Fatigue, Pain, Slow to Recover. Sound Familiar?

Hello everyone, it’s good to have you.

Let’s talk about a common denominator in most diseases that plague our modern society.

I’m talking about energy production within our cells. Or rather lack thereof.

Do pain, fatigue, degeneration and lack of normal recovery all sound familiar?

These are all similar findings in many of our ‘modern illnesses’. Fatigue alone is probably the most common complaint heard by many primary physicians.

I’m not talking about your normal, “I didn’t sleep well last night”, fatigue.

I’m talking about the, “I don’t feel myself and I can’t function normally for my family or job responsibilities”, fatigue.

Every one of these complaints, as frequent as they are, are becoming more and more frequent even among the young.

So what’s going on and what is this common thread I speak of?

We have little energy generators in each of our cells that work continuously to provide the energy for daily living, work, exercise and nightly repair of our tissues.

The Mitochondria are the little powerhouses that produce life giving energy. And they actually have their own DNA that we get from our Mothers. Fascinating.

Well, these little mitochondria are extremely busy and need constant attention. They have their own individual requirements as far as nutrition and waste handling.

As you could probably guess, they need higher amounts of nutrition than other parts of the cell and produce more waste than other parts too.

To top it all off, they are very sensitive to the environment within the cell and outside of the cell.

What does this all spell for our health and disease?

Here are some facts about these little guys:

1.  They require high amounts of Vitamins for making energy. Our poor diet and vitamin deficient food supply lack critical amounts of B Vitamins.
2. They require specific Minerals that are attached to the enzymes that make the energy. No minerals, poor energy output. Magnesium and Zinc are the most common mineral deficiencies that I see. Both are required by the Mitochondrial powerhouses.
3. They are extremely sensitive to Toxins. Toxins in our environment and in our food block these energy pathways. Energy is needed to remove toxins. Double whammy.
4. They are sensitive to Heavy metals. The toxic metal Cadmium will gladly take the place of Zinc if we don’t have enough. (To our major detriment of energy production and health)
5. They are influenced by the Thyroid gland. If we have a Low Thyroid we will have fewer Mitochondria working for us and will have poor energy and poor cellular repair. Sound familiar.
6. They are critical to high energy output cells like our Heart muscle. Our heart beats close to 100,000 times a day. Heart medications are notorious for blocking heart energy!
7. They are influenced by Stress hormones that block their ability to produce energy. Does that sound familiar also?

I point all of this out since there are many reasons to have our energy production blocked.

Cellular energy is critical to overcome any disease. Are chronic diseases on the rise?

Many times we only have to look as far as our Mitochondria and their ability to give us the energy that we need.

Remember, Functional Medicine’s job is to do 2 things fundamentally.

1. Find out what is in the way of our health and our body’s ability to provide health.
2. Find out what is missing in the body that is keeping it from functioning optimally.

The body is extremely intelligent and will do what it has to, to survive.

Not enough Sulfur, the body will rob it from your joint tissue. Arthritis.

Not enough Magnesium and you body will rob it from your bones to make sure it has enough to survive another day. Osteoporosis.

What’s going on with your health?

Think about that little powerhouse that is working overtime for you.

Share this message with those that you care about.

Cheers and good health, Dr. Bill.