Madison Area Lyme Support Group

Major Update: 2/9/24

Marty Ross, MD Discusses Mitochondria Energy

Mitochondria Create Cell Energy

It is possible to improve your energy and fatigue in chronic Lyme disease, tick-borne infections, mold toxicity, and other illnesses by improving the function of the cell power factories called mitochondria. For many with fatiguing illnesses, the mitochondria get injured and do not produce enough energy. However, there are effective steps that fix the damage and give energy back.

Mitochondria are the energy factories found in every cell in the body. By some estimates, there are nearly 400 per cell. In chronic Lyme disease or in toxicity issues, due to oxidative stress the mitochondria can be injured, leading to fatigue that will not improve. In oxidative stress, chemicals build up that can damage membranes and even the DNA genetic material of mitochondria.

As power factories, mitochondria create a type of cell fuel called ATP. The fuel sources for mitochondria are fat and sugar, and both need to be transported to the inside of the mitochondria. ATP is created when fat and sugar are burned through several chemical reactions called the citric acid cycle and another process called oxidative phosphorylation.

Transport of fat and sugar into mitochondria requires a healthy mitochondria membrane. Oxidative phosphorylation also requires a healthy membrane. When the membranes are injured through oxidative stress, sugar and fat fuel sources for ATP cannot reach the inside of the mitochondria. Electron transfer in oxidative phosphorylation that leads to most ATP production is also blocked. Mitochondria membrane injury leads to low cell ATP and thus, fatigue. (See link for article and video)

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For more:

• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/20/minding-your-mitochondria/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/08/wahls-protocol-impact-of-diet-nutrition-in-ms-other-neurological-diseases/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/11/08/study-showing-mitochondrial-disease-symptoms-hastened-by-lyme-infection-possibly-worsened-by-treatment-patient-had-genetic-polg-mutation/
• https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/11/15/living-with-lyme-bones-mitochondria-hypoxia-the-calcium-connection/