[0:00]Hello, I'm Dr. Steven Gundry. Today, I want to talk about probably one of the most exciting new areas of health, and that is how to make your mitochondria work better. And it all revolves around the idea that we can repair and even grow new mitochondria in our body. What are mitochondria? Mitochondria are these energy-producing organelles that are in almost every cell of your body. You have a few cells like your red blood cells that don't have mitochondria, but everything else is chock-full of mitochondria. And the more mitochondria you have and the more efficient those mitochondria are, the healthier you are. And mitochondria really are what separate life from non-life, and it's what separates vibrant, healthy life from a slow, painful descent into aging. And we used to think that the mitochondria that we were born with were the mitochondria we had and that as we got older, mitochondria just got old, they got inefficient, and we really couldn't do anything about it. And that was just part of the aging process, and that was just part of how we became less efficient at producing energy, and we became less efficient at doing everything that our body was designed to do. But that research has really been turned on its head, and it's a very exciting area now because we now know that we can do some amazing things with mitochondria. First of all, we can repair damaged mitochondria, and secondly, we can actually make new mitochondria in our body. And that process is called mitochondrial biogenesis, which is a big word for making new mitochondria. Now, why is this important to you? Well, remember, mitochondria produce about 90% of the energy in your body. And without efficient energy production, your cells, your organs, your body as a whole, can't operate efficiently. In fact, when we look at why people age, when we look at why people develop chronic degenerative diseases, it really all comes down to mitochondrial uncoupling. And that's a sophisticated word to say that your mitochondria aren't working right. And when they're not working right, then your body is not working right. So, how do we make mitochondria work better? How do we repair mitochondria? And how do we actually make new mitochondria? Well, we have to go back to what mitochondria are supposed to do. Mitochondria are designed to burn fuel, and that's their main purpose. And traditionally, we think that mitochondria burn sugar, glucose, as fuel, and they do. But mitochondria also have the capability of burning fat as fuel, and this is a really important distinction because when mitochondria burn sugar as fuel, they produce a tremendous amount of exhaust fumes called free radicals. And this is literally an oxidative burst, just like burning gasoline in your car produces exhaust fumes, it produces carbon monoxide, it produces all sorts of free radicals that come out the tailpipe of your car. Well, your mitochondria burning sugar produces a lot of exhaust fumes. When your mitochondria burn fat as a fuel, they burn much cleaner. They produce almost no exhaust fumes, almost no free radicals. And this is a really important concept because you can imagine that a dirty burning fuel source like sugar is going to gum up the works in your mitochondria. And that's exactly what happens. And people who are sugar burners, which is most of us in Western society, have inefficient, damaged, old mitochondria that just don't work very well. And the key to repairing and making new mitochondria is to become a fat burner. And one of the main ways to become a fat burner is to stop eating sugar, to stop eating simple carbohydrates that are just chains of sugar, and to eat healthy fats. So that's number one, to become a fat burner. Number two, to make new mitochondria and repair mitochondria, you actually have to make your mitochondria work. And mitochondria work through exercise. One of the best ways to get mitochondrial biogenesis is to exercise, and you actually have to push your body to exercise. So if you're out walking, for instance, and you're just kind of strolling along, you're not going to get a lot of mitochondrial biogenesis. But if you take that stroll and then for 30 seconds you sprint as fast as you can, and then you go back to strolling for a few minutes, and then you sprint again for 30 seconds, this high-intensity interval training, or HIT training, is an absolutely phenomenal way to make new mitochondria and repair damaged mitochondria. And I do this with my patients all the time. Even people in their 80s and 90s, we have them get on a stationary bike, and they'll ride the bike for three minutes, and then they'll go as fast as they can for 30 seconds, and then they'll go slow again for three minutes, and they'll do that four times. And it makes a huge difference in their mitochondrial health. The third way we make new mitochondria and repair mitochondria is through eating particular foods, and this is another exciting area. Mitochondria are particularly sensitive to polyphenols, which are plant compounds that give plants their vibrant colors. So things like dark chocolate are rich in polyphenols, berries are rich in polyphenols, leafy green vegetables are rich in polyphenols, all of these polyphenols actually make your mitochondria much more efficient. And we actually call these xenohormetic molecules because they tell the mitochondria, hey, work harder, work better. The other important way to make new mitochondria and repair mitochondria is through fasting. And fasting, particularly for 12 to 16 hours a day, has been shown to absolutely ramp up mitochondrial biogenesis. What happens is that when you're not eating, you tell your body, hey, it's time to clean house. And your body will actually start getting rid of old, damaged mitochondria, and it'll replace them with brand new, healthy mitochondria. We even call this mitochondrial autophagy, which means eating yourself, eating old mitochondria. So by doing intermittent fasting, you're actually creating new mitochondria and repairing old mitochondria. So in summary, mitochondria are where it's at. And if you want to be healthy and vibrant for a long time, take care of your mitochondria. Number one, become a fat burner, stop eating sugar. Number two, get some exercise, particularly high-intensity interval training. Number three, eat foods that are rich in polyphenols. And number four, do some intermittent fasting for 12 to 16 hours a day. I'm Dr. Steven Gundry, and I hope this has been helpful.