Everyone ages—this a fact of life. But the rate we age differs from one person to another. If you’re like me, you may be interested in ways to slow down aging—and most of these ways involve our mitochondria. But have you ever wondered how to improve your mitochondria?
How to improve your mitochondria? As you age, your mitochondria start breaking down and this causes the telltale signs of aging. Fortunately, there are things you can do to improve your mitochondria to slow down the process of aging. These include taking care of your body, keeping your mind sharp, getting enough sleep, eating healthy foods, and getting in touch with nature.
While you can’t really stop the aging process, slowing it down doesn’t have to be a difficult thing. Your mitochondria play a big role here, which is why it’s useful to learn ways to care for—and improve these cells. Before reading this article, did you know that mitochondria affect aging? Read on to learn more about this and about the ways to slow down aging.
How to improve your mitochondria?
Right now, your body contains billions of mitochondria—small, powerful little engines that keep your body going. While mitochondria are your cells’ powerhouses, there is more to these microscopic wonders than this important function. Mitochondria play a huge role in how you’re feeling, how you work, your ability to focus, how intense you’re able to work out, and more.
But as time goes by, the aging process kicks in and, along with it, your mitochondria start breaking down. When this happens, the signs of aging become visible on your face and the rest of your body. If you want to prevent this from happening, you need to find new ways to stimulate the production of new mitochondria and improve the health of existing mitochondria. The good news is, there are several ways to do this.
Mitochondria are unique cellular components in the body. Scientists believe that these mitochondria used to be independent organisms. The belief is that they started as bacteria and somewhere along the way, they started working together. Over time, mitochondria have evolved in a very special way—they possess their own DNA and they can even produce their own enzymes and proteins. Small as they are, these cellular components are incredible.
Healthy mitochondria that function optimally can provide the foundation for your overall health. They will produce a constant supply of energy your body needs to perform all its functions. But when it comes to mitochondria—the quantity matters just as much as the quality. As the different parts of your body function, they burn energy. When mitochondrial production starts slowing down or the quality of mitochondria being produced by the body becomes weaker, you will experience something known as mitochondrial dysfunction. Many factors can cause this including poor sleeping habits, unhealthy eating habits, exposure to toxins in the environment, and more. This, in turn, hastens the process of aging and the adverse effects of oxidative stress.
When you need a boost of energy, the first thing that may come to your mind is getting a cup of coffee. But if you really want to up your energy levels, you should think about improving your mitochondria. Essentially, the mitochondria are your cells’ miniature power plants. These cellular components of your body take in all of the foods you eat and start breaking these down to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP). You can think of ATP as the “energy currency” your cells use to carry out their functions.
Therefore, you must help ensure the production of ATP by consuming healthy foods that are rich in nutrients. In doing this, you would also be providing your mitochondria with the essential ingredients they require to help you power through each day with some energy left over. When you consume unhealthy foods that contain empty calories, this means that you are feeding your mitochondria poorly. In such a case, you may notice that your energy levels are low and you have to drag yourself throughout the day. Mitochondrial dysfunction doesn’t just cause age-related decline—it’s also believed to play a huge role in cardiac, metabolic, muscular, and neurological disorders.
Suffice to say, if your mitochondria aren’t functioning well, you won’t function well either. This is especially evident as you grow older as this is when the mitochondrial function begins to weaken. This weakening of your mitochondria is one of the characteristics of aging. Research has associated this with a number of medical conditions such as diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, muscular dystrophy, and others. Researchers have established that mitochondrial functions are essential to our overall health. Therefore, they have suggested new ways to maintain or even improve the health of mitochondria to keep them strong and powerful.
While you are still young, you aren’t at risk for developing mitochondrial dysfunction or deterioration. The reason for this is that your body still has the ability to produce specific substances needed to defend and protect mitochondria from free-radicals and their ill effects. But as time causes aging, this natural protection weakens which, in turn, sets up your body for a detrimental cycle that hastens aging and the development of diseases. Because of this process that accelerates rapidly, the mitochondria within your cells start becoming dysfunctional.
Aside from the aging process, other ways may cause the decline of mitochondrial health. One of the more common theories is that the constant presence of free-radicals in the body causes irreversible damage to the cells—and to the mitochondria within your cells. However, more recent research has shown that as long as the number of free-radicals in the body aren’t excessive, they won’t affect your mitochondria as much. Furthermore, certain genetic mutations may be responsible for causing mitochondrial dysfunction and deterioration. These mutations may also be the cause of interference with the processes responsible for producing quality mitochondria.
