I want to go over a brief explanation of mitochondria. We know that that mitochondria play a big role in body metabolism in those individuals with Autism. Mitochondria also play a role in everyone’s health in terms of how our body produces energy. Some individuals have underlying mitochondrial disease, which is usually detected early in life and can even be life threatening. Other people have an underlying mitochondrial dysfunction which may not be life threatening but certainly can be problematic when faced with environmental challenges. If an affected individual gets sick, has a vaccine reaction or has heavy metal toxicity, that can put a lot of stress on the body.

With chronic fatigue syndrome the body cannot produce enough energy so the person is constantly tired. The mitochondria have become stressed to the point where they are not functional. The same thing can happen with those who have Autism, their mitochondria can be dysfunctional and their energy metabolism can become compromised. This can negatively impact everything from the immune system to the nervous system to the detoxification system.

You can envision mitochondria to be little factories that are inside our cells, producing tons of energy. The primary fuel sources for mitochondria are fat and protein. We get a lot of energy byproduct from the metabolism of fat and protein versus sugar for example. The mitochondria are crucial for this level of energy currency production.

An appropriate example to help explain this concept is to think about starting a campfire. In the beginning, you use small twigs and dried leaves, kindling, to start the fire. It burns quickly but will not burn for a long time, similar to the way our body uses sugar or glucose. It can jumpstart the body but will not sustain us. Once you have the fire started you need to add larger pieces of wood to sustain the fire. This would be the fat and protein to help sustain our body for longer periods. Burning sugar is a quick yet inefficient form of body metabolism whereas our body usually burns fat for longer periods.

But, if you start having issues in the mitochondria with their ability to regulate your metabolism, that is when you run into problems. We see this often in Autism where various factors inside the mitochondria become dysfunctional. There are supplements that support mitochondrial function like CoQ10, NADH and ribose. They fuel and feed the mitochondria so they will function more appropriately. You will hear more about mitochondria in the future, they are the energy systems inside our cells. The mitochondria produce energy to keep our organs functioning appropriately and to keep us all healthy.