Mitochondrial DNA

As you know, all human beings are is “energy,” and the mitochondria are the “energy factories” of the body, several thousand of which are in nearly every body cell. Their job is to process oxygen and convert substances from the food you eat into energy. Mitochondria produce 90 percent of the energy needed for the brain and body to function, stored as ATP. According to the Cleveland Clinic, mitochondrial diseases are usually inherited genetic disorders that occur when the mitochondria fail to produce enough energy for the body to function properly. Estimates are that one in 5,000 individuals has a genetic mitochondrial disease. Sometimes the mitochondria mutate and disease occurs that is not inherited. (Mitochondria DNA seems to mutate more frequently than chromosomal DNA.) Any cell in the brain and body can be impacted and depending upon the location of the affected cells, symptoms can differ—and some individuals have no symptoms whatsoever..