If you're interested in health and longevity, this book provides a good overview of the role that mitochondria play and how we might be able to improve our health by supporting our mitochondria with lifestyle changes and nutritional supplements. It's fairly technical and probably a tough read if you don't have at least some background in biology, but most of the terms you'll need to know are carefully explained in the text as well as the glossary. The author strays a bit off topic occasionally (I didn't really need his thoughts on science and spirituality in this book), but I appreciated how his humorous comments lightened what might otherwise have been a dry read at times.

I would have preferred to see the text broken down into more than 3 chapters, but there are subsections and the text is organized in a logical way. I particularly appreciated the sections on Discarded Theories of Aging and The Mitochondrial Theory of Aging as well as the very practical recommendations regarding supplementation in Chapter 3. Dr. Know clearly did a lot of research for this book, and he included an extensive bibliography organized by section so that it's easy to find additional sources of information about topics of interest.

I recommend this book for those interested in health and longevity who won't be frustrated by technical discussion of cell biology and metabolism.

I requested and was provided an ARC through Net Galley that I volunteered to review. Because I have not seen the final published version, I cannot comment on the final editing and formatting. The ARC I received had many errors, but it was an uncorrected proof, so hopefully those mistakes have been corrected.

My apologies-I just realized I can't download this book so. Can't review it. Sorry.

Not much that I can say other than, read this book, all of you. The first 40 or so pages, I was questioning my ability to understand the biology/physiology that was being spelled out, but I persisted and it was worth it. I was able to follow it all after I focused and I learned A LOT.

Basically most of our health issues stem or are made worse by our mitochondria not being happy, due to over-eating, toxins from the environment, not enough exercise, etc. Most of these diseases that result from unhappy mitochondria are completely preventable. So it is our own fault we are so sick. We just don't realize that what we are doing/eating/not doing, is slowly and sometimes not so slowly, killing us.

I can't do justice to this book in a simple review. I'm not happy with the author saying exercise is the most important thing, cuz I'm lazy and want to sit and read, not actually, you know, DO things, but he's correct and I can't argue with it.

Also, my FAVORITE thing with non-fiction books happens in this one. SCADS of resources, divided by chapter and sections within the chapters, pages and PAGES, all in ITTY BITTY font, so you KNOW it's packed full of TBR and actual facts.

Again, I can't speak highly enough of this book. I am going to buy copies for friends and family, because they need to read this book too. Everyone does. 5, you really need to get this book and read it right now, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Chelsea Green Publishing for an eARC copy of this book to read and review.

The way life works

Mitochondria dictate life. When you are young, high activity promotes their renewal, providing energy and youth. As you age, they provide less and die off in a vicious circle of decline. Degenerative diseases kick in, and are traceable to mitochondria failure. As one doctor told me about his 90-something father who died – he just ran out of mitochondria. Mitochondria provide body heat, metabolic balance and cell energy. Without them, there is no life.

They have the remnants of their own DNA, which they use to regulate their processes. Duplicate functions were long ago taken over by the DNA of our bodies. There are hundreds and often thousands of mitochondria in every cell in our bodies, from the brain to the heart to the skin. Lee Know’s book Mitochondria and the Future of Medicine explains it all better and more understandably than any other book I’ve read so far. He is enormously enthusiastic about the science and the potential. And he puts it all together very readably.

The book first relates the history of discovery. We are still learning how mitochondria work and contribute, and the future holds huge potential if we can really understand how it all fits together at the quantum and system levels. There follows a shopping list of diseases and the role mitochondria play in them, and a discussion of the chemical compounds you might take to improve mitochondria performance, such as what kind of CoQ10 to look for. With a good, balanced warning about unintended consequences doctors generally won’t go into (or they wouldn’t prescribe damaging statins as the biggest selling drugs in the world – for example).

A sedentary person may eat properly and be slim, but the imbalance from lack of strenuous activity is what causes the system to fail. The fueling by mitochondria continues, causing overload, and leakage of unassigned electrons. These free radicals are signals to the cell that the system is overloaded for the requests it is(n’t) getting for more ATP, our body fuel. The response is to tell mitochondria they are gumming up the works, and to therefore commit suicide. So rather than try to overcome free radicals with antioxidants, the solution is more activity. That causes better mitochondria performance, less electron leakage and fewer free radicals. It allows the mitochondria to perform more efficiently and effectively, and keeps them renewing themselves. Slowing the creation of free radicals (as opposed to taking antioxidants) would slow the aging process. Keep moving.

-Mitochondria are the single most important factor in aging.
-Degenerative disease works the same way as aging. Mitochondria are at the core of both.
-Mitochondria are behind most cardiovascular conditions and even high uric acid conditions.
-Muscles need the fuel ATP to relax, as seen in rigor mortis, where muscles contract and harden once the ATP stops flowing. It takes energy to relax.
-Statins block CoQ10 synthesis. And CoQ10 is the carrier that mitochondria depend on to move the fuel out where it’s needed. Increasing CoQ10 helps get ATP out and reduces free radicals. Low CoQ10 leads to mitochondria death.
-Numerous common medications unintentionally damage mitochondria functions. (There are two pages of drugs listed.) For example, the blue coloring in shaving gels inhibits mitochondria functions.

Mitochondria are the lifegivers for every component of the body, from the skin on in. We live to nurture mitochondria. If you take care and cater to the needs of mitochondria, they will take care of you. It’s how life works.

David Wineberg