Current research about mitochondrial health suggests a link between its decline to the absence or lack of the coenzyme NAD+. All living cells contain this specific enzyme that plays an important role in metabolism and other kinds of biological processes. As with the decline of mitochondrial health, the aging process also causes a decline in NAD+. Elderly people who have low levels of this enzyme are more susceptible to age-related diseases. In the same way, elderly people who suffer from age-related diseases also have dysfunctional mitochondria. This shows that there is definitely a connection between the two. Moreover, studies have shown that increasing the levels of NAD+ may help restore the health and functions of mitochondria.
Since mitochondrial function is crucial for our overall health, scientists continue to conduct research ways of improving mitochondria. Some of the most effective ways to do this include taking care of your body, training your brain, getting enough sleep, trying diets that promote ketosis, consuming polyphenol-rich foods, exposure to sunlight and cold, and a process known as grounding—all of which we will be discussing in detail in this article.
As you age, the decline in your mitochondrial function causes several adverse effects such as fat gain, muscle loss, fatigue, a decrease in your cognitive functions, and more. It even makes you look older! But the good news is that you don’t have to surrender to this decline. Making changes in your lifestyle can promote the production of new mitochondria and improve the health of the ones you already have. Now, let’s look at the most popular and effective ways to boost your mitochondria and help slow down the aging process.
1. Take care of your body
One of the most effective ways to improve—and maintain—the health of your mitochondria is by taking care of your body. To do this, you must work on reducing your toxic load. The toxic load within your body causes inflammatory responses in the cells which, in turn, causes your mitochondria to break down. To reduce this toxic load for the benefit of your mitochondria, you may want to consume more foods that are rich in omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids. Also, stay away from packaged and processed foods—instead, opt for whole-foods.
Another thing to remember about mitochondria is that they thrive on energy. This means that the more energy your body needs, the more your mitochondria start working. Because of this, exercising can be very beneficial for you. In particular, high-intensity interval training or HIIT can help boost your mitochondria resulting in a slower aging process. This type of exercise involves alternating short and intense bursts of exercise with short periods of rest. Continue performing this cycle until you’ve exhausted yourself.
While all kinds of exercises produce energy and can give your mitochondrial function a boost, HIIT is especially beneficial for this purpose. HIIT exercises cause cells to produce more proteins for your mitochondria thus, making them more robust. So if you want to slow down your aging process, it’s time to hit the gym to start your HIIT routine.
2. Train your brain
Apart from exercising your body, exercising your brain can help slow down aging too. Training your brain makes your brain cells—and mitochondria—faster and stronger. Have fun with logic games, puzzle books, brainteasers, and more. These help your brain in the same way going to the gym helps your body. To make these activities more fun, you can even get together with friends or family for “game night” where you exercise your brain by solving puzzles and riddles, and competing against each other.
Your smartphone can also help you out with this particular strategy. These days, there are so many kinds of apps and games to train your brain. You can download these and have fun with them during your free time. When it comes to training your brain, the key is to change things up consistently to keep you on your toes. This maintains the health and sharpness of your mind to prevent it from aging and declining.
3. Get enough sleep
A lot of people believe that the brain rests when you sleep—but this is the opposite of what really happens. When you sleep, this is the time when your brain is most active. During this time, your brain works hard to make repairs, clean out wastes, create, and strengthen the connections between brain cells from everything you did and learned for that day. This is why you should get enough sleep each night. Not only that, but you should also make sure that you’re getting high-quality sleep.
Getting enough sleep also improves the health of your mitochondria. When you don’t get enough high-quality sleep, this places a strain on your body while damaging your cells. By contrast, sleeping well provides your body with the time it needs to regenerate so it can function optimally once again. When this happens, the process of aging doesn’t happen as quickly as it normally would. So if you’re not getting enough sleep, it’s time to make some changes to your routine to incorporate this leisurely—and essential—activity.
4. Try new diets
Apart from eliminating packaged and processed foods from your diet, you can also improve your mitochondria by trying new diets—specifically the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting or IF. These diets turn your body into a fat-burning machine that is more beneficial for your mitochondria because they thrive well on ketones—the fuel produced by the body when it burns fat.
The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that allows a moderate intake of protein. This diet is growing more and more popular as a way to lose weight, improve overall health, optimize mental function, and slow down the process of aging. Following the ketogenic diet forces your body to burn fat and produce ketones as its main source of fuel when it is starved of glucose (from carbs). The keto diet is a highly-specific diet that allows you to reach ketosis even without fasting.
Proponents of this trendy diet claim that it helps increase focus, improve concentration, and even helps to ease anxiety. Studies have also shown that this diet helps slow down the progression and development of mitochondrial diseases. This diet offers a lot of health benefits apart from its anti-aging effects. However, it is fairly restrictive, which is why some people find it challenging to follow. The good news is, even if you love carbs and sugar, and you don’t think you can eliminate them from your diet—there is another option.
