“Many of these [causes] are uncontrollable, such as age and environment,” Menolascino said. “But plenty are within our control such as diet, exercise, and sleep. The biggest and most common contributors to cell stress are free radicals, which increase with age, poor lifestyle choices, and some health issues.” According to Menolascino, “Stress at the cellular level is really all about these mitochondria and how they utilize food sources for energy to help the cells respond” to potential challenges (aka, stressors) like free radicals. He described that as our mitochondria generate cellular energy, they also generate free radicals. When free radicals accumulate1, they can induce oxidative stress (much like an apple browning as it’s exposed to oxygen), which is the biggest contributor to cell stress. Oxidative stress can accelerate the aging process and affect our health trajectory2—in other words, we want to show free radicals the door, and that’s where antioxidants come in.* “Antioxidants are the sponges that mop up these excess free radicals so that you have optimal energy production without the free radical side effect,”* said Menolascino. But, “our body’s levels of naturally occurring antioxidants, which help to control free radicals, decrease as we age,” he described. Plus, “Regular antioxidants are very inefficient because of their low bioavailability and inability to effectively get into mitochondria.” “As a physician and scientist, it is very easy for me to see signs of unhealthy cells because I look at blood tests on a daily basis: the inflammatory markers, levels of toxicity, free radical damage. However, more effectively, I can estimate how healthy your cells are by what I hear in your lifestyle patterns: how your energy is on a daily basis, your sexual desire and function, your activity level, your sleep patterns, your mood and happiness level, your social activities and relationships—as all of these work together in this beautiful system known as the human.” “I’ve chosen MitoQ as my go-to mitochondrial support because of its ability to be highly absorbent into the mitochondria to improve energy efficiency for every cell in the body,”* said Menolascino. “I take MitoQ every morning and notice a marked benefit in my daily energy. I miss it when I don’t take it.”* While MitoQ supports mental focus, healthy aging, and cellular energy levels, there are additional things we can do to keep our cells in tiptop shape.* And according to Menolascino, that looks like choosing clean, organic food sources, drinking clean water, and breathing clean air. For so long our stress management routine has looked like meditation, yoga, and time management… But now that we’ve added MitoQ to the mix? We really have a chance at that stressless lifestyle, down to our cells.* Devon’s first book, Earth Women, is coming soon. To learn more, join the mailing list, and receive updates, head to www.devonbarrowwriting.com.
