In the months ahead I will begin to teach you about mitochondria – the amazing “power plants” that produce the energy that powers your brain cells. Our brains consume enormous amounts of energy! While the average brain only makes up about 2% – 3% of our body’s mass, it must produce about 25% of our body’s entire energy supply. Mitochondria, tiny little energy-producing “organelles” (they are like a cell within a cell), play an important role in mood disorders such as major depression and bipolar disorder, where there is a growing body of evidence that they are not sufficiently powering the brain cells in patients suffering from these conditions. Therefore, anything that further interferes with the energy production of the mitochondria is important to identify. Today, you can learn about the effects of certain antibiotics that interfere with mitochondrial energy production by reading this blog posting by Dr. David Perlmutter, a prominent neurologist. In the future we will explore many different environmental stressors that negatively influence mitochondrial energy production, and how to correct them to improve how you feel and function!