Another diet you may try is intermittent fasting—which is more of an eating plan rather than an actual diet. Intermittent fasting involves cycling between periods of fasting and eating by following a specific schedule. By definition, fasting refers to abstaining from the consumption of calories or reducing your caloric intake significantly for a certain amount of time. There are different ways to follow intermittent fasting, depending on your own needs.
Fasting offers several mechanisms that enhance the mitochondria which, in turn, leads to anti-aging benefits as well. There are specific fasting protocols that activate pathways such as SIRT and AMPK. These pathways are essential for the enhancement of mitochondrial health. Specifically, these pathways support the production of new mitochondria (mitochondrial biogenesis). Another essential process called “mitophagy” acts as a cleaning house to recycle dysfunctional and damaged mitochondria. Done correctly, intermittent fasting can help support a high-quality, healthy mitochondrial network to slow down your process of aging.
5. Consume foods that are rich in polyphenols
Whether you plan to start following the ketogenic diet or the intermittent fasting eating plan, you may want to consider consuming a lot of polyphenol-rich foods. Each time you take a breath, your body is flooded with oxygen that your mitochondria use to produce energy. Unfortunately, the by-product of this process is free-radicals—the part of the oxygen that can’t be used. Having a few free-radicals in your body can be beneficial for getting rid of weak cells. However, when your body is flooded with them, it causes damage and inflammation to the healthy cells of your body.
Also, high amounts of free radicals in the body can hasten the process of aging. Among all the cells in your body, the ones in your brain are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of free-radicals. To regulate the number of free-radicals in your body, you should start consuming more veggies that contain polyphenols. This is a compound that has the ability to neutralize excess free-radicals before they can cause damage. Polyphenols can be found in brightly-colored veggies. These beneficial polyphenols can also help the body produce more BDNF—a type of protein that creates new cells in the brain.
6. Expose yourself to the sun and the cold
Going outdoors to soak up the healthy rays of the sun can boost your body’s mitochondrial production. Just make sure that you only expose yourself to sensible and safe amounts of sunlight—if you start turning red, that’s too much. While getting too much sun might speed up your aging, getting just the right amount on occasion can go a long way into improving the health of your mitochondria and slowing down your aging process.
Apart from the heat of the sun, mitochondrial production can also be triggered by exposing yourself to quick bursts of cold. You may do this by stepping outside when it’s snowing or when it’s really windy for about half a minute or so. You may also do this by turning on your shower’s cold setting and stepping into it for the same amount of time. Exposing yourself to these quick bursts of cold tricks your body so it goes into survival mode. This, in turn, stimulates mitochondrial production.
7. Consider “grounding”
Grounding—which is also called “earthing”—is a process that involves applying your bare skin to dirt, grass or other parts of the earth. The purpose of doing this is to allow electrons to come into your body so that they can neutralize excess free-radicals. This process may also have a positive impact on your body’s physiological responses. While some people may feel skeptical about this process, there is some scientific research supporting it.
The most significant of these research and studies is a meta-analysis that provided evidence that grounding may relieve chronic pain while supporting restorative sleep. Studies have also shown that this process supports the immune system while promoting the healing of wounds. These same studies noted that grounding has profound positive effects on the body’s inflammatory markers. Whether these studies prove the effects of grounding or not, getting in touch with nature is always a good thing. Grounding allows you to increase your self-awareness, get some fresh air, and give you a better appreciation of the natural world. With all this positivity flowing through your body, this will surely help slow down your aging.
Related Questions
How can I reverse aging naturally?
Aging is a natural process that we cannot stop. But as we have established, you can improve your mitochondria to slow down aging. In terms of reversing the process of aging naturally, there are some things you can do as well. These include taking anti-aging supplements, eating foods that are rich in antioxidants that have anti-aging effects, getting enough sleep each night, and exercising your body—and mind—regularly.
Can you reverse mitochondrial damage?
The short answer to this is—yes, you can. The best thing you can do to reverse mitochondrial damage is to make some changes in your lifestyle. The earlier you do this, the better. If you’re wondering what changes to make, most scientific literature suggests caloric restriction or fasting and exercise.
What supplements help mitochondria?
To care for your mitochondria and allow these cells to thrive, it’s important to follow a healthy diet composed mainly of whole-foods. But if you want to give these mitochondria a boost, there are specific supplements you may take. Some recommended supplements for this purpose include CoQ10, Nicotinamide Riboside, Glutathione, L-Carnitine, Krill or Fish Oil, Alpha Lipoic Acid, PQQ, Magnesium, and Vitamin B Complex.