Your invisible illness may be because of serious mitochondria dysfunction
Some believe that the root of chronic pain and invisible illness is a crippling of the electron transport chain, lack of energy or mitochondria dysfunction. If you are suffering from an invisible illness your aim is to: reduce pain, get more energy.
Other causes of invisible illnesses are: childhood trauma, chronic physical/psychological stress, unresolved viral diseases, mental and physical injury, depression and childbirth.
Newest research is suggesting that the mitochondria is involved in some forms of invisible illnesses such as Lupus, Chronic Fatigue (CF), Fibromyalgia (FM), Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA), Plantar Fasciitis (PF), Sciatica among many others. Please leave me a comment if I did not mention your condition. I want everyone to feel included; please tell us your story; we’d love to hear from you.
What could be happening in the mitochondria of persons suffering from invisible illnesses
In our previous blogs we detailed the electron transport chain (ETC) and how four key elements CoQ10, acetyl-l-carnitine, magnesium and D-ribose are important for energy production.
Let’s look at you, your cells and your mitochondria.
Something went wrong. With the information you have and the 200+ symptoms you are experiencing, you can make a relationship between a broken ETC and the plethora of confounding symptoms that you are experiencing.
Of course not all of the mitochondria in every single cell involved is damaged, broken or compromised but it’s enough to have you thinking something is wrong and needs to be looked at.
If a single part of energy production goes wrong you won’t end up producing enough Adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Not producing enough ATP is not the only problem; a broken ETC may well be producing the wrong products which could cause a host of other problems on their own. So it’s a double whammy!
Before we get too deep take a look at the Blog on energy production then click back here to continue 🙂
The organs that have the most mitochondria are the heart, liver, brain and lungs. Although not organs, the muscles, sperm and egg cells all have a large amount of mitochondria. These numbers are in the thousands and hundred thousands per cell.
What happens in a broken chain:
- Aerobic respiration
Reduced energy production
1 . Aerobic respiration
This technically doesn’t involve a “broken chain” per say more like a chain that is missing a key component: oxygen, which is the final electron acceptor in the ETC. In aerobic respiration the products are CO2, water and energy in the form of ATP.
BUT…
In anaerobic respiration the products are usually lactic acid, CO2, water and energy in the form of ATP, but it’s not a sustainable system and the final electron acceptor is not oxygen but could be some nitrates or sulfates.
Enter muscle cramps!
This is why your muscles hurt and feel sore after a strenuous activity but after a few days the normal ones of us recover. This also explains the heavy breathing from your body trying to get in as much oxygen as possible to place it in the ETC as the final electron acceptor right after or during the activity.
What about an entire body shut down and full blown exhaustion that lasts for days, months and even years before a diagnosis?
The only possible reason…
2. Reduced Energy Production
If components are missing from the cell then there are fewer electron acceptors that can carry it along the chain then we have an even bigger problem.
There are three places where this could go wrong:
i. Not enough material for the Krebs/Citric acid cycle
ii. Slow electron flow/ free radical formation
iii. Reduced ATP formation
i. Not enough material for The Citric Acid Cycle (TCA)/ Krebs Cycle
Imagine the cell is not getting fed enough materials from your diet for the Krebs cycle. There will not be enough NADH/FADH2 entering the ETC.
Solution: Some Invisible illness sufferers get significant relief from taking carnitine, malic acid, citric acid or NADH/NAD+ (formed naturally in the body from vitamin B3 aka niacin). Others get relief from changing their diets. You can make small introductions such as adding apples and lemon juice that contain malic and citric acid, respectively.
Add carnitine by taking a supplement or introducing more meat. As you see improvements you can include more healing foods and reduce inflammatory foods. If the improvements are too subtle or non-existent then you can explore the other possibility.
ii. Slow electron flow/free radical formation
The reason for the flow of electrons in the ETC is to pump hydrogen into the intermembrane space to create an electrochemical gradient using H+. The flow of electrons is made possible by moving it from one protein to the next to be finally accepted by oxygen in an ionic form, O–. When the electrons don’t flow properly, there is minimal acceptance by O–.
This is called a free radical and it’s looking for an electron so that the unpaired electron it has, which makes it a free radical, can become paired so it’s not a free radical anymore. But if it’s not being supplied by the ETC then it just gets an electron from anywhere around it like DNA and important proteins.
Some of these proteins keep cell membranes together. Destroying these proteins makes tiny holes in these mitochondria cell walls and the free radicals spill out! Continuing the damage along the way. O– is attaching itself to anything, most molecules would rather share than give up electrons and this is when O– begins oxidizing left and right. After a while this destruction could out of hand!
Destroying DNA induces cancer and other dangerous mutations. Compromised cell walls makes it difficult for cells to hold in all the water and contents that it has, including toxins it stores. These free radicals, cell toxins and contents flow freely into the gut, brain, bloodstream, lungs, muscles and you become progressively symptomatic.
One weird symptom after another and you cannot pinpoint the exact cause.
You know you feel that you’ve been poisoned…but by what?
You need something to donate an electron so the O– stops stealing them!
You need an antioxidant!
Solution: There are many foods that are natural antioxidants (like dark chocolate, berries and Kale) and I’m sure you’ve heard of supplements that are great antioxidants too! CoQ 10 has been named a powerful antioxidant, it can take the electrons and shuttle it between proteins in the ETC and eventually to O–. But Good Ole fresh air doesn’t hurt either!
iii. Reduced ATP formation
ATP production is the rate limiting step if all goes well in the The Citric Acid Cycle (TCA)/ Krebs Cycle and the entire ETC flows smoothly..but
Oops!
