November 29, 2025 • 16 mins
This episode argues for a unified, metabolic model of mental health—placing mitochondria at the center of mood, cognition, hormones, and stress. Instead of treating mental illness as purely psychological, we trace how cellular energy production shapes everything from neurotransmitter synthesis to hormonal balance and epigenetic signaling. The result is a comprehensive and empowering framework grounded in metabolic psychiatry.
We map how mitochondria link brain chemistry, stress pathways, and gene regulation, and why adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) predict both metabolic disease and mental illness—creating trauma’s 20-year life penalty. We walk through the six lifestyle pillars that act as mitochondrial interventions, and contrast them with toxic stressors like stimulants, alcohol, and excess ROS. You’ll also learn why ultra-processed foods correlate so strongly with poor mental health outcomes.
The episode explores therapeutic strategies including the ketogenic diet for severe psychiatric disorders, and targeted supports like creatine and urolithin A to enhance energy metabolism. We highlight hidden nutrient deficits involving iron and B12 transport, and offer a nuanced perspective on inflammation, infections, and vaccines. Finally, we discuss how parental metabolic health shapes neurodevelopment—and where real agency comes from through prevention, habits, and emerging biomarkers.
High-volume keywords used: metabolic health, mitochondria, mental health, ketogenic diet, inflammation, ultra-processed foods, B12 deficiency, neurodevelopment
Listener Takeaways
- How mitochondria unify mood, cognition, hormones, and stress
- Why ACEs link trauma to metabolic disease and psychiatric risk
- The six lifestyle pillars that restore mitochondrial function
- Where keto, creatine, and urolithin A fit as targeted tools
- How biomarkers and prevention give real long-term agency
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This podcast is created by Ai for educational and entertainment purposes only and does not constitute professional medical or health advice. Please talk to your healthcare team for medical advice.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_01 (00:00):
Welcome to the deep dive.
Today we are taking a massiveand I think really important
step in understanding thatmind-body connection.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
We really are.
SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
We're diving into a concept that's well, it's pretty
revolutionary.
Looks at psychiatric disorders,schizophrenia, depression,
bipolar, ADHD, even autism.
All of them.
Not as these isolated brainchemistry problems, but as
systemic issues, all unified bymetabolic health and
specifically mitochondrialfunction.
SPEAKER_00 (00:28):
Right.
And our mission really is tounpack this whole field of
metabolic psychiatry.
The source material we have,it's from a masterclass with a
leading psychiatrist, and itforces us to shift our focus.
SPEAKER_01 (00:39):
A huge shift.
SPEAKER_00 (00:40):
A huge shift.
Away from this reductive ideathat mental illness is just a
lack of one little molecule, oneneurotransmitter.
SPEAKER_01 (00:47):
Trevor Burrus, Right.
The serotonin deficiency model?
SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Exactly.
Instead, we're looking at theuniversal energy currency of
every single cell in your body,the mitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
This feels like a fundamentalreset of how we view mental
health.
We're aiming for a true unifiedtheory of health, not just, you
know, a patch for the symptoms.
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
That's it.
And what's so fascinating isthat this isn't totally new.
We're integrating research thatgoes back, I mean, 150 years.
Wow.
Researchers in the 1800s wereactually measuring lactate and
glucose in patients with severemental illness.
So this deep dive is aboutacknowledging that history and
finally moving past that 20thcentury, thinking that just it
(01:27):
arbitrarily separatedeverything.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
The biological, the psychological, the social.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
Yeah, into these competing camps that never talk
to each other.
SPEAKER_01 (01:33):
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
And that splintering is exactlywhat you, the listener, have
probably experienced.
You have the biological campfocused on pills, right?
SPEAKER_00 (01:39):
The neurotransmitter.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
The psychological on trauma and CBT, and then the
social camp looking at yourenvironment.
So how does metabolism becomethe umbrella that actually
connects something so complex,so psychological like trauma to
a hard physical outcome likeheart disease?
SPEAKER_00 (01:56):
Aaron Powell Because metabolism is the engine.
