If you already have obesity you are suffering from mitochondria disease. The implications are enormous. Mitochondria convert food into fuel as ATP. Inefficient mitochondria function underlies obesity and other chronic diseases. Finally, when you run out of ATP you die.

Mitochondrial disease, also known as metabolic syndrome is a disorder in which genetic factors coupled with over nutrition and inactivity produce unhealthy changes that predispose individuals to metabolic disorders including type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, certain cancers and possibly Alzheimer’s disease. Metabolic disease is diagnosed clinically by the presence of at least three of the following: abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia (fasting glucose > 100 mg/dl), hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia and decreased HDL cholesterol (Thomason, Brantley, Jones, Dyer, & Morris, 1992).

Metabolic changes include hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, and abnormalities in lipid metabolism and mitochondrial gene expression lead to diagnostic criteria lead to the expression of the diseases that follow their appearance by many years (Salisbury, 1998).

The herbal extracts of ginger (Zingiber officinale Roscoe) can reduce significantly reduce elevations in serum cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose and insulin and also in body weight present in metabolic syndrome/ mitochondrial disease. PMID:16359128

CANCER AS A METABOLIC DISEASE

The current theory that cell damage to nuclear chromosomes by mutations in the genomes causes cancer has been overturned.  Current dogma states that “Cancer is a genetic disease—that is, it is caused by changes to genes that control the way our cells function, especially how they grow and divide” (http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/what-is-cancer).

Although cancer metabolism is receiving increased attention, cancer is generally considered a genetic disease New evidence suggests that cancer is a mitochondrial metabolic disease PMID:21376230.  Reseach demonstrates that cancer is a result of damage to the mitochondria in the cytoplasm of the cell rather than from damage to the genome in the nucleus.  Damage in nuclear DNA of tumor cells is a result of the disturbances in energy metabolism and disrupted cellular respiration. PMID:21876558  Metabolic changes and reactive oxygen species are the source of stress in cancer cells, promoting tumor development. PMID:149996

Otto Warburg first proposed that all cancers originate from dysfunctional cellular respiration. PMID:13298683. Cancer can be linked to impaired mitochondrial function and energy metabolism. Aerobic fermentation utilized by tumor cells results from abnormalities in both the content and composition of their mitochondria. PMID:22854814 linked to the discovery that  ultrastructure of tumor tissue mitochondria differs markedly from the ultrastructure of normal tissue mitochondria PMID:20181022 These findings  support Warburg’s central hypothesis that respiration is insufficient in tumor cells. PMID:20804748

Ketogenic diets are being considered in the treatment of disease from cancer to mitochondrial disease. Ketogenic diets are composed of high fat, moderate protein and low carbohydrates, which favor mitochondrial respiration rather than glycolysis for energy metabolism PMID:26782788.

“Mitohondria are the energy-producing organelles of the cell, generating ATP via oxidative phosphorylation mainly by using pyruvate derived from glycolytic processing of glucose. Ketone bodies generated by fatty acid oxidation can serve as alternative metabolites for aerobic energy production. The ketogenic diet, which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, mimics the metabolic state of starvation, forcing the body to utilize fat as its primary source of energy” PMID:25666556.

Malignant brain cancer persists as a major disease of morbidity and mortality despite enormous funding into research for treatments. The failure to recognize brain cancer as a disease of energy metabolism has contributed in large part to the failure in management. Brain tumor cells progress as long as long as the cancer cells have access to glucose and glutamine.  The current standard of care does not block brain tumor access to glucose and glutamine. The high fat low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) targets glucose availability and possibly that of glutamine when administered in carefully restricted amounts to reduce total caloric intake and circulating levels of glucose. Dietary changes are effective non-toxic therapeutic option to the current standard of care for inhibiting the growth and invasive properties of malignant brain cancer.PMID:21885251

Over time mitochondrial stress response leads to abnormalities in DNA repair mechanisms and to the upregulation of fermentation pathways PMID:24004957. A restriction of total caloric intake reduces blood glucose and insulin levels and an elevation in ketone bodies (β-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate). Most tumor cells are unable to use ketone bodies for energy due to abnormalities in mitochondria structure or function PMID:21885251. Ketone bodies can also be toxic to some cancer cells. Nutritional ketosis induces metabolic stress on tumor tissue that is selectively vulnerable to glucose deprivation PMCID: PMC4681500. Metabolic stress will be greater in tumor cells than in normal cells when the body switches from glucose to ketone bodies for energy. The metabolic shift from glucose metabolism to ketone body metabolism creates an anti-angiogenic, anti-inflammatory and pro-apoptotic environment within the tumor mass destroying cancer cells.

The high fat low carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) therapeutic strategy has been used successfully in cancer patients and in preclinical models. Whole body levels of blood glucose and ketone bodies (β-hydroxybutyrate) metabolically stress tumor cells while enhancing the metabolic efficiency of normal cells.

The future of successful cancer treatment will be found in the recognition of the role of the mitochondria in the origin, management, and prevention of the disease. PMCID: PMC4493566

Mitochondrial structure, function and respiratory capacity is defective in all types of tumor cells. This information should be addressed in discussions of cancer metabolism. REPEAT PMID:149996  “Non-toxic metabolic therapy should become the future of cancer treatment if the goal is to manage the disease without harming the patient” PMCID: PMC3941741.

The FDA approved antifungal medicine itraconazole (Sporanox) is being studied as a treatment for cancer due to its potent anti-angiogenic activity. Clinical trials have shown that patients with prostate, lung, and basal cell carcinoma have benefited from treatment with itraconazole, along with beneficial reports of its activity in leukemia, ovarian, breast, and pancreatic cancers. PMCID: PMC4406527. Itraconazole costs about $8 per 100 mg capsules compared to most FDA anti-cancer drugs are priced above $100,000 according to the Harvard Law website..

LOW ATP AND CHRONIC DISEASE

Symptoms of mitochondrial disease resulting in low ATP production include fatigue, a poorly functioning immune system, dementia, depression, ADD, behavior and mood swings, diabetes, skin rashes and hair loss. The production of energy for your body has far reaching implications for your health.  Mitochondrial related muscle degeneration and inherited mitochondrial disease both share similar symptoms. Low ATP production, indicating mitochondrial disease, is found in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, many types of cancer, fibromyalgia, epilepsy and diabetes.

Conditions which interfere with the ability of the mitochondria to make energy result in a variety of symptoms. Mild versions of mitochondrial disease is often a cofactor in deafness, impaired growth, low exercise tolerance and migraine headaches. A buildup of lactic acid and free radicals, along with the lack of energy to run the cell processes, are a result of low mitochondrial function.