ATP formation is compromised…you’re out of energy! Just like that. Welcome never ending fatigue!
Your heart, brain, liver lungs and muscles that need LOTS of energy could begin to slow down in efficiency for the sake of saving energy not knowing when you will be replenished.
Solutions: Adding the parts of the ATP molecule to the ETC usually gives sufferers at least 30% more energy! Ribose is a common supplement to the ETC as this is central to the adenine and the three phosphate groups essentially holding it all together.
A magnesium ion holds the two outer phosphate groups stable until it’s needed. Once the outer phosphate is released the magnesium then holds the first and second together. The Adenosine diphosphate (ADP) is usually sent back to the ETC but in some cases it may release more phosphate groups.
Ribose can be purchased as a supplement or found naturally in food such as meat and mushrooms. Magnesium is found as a supplement in many enjoyable forms or in foods such as spinach, almonds and beans.
Fibromyalgia is an invisible illness characterized by a host of symptoms grouped in four main categories:
1. Abnormally fatigued
Feeling heavy, weighted down, post exertional malaise, low energy, no energy, hard to feel “ready for the day”, no motivation to do mundane tasks, no energy to upkeep personal hygiene and general house/office cleaning, unwillingness to spend time with friends and family, unwillingness to participate in social/traditional events.
2. Extreme sensitivity (soft tissue/muscles and joints)
Allodynia/ skin sensitivity, painful back, arms, restless legs, feeling cold,feeling hot, popping joints, rashes, cold hands and feet, morning stiffness, weak muscles, costochondritis, (you’re not having a heart attack!), TMJ, painful joints, headache, heel pain, elbow pain, stomach pain, muscle spasm and twitching, tingling and burning, migrating pain, sciatica like pain, pins and needle-like sensation, cracking popping neck and shoulders
3. Cognitive/Neurological disturbances
Brain fog, seizure like episodes, light and sound sensitivity, fainting, dizziness, Tinnitus, carpal tunnel, sensitive to smells, confusion, depression, anxiety, dropping and bumping into things, spaced out. Difficulty with: speech, intricate tasks, memory, understanding what you read and attention span, following writing instructions. Emotional instability, frequent crying, irritable, panic attacks, suicidal attempts and thoughts, overactive and irrational fears, abrupt mood swings, sensory overload
4. Sleep problems
Sleepy during the day and insomnia at night, frequent wakings/difficulty waking up, over sleeping, non-restorative sleep, teeth grinding, falling sensation in sleep, narcolepsy, easily woken up, vivid disturbing dreams. Find out what five supplements can help manage insomnia here.
5. Systemic disturbances
Sweating, thirsty, low grade fevers, low blood pressure, low blood sugar, heart palpitations, dry eyes/mouth, infection of eyes/mouth, coughing, laryngitis, clearing the throat often, dyspepsia, diarrhea, nausea, craving sweets and carbs, coughing, flu-like symptoms, shortness of breath, vision problems, weight loss/gain, irritable bowel/bladder, gas, difficulty swallowing, lump in throat, menstrual/prostate problems; fertility issues, inferior hair/skin/nails, nose bleeds, leaky gut symptoms
Question: Could some invisible illnesses such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Pain among many others be mitochondria dysfunction?
Answer: Doctors don’t really “know”! But a few are beginning to believe that it just might.
Making Connections
The symptoms above were listed by categories. What if you organized all the symptoms by “organs”?
Would it make sense then?
Here is a list of organs and tissues with a high density of mitochondria
Organ: Heart
Indications: Fatigue/Cardiovascular Irregularities
Symptoms: Heart palpitations, irregular heartbeats, heart “murmur-like” sounds, rapid heartbeat,
Organ: Brain
Indications: Cognitive/ Neurological Disturbances
Symptoms: Widespread pain, memory problems, depression, anxiety, brain fog, fainting, speech problems, emotional problems, noise/light and touch sensitivities, hot/ cold sensitivities, burning, tingling, restless legs, twitching, ticking, low grade fever, TMJ, ringing in ears, feeling dizzy, teeth grinding, vision problems, difficulty concentrating/focus, constochondroitis, sleep disturbances, non-restorative sleep
Organs: Lungs
Indications: Respiratory Complications
Symptoms: Flu-like symptoms, sore throat, laryngitis, nose bleeds
Organs: Liver/(Kidney)
Indications: Systemic Toxicity
Symptoms: Mouth, eye infections, edema, leaky gut syndrome, inflammation, frequent urination, dispepsia, hair, skin and nail problems, allodynia, skin rash, skin bumps, lipoma, dryness, alcohol intolerance
Tissue: Muscle
Indications: Fatigue/Malaise/Inflammation/Pain
Symptoms: Sore muscles, weakness, joint pain and stiffness, sensitive to touch
Cells: Egg and Sperm
Indications: Fertility Issues
Symptoms: Difficulty bearing children; low sperm count, (difficult periods, decreased sex drive prostate pain)*
* Not exactly the sperm and egg but related to reproduction
Does it now make better sense? Are you able to connect dysfunctional energy production with your invisible illness?
List of four supplements to help with invisible illness
There is about 30% more energy waiting for you. These four supplements could change the way your body produces energy.
Take me there!If none of this applies to you there are other causes such as pain sensitivity that are also being looked into as well!
You can examine your own condition!
Most invisible symptoms are medically “un-treatable” but that does not mean you can’t find relief some way or another. Track your symptoms.
Your suffering is unique to you.
First, heal your gut, then, trust your gut. More than likely you’re right!
