Mitochondria, the smallest components of your cells, are also called the body’s power plants because their main job is to produce energy for everyday challenges. Specifically, they are responsible for the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the energy carrier that all our cells need to function adequately. Depending on the energy demand, there is not only one mitochondrion per cell, but thousands. In a single heart muscle cell, up to 5,000 mitochondria are at work; in the female egg cell, there are as many as 100,000 mitochondria. If the mitochondria do not function properly, diseases can occur, which are called mitochondriopathies in technical jargon. Initial complaints are usually fatigue, lack of energy, listlessness and exhaustion.

“Essentially, four pathomechanisms are responsible for the development of chronic diseases: inflammation, chronic metabolic acidosis, mitochondriopathies, and regulatory disorders of the autonomic nervous system.”

Stephan Bortfeldt, MD, Hanover, Germany