It's the foundational enginethat powers our adaptation, our
survival, our entire stressresponse.
It connects everything.
SPEAKER_01 (02:05):
Okay, give us an example.
SPEAKER_00 (02:07):
Let's take adverse childhood experiences or ACEs.
We know trauma increases therisk for essentially all the
diagnoses in the DSM 5.
Aaron Powell Everything fromADHD and PTSD to mood disorders,
anxiety, even dementia muchlater in life.
SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
Aaron Powell So trauma isn't just a scar in your
mind, it's fundamentallychanging the internal machinery.
SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
It absolutely is.
And critically, ACEs alsoincrease the risk for all the
metabolic disorders (02:31):
obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular
disease.
That same ones.
The very same ones.
And here is the single mostpowerful detail from our
sources.
Individuals who experience sixor more ACEs live, on average,
20 years shorter than those whohave none.
SPEAKER_01 (02:47):
20 years.
That's that is a devastatingbiological consequence.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
It is.
And the only biologicalmechanism that can plausibly
connect an early childhoodpsychological trauma to severe
mental illness, heart disease,and dementia decades later is
the chronic systemicdysregulation of your
metabolism.
SPEAKER_01 (03:04):
And the resulting mitochondrial dysfunction.
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
That's the thread.
Metabolism is the thread thatties psychological stress
directly to physical decay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:12):
Okay, so if mitochondria are the cornerstone
here, we need to upgrade theirreputation.
They're not just the powerhouseof the cell.
SPEAKER_00 (03:20):
No, that's high school biology.
They are the cell's internalworkforce.
They do so much more than justproduce ATP, the energy.
SPEAKER_01 (03:28):
So in the brain, for example, what are they doing?
SPEAKER_00 (03:31):
Well, their role in neurotransmitters goes way
beyond just fueling the release.
They are actively involved inconverting the food you eat into
the basic building blocks forneurotransmitters.
SPEAKER_01 (03:42):
So they're part of the supply chain.
SPEAKER_00 (03:43):
They're part of the supply chain.
They store key molecules likeGABA inside them, and this is
critical.
They physically move along thecell membrane to dispense
neurotransmitter vesicles rightat the synapse.
SPEAKER_01 (03:55):
So they are just the gas tank, they're the delivery
truck and part of the factoryfloor.
That explains why even a smallenergy shortage hits your
thinking immediately.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Exactly.
And they're central to yourendocrine system, your hormones.
They handle both the first andthe last step in making cortisol
our main stress hormone.
SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
And what about other hormones?
SPEAKER_00 (04:14):
They also govern the first step in making all steroid
hormones, estrogen,testosterone, progesterone.
If you are struggling withhormone dysregulation, you are
by definition struggling withmitochondrial function.
SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
And what about the bigger picture stuff, like our
genes and how we respond tostress?
SPEAKER_00 (04:30):
Mitochondria are the primary regulators of
epigenetics, how your genes getexpressed.
They literally cluster aroundthe nucleus of the cell to send
signals about what's going on.
SPEAKER_01 (04:41):
So they're telling your DMI what to do based on the
environment.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
In a way, yes.
And they're implicated in allfour parts of the human stress
response (04:48):
cortisol release, noradrenaline release,
inflammation, and all thosedownstream epigenetic changes.
They are the ultimate survivalhub of the cell.
SPEAKER_01 (04:58):
Which brings us to lifestyle medicine.
And this is where I think a lotof people tune out.
If mitochondria are a commandcentral, then improving them is
the goal.
But the six pillars can sound socliched.
SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
Just get more sleep and eat your vegetables.
SPEAKER_01 (05:11):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (05:12):
It sounds cliche because it's fundamentally true.
But now we actually have themechanism to explain why it
works.
These six pillars diet,exercise, sleep, managing
substance use, stress reduction,and relationships or purpose,
they're the only known ways toreally manage mitochondrial
health.
SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
Let's touch on a couple of those that get glossed
over.
