Is Mitochondria.
Mitochondria is the primary energy-producing units within almost every cell of your body. This allows your body to use nutrients, such as carbohydrates and fats, and convert them into energy that can be used to power your everyday activity. Their health determines the wellness of our tissue and organs, while their dysfunction can cause life-threatening conditions.
Dr. Iñigo San Millán, former competitive cyclist and assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, recently published his findings in Antioxidants (April 2023), ‘The Key Role of Mitochondrial Function in Health and Disease’.
He reinforced that mitochondrial function is key in health and disease. Mitochondrial function refers to the various roles and activities that mitochondria perform within a cell.
Mitochondria are referred to as the ‘powerhouses’ of the cell because their primary function is to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the cell’s main energy currency, through a process called oxidative phosphorylation.
“Fatty acids can be converted to energy ONLY in the mitochondria”
Iñigo San Millán
Exercise continues to be the only known stimulus for the maintenance and improvement of mitochondrial function.
Athletes with optimal mitochondrial health burn fuels and recycle lactate, a byproduct produced in the body during vigorous exercise, more efficiently.
Excerpt for WTGR readers:
Slow Jogging Rules
My business partner, mentor, and friend, Dr. Mark Cucuzzella, co-founder of Natural Running Center, coach of U.S. Air Force marathon running, and author of ‘Run For Your Life: How to Run, Walk, and Move Without Pain or Injury and Achieve a Sense of Well-Being and Joy’, is a big believer in “slow jogging” as a foundation for fitness and health.
Dr. Cucuzzella has written about how Dr. Hiroaki Tanaka, Japanese running guru and author of ‘Slow Jogging: Lose Weight, Stay Healthy, and Have Fun with Science-Based, Natural Running’, has changed his life, and his message now is being shared with the U.S. Air Force to help create injury-free and more fit Airmen.
With slow Jogging, Dr. Tanaka is expanding on the same foundation that Bill Bowerman, Track & Field coach (University of Oregon and US Olympics Track), co-founder of Nike, and author of 1967 bestseller, ‘Jogging’, established, and millions of Americans followed.
Easy running is the best way to train the cardiac, respiratory, and circulatory systems.
Bowerman defined jogging as steady or easy-paced running, while alternating with breath catching between periods of walking.
Ironically, Zone 2 training or slow jogging is an alternative to No Pain, No Gain… and the holy grail of stamina.