Why do you feel the way you feel? Five main factors that impact your energy on the cellular level
Metabolic diseases are on the rise, but even if you haven’t been diagnosed with obesity, type 2 diabetes, or metabolic syndrome, you might still be experiencing symptoms like fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, inflammation, or chronic pain. These issues could indicate that your cells are struggling to extract and properly utilize energy from the fuel you provide them. Why is this happening?
Casey Means, MD and author of “Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health,“ writes: “The problem, simply stated, is a mismatch. The metabolic processes that run our bodies evolved over hundreds of thousands of years in a synergistic relationship with the environment around us. But those environmental conditions around the cells of our bodies have profoundly and rapidly changed in recent decades. Starting with our diet, yet including our movement patterns, our sleep patterns, our stress levels, and exposure to non-natural chemicals, things are not as they once were. The environment for the cells of the average modern human is now radically different from what the cells expect and need. This evolutionary mismatch is tipping normal metabolic function into dysfunction: Bad Energy.” (1)
There are five main factors that impact our energy on the cellular level:
1. Chronic overeating combined with nutrient deficiencies
Most of us consistently consume more food (particularly sugar) than our bodies require for energy while also not getting enough essential nutrients. We eat, on average, 20% more calories than we did 100 years ago, all of which the body must process but often cannot. Things get backed up, which creates a strain on many processes within the cell, blocking its ability to do normal activities.
Despite this excess in supply, the body may not receive the necessary vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients it needs to function properly if the food consumed is lacking in essential nutrients, often seen in diets that focus on high-calorie but low-nutrient foods (such as fast food or processed snacks). The food might also lack vitamins (e.g., vitamin D, vitamin B12), minerals (e.g., iron, magnesium, calcium), and other essential compounds that are necessary for proper cell function. When combined, chronic overeating and nutrient deficiencies can lead to a paradoxical situation where a person is overfed in terms of calories but underfed in terms of essential nutrients. This can significantly harm the body’s metabolic function, immune system, and overall well-being. It may also increase the risk of developing chronic conditions like metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, and mental health issues such as depression or anxiety.
2. Lack of movement and resulting loss of muscle
Movement sends a signal to the cells that they need to produce more energy for the muscles to do their work, which stimulates mitochondrial function. Without movement, the efficiency of mitochondria decreases, leading to a reduced ability to produce energy and affecting the body’s overall energy balance.
Muscles also play an essential role in maintaining overall metabolism because muscle tissue burns more calories at rest than fat tissue. Lack of movement leads to loss of muscle mass, which can further decrease the overall metabolic rate. Regular exercise also has anti-inflammatory effects, helping to reduce chronic low-level inflammation that can contribute to metabolic diseases.
3. Chronic stress
During prolonged periods of chronic stress, your body releases large amounts of cortisol (stress hormone). Cortisol can both directly damage mitochondria and lead to fewer mitochondria within the cell, which results in less energy production.
Cortisol also contributes to the production of free radicals, the highly reactive atoms that can damage nearby cells, proteins, and DNA and lead to oxidative stress, which is associated with aging and various diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders.
4. Sleep deprivation and distortion of circadian rhythms
Mitochondria rely on rest to maintain optimal function. During sleep, the body repairs and regenerates cells, including those of the mitochondria. Sleep deprivation disrupts this process, leading to reduced mitochondrial efficiency in energy production.
As a result, cells may have lower energy availability, leading to fatigue, reduced performance, and overall exhaustion.Insufficient sleep can also lead to oxidative stress and increased inflammation. This can create a vicious cycle where mitochondrial dysfunction exacerbates inflammation, which in turn further damages mitochondria.
5. Environmental hazards that enter our bodies through our mouths, noses, eyes, ears, and minds
Our environment is filled with various toxins, including air and water pollutants, heavy metals, pesticides, plastics, and synthetic chemicals, that enter our bodies through our mouths, noses, eyes, and skin. All of them can negatively impact our health and wreak havoc on our mitochondria.
Our mental environment can be toxic as well due to factors like negative self-talk, toxic relationships, excessive media exposure, unresolved trauma, negative work environments, or social isolation. Just like physical toxins, negative mental and emotional influences can affect our energy and harm our well-being.
There are other factors that might impact our energy, of course, but at least we have some control over the five factors above. None of this is rocket science. We frequently hear lifestyle recommendations like “eat better, exercise more, minimize stress, get enough sleep, and manage exposure to toxic environments,” yet how consistently do we actually follow them? On a daily basis, we find reasons why it’s not possible to do these things today, and then the same excuses repeat tomorrow, and the day after, and so on. The cumulative result is that our cells become increasingly exhausted from the strain we place on them.
Casey Means, MD, summarizes it this way: “Disease isn’t some random occurrence that might happen in the future. It is a result of the choices you make and how you feel today. If you are battling annoying and seemingly non-lethal health issues—like fatigue, brain fog, anxiety, arthritis, infertility, erectile dysfunction, or chronic pain—an underlying contributor to these conditions is generally the same thing that will lead to a “major” illness sometime later in life if nothing changes in how you care for your body. This information stings and can be scary, but it’s crucial to convey: if you ignore the minor issues as signs of Bad Energy brewing inside your body today, you could get much louder signals in the future.” (1)
What signals is your body sending you today? And how can you use yoga to reframe your thinking about the energy flow into, within, and out of your body? We will talk about it next time – tune in!
References
- Good Energy: The Surprising Connection Between Metabolism and Limitless Health by Casey Means, MD
- Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology by F. H. Martini