How does something likerelationships or sleep directly
impact the cell's engine?
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Well, sleep is the main time when the brain does
its cleaning.
It's called lymphatic drainage,and it's when mitochondrial
repair is optimized.
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
So not enough sleep means?
SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
It means increased cellular stress and stress
reduction, positiverelationships.
Those are linked to lowerchronic inflammation, which is
highly toxic to mitochondria.
All six pillars are basicallyanti-inflammatory,
pro-mitochondrial actions.
SPEAKER_01 (06:02):
Okay, let's use exercise.
That's maybe the clearestexample.
What is that physical movementactually doing at the cellular
level?
SPEAKER_00 (06:08):
Exercise is pure mitochondrial biogenesis.
It literally increases thenumber and the health of your
mitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (06:15):
So you're building more power plants?
SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
You are.
If you were to look at a biopsyof a marathon runner's muscle
versus someone sedentary, therunner has a vastly higher
density of mitochondria and amuch greater capacity to produce
ATP.
You are literally building moreand more efficient energy
engines.
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
And on the flip side, let's look at toxic
inputs.
Substance use.
How does something like a highdose of a stimulant or alcohol
break down this machinery?
SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
High doses of stimulants, amphetamine,
cocaine, they causemitochondrial hyperstimulation.
They just start running way toofast.
SPEAKER_01 (06:49):
Overheating the engine?
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
Basically.
It leads to instability in theelectron transport chain.
Electrons start to leak out,which creates what we call
reactive oxygen species or ROS.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
Then that's essentially cellular rust,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (07:00):
Exactly.
And that rust damages themitochondria themselves, leading
to chronic dysfunction andfailure.
That mechanism links stimulantabuse directly to long-term
chronic illness, heart failure,mood disorders.
SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
And what about alcohol?
SPEAKER_00 (07:13):
With alcohol, we've known since the 1960s that it
causes liver cirrhosis throughmitochondrial toxicity.
The byproduct of alcohol,acetaldehyde, is just highly
toxic to the mitochondria inyour liver cells.
SPEAKER_01 (07:26):
The quality of the fuel we put in is clearly a huge
deal.
Let's shift from toxic inputs tojust poor quality fuel,
ultra-processed foods.
What's the hard data linkingthese products to the decline in
mental health?
SPEAKER_00 (07:38):
Okay, so the first thing you have to understand is
the regulatory gap.
Many of these UPF additives fallunder the generally regarded as
safe or G RAS concept, oftenwithout any real long-term
safety testing.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
So we're kind of the test subjects.
SPEAKER_00 (07:52):
In many ways, yes, but the epidemiological data is
stark.
We see a direct linearrelationship.
The more UPFs you consume, theworse your mental health
outcomes are across the board.
SPEAKER_01 (08:03):
How big is that difference?
SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
One very large study, we're talking hundreds of
thousands of people, showed athreefold difference in poor
mental health outcomes betweenthose who rarely ate UPFs and
those eating them multiple timesa day.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
Three times.
That's not subtle.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
It's not subtle at all.
That metabolic stress istranslating into severe systemic
inflammation and really amitochondrial drag on the whole
system.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
Okay, so given that impact, let's talk about the
most aggressive dietaryintervention, the ketogenic
diet.
Why is keto being used forsevere psychiatric disorders
like schizophrenia and bipolar?
SPEAKER_00 (08:36):
The ketogenic diet is a powerful metabolic
intervention because it mimicsthe fasting state.
It forces your body and brain torun on ketones for fuel.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
And it has a history in medicine.
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
A long one.
It's been used for epilepsy for100 years, and controlled trials
show it is six times more likelyto result in seizure freedom
than just trying anotherantiepileptic drug.
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
That's an incredible statistic.
SPEAKER_00 (09:00):
It really is.
And for mental health, we nowhave over 50 published reports
covering almost 2,000 peopleshowing documented remission in
treatment-resistantschizophrenia and bipolar
disorder.
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
So what's the mechanism?
What's happening inside thecells that explains that kind of
profound impact?
