© by Elizabeth Lee Vliet MD and Kathy Kresnik
All of us have been hearing a lot about mitochondria and the importance of boosting your mitochondrial function to support your overall health and well-being lately. In this post-covid era, it is not surprising that there has been so much focus on the mitochondria due to the extensive and critical damage that the COVID “vaccine’ injections as well as COVID illness have caused especially at the cellular level of our bodies
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It is critical to understand that regardless of whether you 1) just had COVID illness and NO COVID jab, 2) only got the COVID shots and didn’t have the illness, or 3) had both the COVID shot AND COVID illness(es) episode(s), you have underlying damage to your mitochondrial whether you know it or it not.
The mechanisms of mitochondrial damage, which I describe more below, are the same in all three of these COVID-induced damages…except that those who had the COVID shot not only have spike protein damage in all three scenarios, they also have damage due to the toxicity of the Lipid Nanoparticles (LNPs). Medical conditions, chronic illness, sedentary lifestyle, diets high in processed foods, vitamin and nutritional deficiencies, medication side effects and life stress are other factors that damage our mitochondria every day.
BOTTOM LINE, UP FRONT (BLUF): ALL of these situations above cause major mitochondrial damage to our cellular energy machines and lead to many different health problems. So how do you take simple steps to repair, restore and recharge your tiny mitochondrial energy factories throughout your body?
That’s what I want to share with you today…and talk about one of the most exciting nutraceuticals I started taking myself over two years ago, every single day. I have been amazed at the improvements I personally have experienced in mental clarity and overall energy! My patients who followed my advice and added this mushroom-derived “mitochondrial boost” supplement have also reported similar results, as evidenced by their choices to continue including it in their daily routines!
A new study found that “mRNA shots induce severe, long-lasting genetic disruption linked to cancer and chronic disease. It has been confirmed in these new studies that COVID-19 “vaccines” SEVERELY disrupt expression of THOUSANDS of genes—triggering mitochondrial failure, immune reprogramming, and oncogenic activation that can persist for MONTHS to YEARS post-injection. Differential gene expression analysis compared mRNA-injured patients (cancer, adverse events) to 803 healthy controls — revealing widespread transcriptomic CHAOS.”
So, we NOW have confirmation of the warnings I have given over the last four years, since our first “STOP THE SHOT” International Press Conference on August 4, 2021 with over a dozen world experts: the COVID-19 injection damage to the human body has been staggeringly severe on all organ systems—from myocarditis/pericarditis/heart attacks, strokes, widespread blood clots to neurological syndromes including dementia, Parkinson’s, ALS, Guillain Barre and others, in addition to catastrophic damage to our endocrine and reproductive organs and hormones. The experimental gene therapy COVID injections caused severe systemic inflammation, oxidative and immune damage, leaving literally no cells in our bodies untouched.
In fact, HHS Advisor Dr. Steven Hatfill, MD, PHD, confirmed data showed getting vaccinated was MORE dangerous than COVID itself. In a recent interview, Dr. Hatfill said this was probably the reason RFK Jr. pulled grant funding to BARDA for the remaining mRNA grants for mRNA “vaccines” for respiratory illnesses such as flu and COVID. (Dr. Vliet note: ending those grants is the tip of the iceberg – there is still a great deal to be ended in order to fully remove mRNA platforms from the market for other medical uses such as cancer, use in veterinary medicine for domestic and livestock animals, and our food crops).
So this is where begin today’s health tip: where this damage begins – at the cellular level in the mitochondria of every cell in our entire body.
Mitochondria are the “energy factories” of every cell in our body. These tiny powerhouses play a critical role in producing energy, regulating metabolism, and mediating immune responses. It is the mitochondria that convert the food we eat and the oxygen we breathe into ATP (adenosine triphosphate) to fuel the body. Every process in the human body runs on ATP – we need it to stay alive. Our mitochondria don’t just produce energy, they also support immune response, regulate cell death, control calcium levels, and help manage oxidative stress. If your mitochondria are damaged, and you don’t take steps to repair it, your body is slowly starving to death for lack of energy. When mitochondria are damaged the rest of the body suffers – greatly!
Damage from spike protein and lipid nanoparticles in the COVID shot, as well as spike protein damage in COVID-19 illness, disrupt and damage mitochondrial function, which in turn leads to long-term damage in organs throughout the body. Mitochondrial dysfunction is increasingly recognized as a key factor in both the acute severity of COVID-19, the lingering symptoms of long COVID, and the widespread damage to organ systems throughout the body after the COVID shots.
Spike proteins used in the shots have been demonstrated in laboratory settings to impair mitochondrial function in human cardiomyocytes by altering mitochondrial membrane potential, causing calcium overload, increasing oxygen species, and affecting mitochondrial dynamics via the ACE2 receptor. Researchers have also identified abnormal mitochondrial function and gene expression in the heart, kidneys, and liver after SARS-CoV-2 infection, potentially contributing to long COVID.
Mitochondrial Damage: POTENTIAL MECHANISMS by SARS-CoV-2 ILLNESS and COVID INJECTIONS:
- Direct Interaction with Viral Proteins: The Spike protein and some SARS-CoV-2 proteins, including ORF9b, NSP4, and membrane proteins, can localize and interact with mitochondria, disrupting their normal function and structure.
- Disruption of Calcium Signaling: The Spike protein and SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to an increase in intracellular calcium levels, which negatively affects mitochondrial function and integrity.
- Altered Energy Metabolism: The spike protein and virus can alter cellular metabolism, shifting away from efficient oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) to glycolysis, a less efficient method of energy production. This can lead to a decrease in energy availability and an accumulation of lactate, potentially contributing to fatigue and other symptoms.
