AMPK. 27:39 I might think about taking one of those cold bath plunges 27:42 after learning more about that. 27:44 Don't miss our next episode where we'll be learning 27:47 how to get pumped. 27:48 Because that's what you were made for. |
Revised 2025-05-05