SPEAKER_00 (09:14):
The strong animal data suggests that shifting the
ketones improves two criticalmitochondrial processes.
The first is mitophagy, that'sthe cell's cleanup crew, getting
rid of old, broken downmitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (09:27):
Speeding out the trash.
SPEAKER_00 (09:28):
Exactly.
And the second is mitochondrialbiogenesis, which is building
brand new ones.
So keto appears to reset theentire mitochondrial population,
leading to a much healthier,more numerous supply of energy
engines in the brain.
SPEAKER_01 (09:41):
Beyond a full dietary overhaul, what about
targeted supplements?
What compounds do the sourceshighlight as directly supporting
this system?
SPEAKER_00 (09:49):
Two are really foundational.
First up is creatine.
It acts as a phosphate shuttle.
It's critical for rapid energytransformation, and you find it
almost exclusively in animalfoods.
SPEAKER_01 (09:59):
So vegetarians might be low.
SPEAKER_00 (10:00):
Potentially, yeah.
Lower levels are consistentlyassociated with neuropsychiatric
disorders.
And small trials suggest thatsupplementing with creatine can
significantly boostantidepressant effects and
improve symptoms in both majordepression and bipolar disorder.
SPEAKER_01 (10:16):
And what about the one that's getting a lot of buzz
for anti-aging and musclesupport?
SPEAKER_00 (10:19):
That would be urolithin A.
And this supplement is showingsome reasonably good data for
specific groups.
SPEAKER_01 (10:25):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (10:26):
Trials in older individuals, say 55 to 65 plus,
showed measurable improvement inmuscle mass and physical
performance in as little aseight weeks.
So if someone has reallymastered the six pillars, this
is an area for targetedoptimization.
SPEAKER_01 (10:41):
We've talked about supplements, but what about the
basics, the essential nutrientsthat we might be missing as a
society?
SPEAKER_00 (10:47):
Right.
Things like B12, folate, andiron are absolutely essential
cofactors.
And iron deficiency is a silentepidemic, especially among young
women.
SPEAKER_01 (10:56):
How bad is it?
SPEAKER_00 (10:56):
A JMA study found that 40% of females aged 12 to
21 in the U.S.
are iron deficient.
SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
40%.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
Yeah.
It's due to menstruationcombined with low consumption of
iron-rich foods.
And that deficiency impairsoxygen transport and
mitochondrial function,affecting your whole body and
brain.
It's very likely a significantcontributor to the huge spike in
anxiety and depression we seeafter puberty.
SPEAKER_01 (11:19):
And B12 deficiency is also well known, but you
mentioned a really startlingdiscovery about B12 that
standard blood tests completelymiss.
SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
Yes.
This is a big one.
B12 is crucial for mitochondria,and deficiency is common,
especially if you take certainmedications like metformin or
oral contraceptives or haveautoimmune issues.
SPEAKER_01 (11:39):
But there's a new wrinkle.
SPEAKER_00 (11:40):
A huge one.
It relates to a newly recognizedautoimmune B12 deficiency that
targets the CD320 protein.
And this protein is whattransports B12 across the blood
brain barrier.
SPEAKER_01 (11:52):
So what does that mean for the patient?
SPEAKER_00 (11:54):
It means their blood B12 levels can look completely
normal because the transport isblocked.
But when researchers check thecerebral spinal fluid, they find
almost no B12 in the centralnervous system.
SPEAKER_01 (12:05):
The brain is starving for it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:07):
The brain is starving for this critical
nutrient, but the standard bloodtest gives you a false sense of
security.
It looks fine.
SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
That could explain why so many people with severe,
hard-to-diagnose psychiatricsymptoms just don't get better.
They're trying to solve ametabolic transport problem with
psychological tools.
SPEAKER_00 (12:24):
Exactly.
This specific antibody was foundin 6% of healthy controls and
50% of people with certaindemyelinating conditions.
It just highlights how manysevere psychiatric symptoms
might have a highly treatable,yet completely missed metabolic
root cause.
