The cells that make up your body have many components called organelles, each with a different function. The nucleus is like the brain of the cell and stores the genetic material. Mitochondria produce energy for the cell. You might remember back in middle school or high school biology class hearing the mitochondria described as the “powerhouse” of the cell.
Think of the mitochondria as the boilers in the engine room on a ship. If you saw the movie Titanic, you’ll remember the workers below deck shoveling fuel into the boilers so the ship could keep moving. Similarly, your mitochondria are like those boilers receiving fuel from the food you eat, so the food can be converted into energy to help your cells and body function efficiently.
Every cell has mitochondria, with the exception of mature red blood cells and some specialized cells. Depending on the tissue or organ, the number of mitochondria per cell varies. High concentrations are found in tissues with a large energy demand, including the heart, brain, retina, kidneys, liver, immune cells, sperm, eggs, endocrine glands, and skeletal muscle.1
Mitochondria are not static within the cell. They can divide through a process called fission, and also merge with adjacent mitochondria in a process called fusion. These processes help eliminate damaged sections of mitochondria, enable mitochondria to merge with newly generated and more efficient mitochondrial components, and support the relocation of mitochondria to areas of the cell with greater energy demands.
How Does Mitochondrial Health Relate to Overall Health?
Because cells are microscopic, it can be hard to understand how mitochondrial health affects the body as a whole. When your cells aren’t producing enough energy, you may feel the effects directly—low energy, fatigue and sluggishness. Simply put, sluggish mitochondria can lead to a sluggish body.
Since physical and mental health begin at the cellular level and mitochondria are important for all organ systems, mitochondrial health is intricately linked with the following:2
- Overall health status
- Energy levels & fatigue
- Muscle function
- Exercise tolerance & endurance
- Weight management
- Cognitive function (ability to focus, concentration & memory)
- Mood
- Visual health
- Hair and skin quality
- Gastrointestinal health
- Cardiovascular health
What Do Mitochondria Require to Be Healthy?
Mitochondria are dependent on several inputs. A nutrient-dense diet, exercise, sunlight, oxygen, hydration—these are all important factors for mitochondrial health.
Within the mitochondria, biochemical pathways require several nutrients, including fats, carbs, protein, B-vitamins, Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10 or ubiquinol), carnitine, magnesium, manganese, iron, and others.2 The mitochondria also use oxygen, which is why humans require oxygen for survival.3 The famous “Kreb’s Cycle,” also known as the “Citric Acid Cycle,” along with the Electron Transport Chain (ETC) generate energy units called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). These energy units are then used by the body to carry out metabolic activities.
90% of ATP is produced by the ETC.2 Ubiquinol, the antioxidant form CoQ10, is a key component of the ETC, helping to shuttle electrons down the chain.4 The electrical gradient that is formed is what helps to generate energy.5 At any given time, cells have around 250 g of ATP, which is the equivalent of 4.25 watts, or the amount of energy in an AA battery. Each day, cells produce around 1200 watts to keep the body running.2
Lower levels of ubiquinol can lead to reduced mitochondrial function.6 This has been tied to a common medication prescribed for high cholesterol—statins. Statins have been shown to deplete CoQ10, which can lead to muscle discomfort. 7
The brain uses 70% of ATP produced by the body, which may help to explain the correlation between mitochondrial function and neurological health.
During ATP production, mitochondria naturally generate unstable molecules called free radicals, or reactive oxygen species (ROS), which can cause oxidative stress and lead to damage of surrounding cellular structures.1,4 This process is natural and the body has built in antioxidant defenses; however, it’s important to have adequate antioxidant protection.
The mitochondria have a protective system but are prone to damage from normal energy production, as well as environmental toxins, poor diet, certain medications, genetic susceptibility, and alcohol.2 Damaged mitochondria produce excess ROS, and over time, this can lead to accelerated aging and increase the risk of future health issues.8 The good news is that the body has innate repair mechanisms, although these mechanisms decrease with aging.
What Else Do Mitochondria Do?