- Impaired Mitochondrial Dynamics: The Spike protein and SARS-CoV-2 can disrupt the normal balance of mitochondrial fusion and fission (processes that control mitochondrial shape and turnover). This can lead to the accumulation of damaged mitochondria and further impair energy production.
- Oxidative Stress and Inflammation: The spike protein and virus can induce increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), leading to oxidative damage to mitochondria and other cellular components. This can activate inflammatory pathways and contribute to a “cytokine storm,” which can damage tissues and organs throughout the body.
MITOCHONDRIAL DAMAGE AFFECTS MANY BODY SYSTEMS!
- Fatigue and Muscle Weakness: reduced cellular energy production contributes to debilitating fatigue and muscle weakness reported in long COVID and COVID vaccine injury.
- Neurocognitive Symptoms: reduced cellular energy, combined with inflammation, in brain cells cause loss of nerve function leading to symptoms like “brain fog,” difficulty concentrating, and memory problems, dysregulation of sleep, mood and pain.
- Cardiovascular damage: energy production is required for proper cardiac function, and loss of this energy leads to chest pain, arrhythmias, palpitations, fatigue.
- Immune dysregulation: Without adequate cellular energy, the immune response is disrupted, making it difficult to fight off illness and contributing to chronic inflammation syndrome and symptoms like fatigue, low exercise intolerance, and brain fog.
- Increased Disease Severity, Increased Mortality: Mitochondrial dysfunction associated with aging and conditions such as obesity, diabetes, autoimmune disorders, and cardiovascular disease, increase susceptibility to severe COVID-19 illness, damage from the COVID shots, and are correlated with higher mortality rates.
Endocrine Damage and Mitochondrial Function
It seems to me that rarely are doctors talking about the enormous endocrine organ damage from COVID shots and COVID illness – especially estradiol for women, and testosterone for men, thyroid, adrenals, pancreas, parathyroid, pituitary. When these critical endocrine organs are damaged, it means the mitochondria are damaged. In turn, all of these hormones help regulate mitochondria to improve cellular energy production through several mechanisms involving genomic and non-genomic pathways. But let’s look primarily at the commonly overlooked estradiol and testosterone pathways:
Estrogen (primarily estradiol, the primary premenopausal estrogen):
- Estradiol (E2), mainly through its receptors (ERα and ERβ), modulates mitochondrial function by regulating the expression of genes involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and metabolism. It increases the expression of PGC-1α, the master regulator of mitochondrial biogenesis, and downstream targets such as nuclear respiratory factors (NRF-1, NRF-2) and mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM), which promote mitochondrial DNA replication and transcription.
- Estradiol receptors can localize to mitochondria, where they directly influence mitochondrial gene transcription.
- Estradiol enhances ATP production by promoting the assembly and activity of mitochondrial respiratory chain complexes.
- Estradiol reduces oxidative stress by increasing antioxidant defenses (e.g., superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase), leading to lower reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels and improved mitochondrial membrane potential.
- Estradiol regulates mitochondrial dynamics and quality control, including mitophagy, supporting mitochondrial health.
- These effects in total contribute to tissue-specific protective roles in cardiac, vascular, and neural cells, enhancing cellular energy metabolism and resilience.
Testosterone:
- Testosterone acts through androgen receptors (AR), to activate transcription factors such as NRF-1 that enhance mitochondrial gene expression, mitochondrial biogenesis, and oxidative phosphorylation capacity.
- Androgen receptors (ARs) are present both in the nucleus and mitochondria, allowing testosterone to modulate mitochondrial gene transcription directly.
- Testosterone promotes mitochondrial biogenesis by upregulating PGC-1α, TFAM, and related factors, supporting increased mitochondrial mass and function.
- Testosterone protects mitochondrial respiratory chain function from oxidative damage and maintains efficient ATP production.
- Testosterone also modulates mitophagy, helping maintain mitochondrial quality by balancing biogenesis and removal of damaged mitochondria.
- In skeletal muscle and other tissues, testosterone’s regulation of mitochondria contributes to improved energy metabolism, muscle response to exercise, muscle performance, and metabolic health.
Overall, as I have described in all of my books on Hormone Health over the last 40 years, these critical reproductive and anabolic hormones. both estrogen and testosterone, enhance mitochondrial biogenesis, promote efficient oxidative phosphorylation, regulate mitochondrial quality control and dynamics, and reduce oxidative stress, thereby improving cellular energy production and metabolic function.
These hormone-driven effects are mediated through nuclear transcriptional control of mitochondrial-associated genes and direct mitochondrial actions with hormone receptors present in mitochondria. This hormonal regulation of mitochondria plays critical roles in tissue-specific energy metabolism, aging, neuroprotection, cardiovascular health, and muscle function.
Is there ANY “GOOD NEWS” in all this talk of damage? Absolutely!
I don’t like to just describe problems. My goal, and my passion, is to help patients find SOLUTIONS to the problems we face!
The GOOD NEWS is that there are potential therapeutic strategies to help repair and restore mitochondrial function.
My view is that we shouldn’t focus on trying to find some prescription Pharma solution and risk adding more side effects. There are God’s Pharmacy options of Nature’s medicines that we turn to, and that I have been using myself and suggesting for my patients struggling with the fatigue from mitochondrial dysfunction that comes from post-vaccine injury and long COVID and many other medical conditions.
My #1 Favorite Supplement for Mitochondrial Support is aptly named TruMitochondrial™ Boost! It is L-ergothioneine, a vitamin newly discovered in 2006 and derived naturally from fermentation of mushrooms. This is one of the products in our Truth for Health store that I am most proud of, & has consistently been our best seller…because it works!
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