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
We have to touch on one of the most contentious
public topics, the link betweenneurodevelopmental disorders and
public health issues likevaccines.
Viewing this through theimpartial evidence-based lens of
mitochondrial health, whatcontext do the sources provide?
Aaron Powell Right.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
We have to just report the evidence as it
stands.
First, high levels ofinflammation, whether from a bad
flu, an infection, or eveninterferon treatments, they
unequivocally impairmitochondrial function.
SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
That's a fact.
SPEAKER_00 (13:08):
That is a documented cellular response.
It's why you feel so exhaustedand have no libido when you're
sick.
SPEAKER_01 (13:13):
And how does that inflammation impact a developing
brain?
SPEAKER_00 (13:16):
Well, we have decades of evidence showing that
infections during pregnancy likerubella increase the risk of
neurodevelopmental disorders inthe child.
Animal models confirm thatinflammatory reactions increase
that risk.
SPEAKER_01 (13:26):
Okay, so where do vaccines fit in?
SPEAKER_00 (13:28):
Vaccines do cause a temporary increase in
inflammation.
That's how they work.
In very rare cases where a childhas a pre-existing, likely
undiagnosed, severemitochondrial disorder, a
hyper-exaggerated inflammatoryresponse could impact
neurodevelopment.
And we do have records of courtcases where this premise was
(13:49):
argued successfully.
SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
Aaron Powell But the sources point to a much, much
bigger factor, the elephant inthe room driving the crisis in
disorders like autism and ADHD.
SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
Yes.
The crisis appears to befundamentally driven by a
generation-wide collapse inparental metabolic health.
This is the main influence.
SPEAKER_01 (14:06):
And what do the numbers say?
SPEAKER_00 (14:07):
Aaron Powell The statistics are just impossible
to ignore.
Women with obesity have doubledthe risk of having an autistic
child.
Women with diabetes have doubledthe risk.
SPEAKER_01 (14:15):
And it's not just mothers.
SPEAKER_00 (14:17):
No.
Crucially, men with obesity havetwice the risk of fathering an
autistic child.
And that's a significantlygreater risk increase than
what's attributed to, say,advanced paternal age.
SPEAKER_01 (14:27):
Aaron Powell So the skyrocketing rates of these
disorders aren't really aboutone single thing.
They're a reflection of amassive societal crisis in
metabolic health that's beingpassed down.
SPEAKER_00 (14:36):
Aaron Powell It is the systemic poor metabolic
health of the parents that isthe primary environmental
influence on the developingoffspring.
And given that only 7% ofAmericans are healthy in all
five metabolic syndromebiomarkers, well, we are looking
at a generational metaboliccrisis impacting
neurodevelopment.
SPEAKER_01 (14:54):
Aaron Powell That completely reframes the entire
discussion.
Instead of seeing these labelsas permanent brain defects, the
message is that we have to lookfor these highly treatable
metabolic and mitochondrialcauses.
SPEAKER_00 (15:05):
Exactly.
A label like schizophrenia orchronic depression should not be
a life sentence.
The core message is one ofadaptation and survival, all
unified by the health of yourmitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (15:15):
For you, the listener, the key takeaway is
that you have agency here.
Focusing on those six pillars oflifestyle is the foundation
because those are the leversthat control the health of your
cellular engines.
SPEAKER_00 (15:25):
We have to move from just treating symptoms to
effective prevention.
The complex puzzle of mentalhealth is absolutely solvable.
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
And to leave you with a provocative thought,
right now research groups areracing to develop a simple,
accurate blood biomarker test,maybe just five to twenty
markers, that reflects youroverall mitochondrial health.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
A check engine light for your body.
SPEAKER_01 (15:47):
Exactly.
And it could potentially predictsevere outcomes like
neurodevelopmental disorders oreven suicide risk years in
advance.
This tool, once it's validated,will finally incentivize
proactive metabolic health.
It will give everyone a clearmetric for their internal
cellular health.
So consider what your metabolicprofile might reveal and what
foundational steps you can taketoday to support those
(16:08):
mitochondria.