In addition to mitochondria’s energy-producing capabilities, they are also involved in several other physiological processes. These include helping the body make sex hormones like estrogen and testosterone; producing amino acids that make proteins and neurotransmitters; keeping calcium levels in cells balanced, which supports healthy muscles and nerves; sending and managing signals that help cells communicate with each other; helping remove old, damaged, or unhealthy cells through a natural “cell cleanup” process called apoptosis; supporting how cells grow, develop, and take on specialized roles in the body; and helping produce heme, an essential part of hemoglobin that allows red blood cells to carry oxygen.1,9
As mentioned in the previous article, your mitochondria also contain their own DNA, called mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is unique and has different roles compared to the DNA housed in the cell’s nucleus. When in utero, half a person’s nuclear DNA comes from the sperm’s nucleus and half from the egg; however, when it comes to mitochondria, mtDNA is inherited entirely from the mother. mtDNA is highly susceptible to mutations. It is thought that mutations to the mtDNA contribute to the aging process.10
Mitochondria: Did You Know?
- The number of mitochondria in a cell varies. A mature red blood cell has zero, while a liver or muscle cell has thousands of mitochondria.1 A heart cell is made up of 40% mitochondria!10
- Mitochondria produce around 50 kilograms of ATP daily. This means that even when you’re sitting comfortably, you’re converting 10,000 times more energy than the sun does each second.10 When exercising, the body can produce 0.5 to 1.0 kg of ATP per minute!2
- The brain uses 70% of ATP produced by the body, which may help to explain the correlation between mitochondrial function and neurological health.2
- Since mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is inherited through your mother, scientists can trace maternal ancestry back to an original “Mitochondrial Eve”, a woman who lived in Africa roughly 200,000 years ago. Tiny variations in that mtDNA formed distinct maternal lineages called haplogroups, which scientists now use to map ancient human migrations across the globe.11
- Mitochondria are thought to have evolved from bacteria, since they are structurally and genetically similar. Since they are structurally and genetically similar, mitochondria are thought to have evolved from bacteria. The endosymbiotic theory posits that an ancestral host cell engulfed a bacterium, which provided nutrition, while the bacterium generated energy (ATP). Eventually, the engulfed bacteria became the mitochondria of the cell.3
- Mitochondria were discovered in 1856 by the Swiss scientist, Albert von Kolliker, and later named in 1898 by the German scientist Carl Benda.
References
- Moura JP, Oliveira PJ, Urbano AM. Mitochondria: An overview of their origin, genome, architecture, and dynamics. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. Jun 2025;1871(5):167803. doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2025.167803
- Pizzorno J. Mitochondria-Fundamental to Life and Health. Integrative Medicine (Encinitas, Calif). Apr 2014;13(2):8–15.
- Roger AJ, Muñoz-Gómez SA, Kamikawa R. The Origin and Diversification of Mitochondria. Current Biology. Nov 6 2017;27(21):R1177–r1192. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2017.09.015
- Deshpande OA, Mohiuddin SS. Biochemistry, Oxidative Phosphorylation. StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing LLC.; 2026.
- 1-Moura JP, Oliveira PJ, Urbano AM. Mitochondria: An overview of their origin, genome, architecture, and dynamics. Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis. Jun 2025;1871(5):167803. doi:10.1016/j.bbadis.2025.167803
- Yubero D, Allen G, Artuch R, Montero R. The Value of Coenzyme Q(10) Determination in Mitochondrial Patients. Journal of Clinical Medicine. Mar 24 2017;6(4)doi:10.3390/jcm6040037
- Mollazadeh H, Tavana E, Fanni G, et al. Effects of statins on mitochondrial pathways. Journal of Cachexia, Sarcopenia and Muscle. Apr 2021;12(2):237–251. doi:10.1002/jcsm.12654
- Navas P, Villalba JM, de Cabo R. The importance of plasma membrane coenzyme Q in aging and stress responses. Mitochondrion. 2007 Jun;7 Suppl:S34-40. doi: 10.1016/j.mito.2007.02.010. Epub 2007 Mar 16. PMID: 17482527.
- Lejri I, Grimm A, Eckert A. Mitochondria, Estrogen and Female Brain Aging. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. 2018;10:124. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2018.00124
- Srivastava S. The Mitochondrial Basis of Aging and Age-Related Disorders. Genes (Basel). 2017 Dec 19;8(12):398. doi: 10.3390/genes8120398. PMID: 29257072; PMCID: PMC5748716.
- Ienco EC, Simoncini C, Orsucci D, et al. May “mitochondrial eve” and mitochondrial haplogroups play a role in neurodegeneration and Alzheimer’s disease? Int J Alzheimers Dis. Feb 22 2011;2011:709061. doi:10.4061/2011/709061
