The Mighty Mitochondria

You may have spent a little bit of time watching the Olympic And Paralympic Summer games in Paris. It is truly something to behold, the various well trained athletes with highly developed skill sets racing and competing on a grand stage. Thus far I have really enjoyed watching the games thus far. The road cycling and swimming events have captivated the attention and imagination in our families household.

Amongst all of our watching and my attempts to limit sheepish cartoon screen time for my children (I will often select something educational to watch and thankfully everyone is interested) we watched this crash course video on the cell . Of highlight was the mitochondria. How it became part of our cells, and what it exactly does in energy generation - its very a very important structure that is becoming to get more and more attention in health and disease processes.

The world of training for fitness and training for longevity has become awash in discussion of “ Low intensity steady state” training, or “zone 2 training” essentially the opposite of “high intensity interval training “ more commonly know as “HIIT.” If you have ever listened to a Peter Attia podcast , you will know what I am talking about.

So where the heck I am going with all of this, mitochondria, olympics and health populations talk? Most recently I was reading this paper on the mitochondria. It highlights the roll of the mitochondria in health and disease, it brings attention to the importance of consistent regular cardiovascular training for metabolic health ( get lots of consistent variable exercise) and has some great quotes such as “ From lessons learned from elite athletes (the perfect human machines), it is possible to translate and apply multiple concepts to the betterment of populations with chronic diseases.” And so to put it all together, watching the games can and should be more than entertainment, it should give us some inspiration to find one, or many forms of exercise that we can enjoy , not necessarily at an elite world class, but at a capacity that supports the health and wellness we are all seeking.