Thank you for joining us on thisdeep dive.
Welcome to the deep dive.
Today we are taking a massiveand I think really important
step in understanding thatmind-body connection.
SPEAKER_00 (00:06):
We really are.
SPEAKER_01 (00:07):
We're diving into a concept that's well, it's pretty
revolutionary.
Looks at psychiatric disorders,schizophrenia, depression,
bipolar, ADHD, even autism.
All of them.
Not as these isolated brainchemistry problems, but as
systemic issues, all unified bymetabolic health and
specifically mitochondrialfunction.
SPEAKER_00 (00:28):
Right.
And our mission really is tounpack this whole field of
metabolic psychiatry.
The source material we have,it's from a masterclass with a
leading psychiatrist, and itforces us to shift our focus.
SPEAKER_01 (00:39):
A huge shift.
SPEAKER_00 (00:40):
A huge shift.
Away from this reductive ideathat mental illness is just a
lack of one little molecule, oneneurotransmitter.
SPEAKER_01 (00:47):
Trevor Burrus, Right.
The serotonin deficiency model?
SPEAKER_00 (00:49):
Exactly.
Instead, we're looking at theuniversal energy currency of
every single cell in your body,the mitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (00:55):
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
This feels like a fundamentalreset of how we view mental
health.
We're aiming for a true unifiedtheory of health, not just, you
know, a patch for the symptoms.
SPEAKER_00 (01:04):
That's it.
And what's so fascinating isthat this isn't totally new.
We're integrating research thatgoes back, I mean, 150 years.
Wow.
Researchers in the 1800s wereactually measuring lactate and
glucose in patients with severemental illness.
So this deep dive is aboutacknowledging that history and
finally moving past that 20thcentury, thinking that just it
(01:27):
arbitrarily separatedeverything.
SPEAKER_01 (01:28):
The biological, the psychological, the social.
SPEAKER_00 (01:30):
Yeah, into these competing camps that never talk
to each other.
SPEAKER_01 (01:33):
Trevor Burrus, Jr.
And that splintering is exactlywhat you, the listener, have
probably experienced.
You have the biological campfocused on pills, right?
SPEAKER_00 (01:39):
The neurotransmitter.
SPEAKER_01 (01:40):
The psychological on trauma and CBT, and then the
social camp looking at yourenvironment.
So how does metabolism becomethe umbrella that actually
connects something so complex,so psychological like trauma to
a hard physical outcome likeheart disease?
SPEAKER_00 (01:56):
Aaron Powell Because metabolism is the engine.
It's the foundational enginethat powers our adaptation, our
survival, our entire stressresponse.
It connects everything.
SPEAKER_01 (02:05):
Okay, give us an example.
SPEAKER_00 (02:07):
Let's take adverse childhood experiences or ACEs.
We know trauma increases therisk for essentially all the
diagnoses in the DSM 5.
Aaron Powell Everything fromADHD and PTSD to mood disorders,
anxiety, even dementia muchlater in life.
SPEAKER_01 (02:21):
Aaron Powell So trauma isn't just a scar in your
mind, it's fundamentallychanging the internal machinery.
SPEAKER_00 (02:26):
It absolutely is.
And critically, ACEs alsoincrease the risk for all the
metabolic disorders (02:31):
obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular
disease.
That same ones.
The very same ones.
And here is the single mostpowerful detail from our
sources.
Individuals who experience sixor more ACEs live, on average,
20 years shorter than those whohave none.
SPEAKER_01 (02:47):
20 years.
That's that is a devastatingbiological consequence.
SPEAKER_00 (02:51):
It is.
And the only biologicalmechanism that can plausibly
connect an early childhoodpsychological trauma to severe
mental illness, heart disease,and dementia decades later is
the chronic systemicdysregulation of your
metabolism.
SPEAKER_01 (03:04):
And the resulting mitochondrial dysfunction.
SPEAKER_00 (03:06):
That's the thread.
