“What I want to share is that there’s a lot of Energy
available inside if you know how to find it, fan it,
and keep some oxygen on it.”
— Tim McGraw, from Introduction to Grit & Grace
Energy production in the body can be a complex subject that uses a lot of technical language. I want to keep this as simple as possible so I will try and use only two technical words: Mitochondria and Adenosine Triphosphate which is commonly referred to as ATP. As for the use of the term Energy in this article, I will be referring to primarily as Physical/Biological Energy. This article is about the source of the physical energy available to you in your body.
The field of study about the biology of energy transformations and exchanges within the body and between the body and the environment, is called BIOENERGETICS.
Energy is your body’s capacity to do the things you want it to do. No matter how powerful your motivation or how strong your self-discipline, if you don’t have the CAPACITY to do those things you want to do, they won’t get done by you. So If you master your ability to produce energy, you will control your experience of aging and of feeling alive!
So what is the process of producing energy? Your body has an incredible system that converts the fuel you give it into pure biological energy.
In every cell of your body, there are tiny “furnaces”. These “furnaces” are called Mitochondria. You may have heard the term in High School Biology Class, and you may have heard the term in advertisements for supplements and other products that allegedly turn on your Mitochondria to fire up more energy.
The primary role of Mitochondria is to break down nutrients to generate an organic molecule called ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP is produced by the conversion of the nutrients in your cells based on the fuel you have consumed. The ATP is a cellular structure that supplies the energy for many biochemical processes such as muscle contraction for body movement and other cellular processes.
ATP is renewable based to some degree on the rate you use oxygen in your physical activities. It is continually being produced.
Short Version
Food > Digestion > Bloodstream > Cells (Mitochondria within cells) > Converted to ATP for Biological Energy storage and use for bodily functioning.
Mitochondria and Aging
According to Dave Asprey, creator of Bulletproof Coffee and author of The Bulletproof Diet, when mitochondria don’t make as much energy (ATP) as they should from food and air, it is called Mitochondrial Dysfunction. He goes on to say that if you are over age 40, you have Mitochondrial Dysfunction — He says it’s called AGING.
But Asprey says that your mitochondria “listen” to the environment around you. He says that if you can “change the signal” they get by MOVING MORE, SUNSHINE, AND EATING FAT FOR FUEL, “you can change the way your cells make energy — which changes the energy you have to be you.” What a great way to say it. The FAT FOR FUEL part may not suit your nutrition mindset, but a balanced diet including lots of protein and some fats are certainly a consideration.
I hope the above has helped you understand where your energy comes from. It should make clear the importance of moving your body, eating right, and otherwise taking care of that body that “is you”. If you have comments, questions, or even a differing opinion, feel free to email me at bob@thecomealiveproject.com.
Thank you for reading.