Discover what you should be eating to promote good mitochondrial health. And a couple that you shouldn't. Our list for eating for mitochondrial support.
Most of the energy your cells need to survive is created in your mitochondria, tiny organelles found in almost every cell of your body. Often called the 'powerhouses of the cell', they convert food and oxygen into energy (ATP). These remarkable structures produce about 95% of the energy your cells need to function, playing a key role in cellular health and overall well-being.
Mitochondria are essential for proper metabolic function, and supporting them through proper nutrition can help enhance your energy levels and overall health. So, it stands to reason that eating nutrient-rich foods will give your mitochondria the essentials they need to power you through your day. Feed them poorly, however, and you could be dragging yourself out of bed every morning.
Here are our top mitochondria-targeted foods for powering up your mitochondria, plus a a few that you may want to avoid.
Phytonutrients (aka plant nutrients) are responsible for the vibrant colors found in fruits and vegetables and provide essential vitamins and minerals. Load up on leafy greens and sulfur-rich veggies, like cauliflower and cabbage, which, among its many benefits, will also help your body produce glutathione which many call the "mother" of all antioxidants due to its essential role in cellular health.
We recommend: any vegetable is a good vegetable so you can’t really go wrong here (with the exception of potatoes) but focus on dark leafy greens such as spinach, kale, bok choy, broccoli, Swiss chard, and romaine lettuce. Foods that are particularly rich in key phytonutrients include curcumin (the active compound found in turmeric), lycopene found in tomatoes, apigenin found in parsley and quercetin from onions.
Protein is rich in amino acids, which support the production of glutathione – the body’s master antioxidant that protects mitochondria. Protein is required in your diet to help your body repair and create new cells. It is important to remember with protein that quality is as important as quantity and that you are getting it from a variety of sources.
We recommend: eggs, fish, poultry, beans/lentils, nuts and seeds.
Omega-3 fatty acids help to build up the mitochondria’s protective membranes. These membranes contain the spread of nasty free radical by-products, resulting in less cell damage and more energy.
We recommend: low-mercury wild-caught fish, grass-fed meat, nuts (especially walnuts), seeds and egg yolks.
Healthy fats protect the mitochondria by providing anti-inflammatory support. While the mitochondria can use either fatty acids or carbohydrates to produce energy, doing so with healthy fats is loads more efficient and creates fewer free radical by-products.
We recommend: oily fish, avocado, coconut, olive or flaxseed oil.
Bone broth is believed to contribute to mitochondrial health by indirectly protecting the gut lining and delivering doses of certain types of amino acids that your cells thrive on.
We recommend: any type of bone broth. Mitochondrial health advocate Dr. Terry Wahls recommends adding a splash of vinegar to help draw the minerals out of the bone (magnesium, calcium, zinc, boron, and others). Adding extra seaweed is an excellent source of iodine and other trace minerals.
Our cells use CoQ10 to line the mitochondrial membrane, giving it a secure, defensive barrier that neutralizes free radicals and reduces oxidative stress, helping to protect essential energy production and prevent free radicals from escaping into the main body of the cell, where they can cause damage. Although the body produces CoQ10 naturally, production declines with age.
It’s important to note that foods contain only small amounts of CoQ10, making it difficult to obtain enough from diet alone. Supplements can help, but CoQ10 is hard to absorb due to its large, fat-soluble structure, and even when absorbed, only a small amount reaches the mitochondria. Although the body produces CoQ10 naturally, this production declines with age.
We recommend: organ meats, eggs, oily fish, olive oil, an effective mitochondria targeted antioxidant like MitoQ Mitoquinol.
MitoQ Mitoquinol is a world-first mitochondria-targeted antioxidant that enhances cellular energy and reduces oxidative stress. Unlike CoQ10, it remains stable during digestion, readily crosses biological membranes - including the blood–brain barrier - and is efficiently taken up by cells. Once inside, it accumulates within mitochondria at concentrations up to 1,000-fold higher than outside the cell, where it directly counteracts mitochondrial oxidative stress.
We all know sugar isn’t great for our health, but did you know that if you eat too much of it your mitochondria can’t burn it fast enough for energy. The sugar winds up getting stored as fat and producing damaging free radicals.
You may be surprised by the amount of toxins you consume from pesticides on fruit, vegetables and animal products - pesticide residue can accumulate in the tissues from pesticide containing animal feed. Not surprisingly, this can cause a lot of mitochondria-related damage. When you can, try to buy spray-free, organic, local, pasture-raised (animal) products.
Simple carbohydrates (think pasta, bread, rice) might as well be table sugar to your body since they’re so quickly converted to glucose once digested. Your mitochondria function better on a low carbohydrate diet as they are able to increase energy levels in a stable, efficient, long-lasting way. If you do consume these foods, make sure you eat them with a source of protein and healthy fats to slow the digestion of glucose and minimize the impact on your blood sugar.
We aren’t recommending you stop eating fruit! But we do know that fructose, or fruit sugar, impairs rather than promotes the production of cellular energy. Try to focus on eating ‘whole’ fresh fruits and reduce consumption of juices and products with added fructose syrups.
Food is converted into fuel by mitochondria located within almost every cell in your body. These delicate organelles require the right amount of protein, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals to function properly. We owe it to ourselves to ensure what we put into our mouths is going to be good for us.