Metabolism is the thread thatties psychological stress
directly to physical decay.
SPEAKER_01 (03:12):
Okay, so if mitochondria are the cornerstone
here, we need to upgrade theirreputation.
They're not just the powerhouseof the cell.
SPEAKER_00 (03:20):
No, that's high school biology.
They are the cell's internalworkforce.
They do so much more than justproduce ATP, the energy.
SPEAKER_01 (03:28):
So in the brain, for example, what are they doing?
SPEAKER_00 (03:31):
Well, their role in neurotransmitters goes way
beyond just fueling the release.
They are actively involved inconverting the food you eat into
the basic building blocks forneurotransmitters.
SPEAKER_01 (03:42):
So they're part of the supply chain.
SPEAKER_00 (03:43):
They're part of the supply chain.
They store key molecules likeGABA inside them, and this is
critical.
They physically move along thecell membrane to dispense
neurotransmitter vesicles rightat the synapse.
SPEAKER_01 (03:55):
So they are just the gas tank, they're the delivery
truck and part of the factoryfloor.
That explains why even a smallenergy shortage hits your
thinking immediately.
SPEAKER_00 (04:03):
Exactly.
And they're central to yourendocrine system, your hormones.
They handle both the first andthe last step in making cortisol
our main stress hormone.
SPEAKER_01 (04:12):
And what about other hormones?
SPEAKER_00 (04:14):
They also govern the first step in making all steroid
hormones, estrogen,testosterone, progesterone.
If you are struggling withhormone dysregulation, you are
by definition struggling withmitochondrial function.
SPEAKER_01 (04:26):
And what about the bigger picture stuff, like our
genes and how we respond tostress?
SPEAKER_00 (04:30):
Mitochondria are the primary regulators of
epigenetics, how your genes getexpressed.
They literally cluster aroundthe nucleus of the cell to send
signals about what's going on.
SPEAKER_01 (04:41):
So they're telling your DMI what to do based on the
environment.
SPEAKER_00 (04:44):
In a way, yes.
And they're implicated in allfour parts of the human stress
response (04:48):
cortisol release, noradrenaline release,
inflammation, and all thosedownstream epigenetic changes.
They are the ultimate survivalhub of the cell.
SPEAKER_01 (04:58):
Which brings us to lifestyle medicine.
And this is where I think a lotof people tune out.
If mitochondria are a commandcentral, then improving them is
the goal.
But the six pillars can sound socliched.
SPEAKER_00 (05:10):
Just get more sleep and eat your vegetables.
SPEAKER_01 (05:11):
Exactly.
SPEAKER_00 (05:12):
It sounds cliche because it's fundamentally true.
But now we actually have themechanism to explain why it
works.
These six pillars diet,exercise, sleep, managing
substance use, stress reduction,and relationships or purpose,
they're the only known ways toreally manage mitochondrial
health.
SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
Let's touch on a couple of those that get glossed
over.
How does something likerelationships or sleep directly
impact the cell's engine?
SPEAKER_00 (05:38):
Well, sleep is the main time when the brain does
its cleaning.
It's called lymphatic drainage,and it's when mitochondrial
repair is optimized.
SPEAKER_01 (05:46):
So not enough sleep means?
SPEAKER_00 (05:47):
It means increased cellular stress and stress
reduction, positiverelationships.
Those are linked to lowerchronic inflammation, which is
highly toxic to mitochondria.
All six pillars are basicallyanti-inflammatory,
pro-mitochondrial actions.
SPEAKER_01 (06:02):
Okay, let's use exercise.
That's maybe the clearestexample.
What is that physical movementactually doing at the cellular
level?
SPEAKER_00 (06:08):
Exercise is pure mitochondrial biogenesis.
It literally increases thenumber and the health of your
mitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (06:15):
So you're building more power plants?
SPEAKER_00 (06:16):
You are.
If you were to look at a biopsyof a marathon runner's muscle
versus someone sedentary, therunner has a vastly higher
density of mitochondria and amuch greater capacity to produce
ATP.
You are literally building moreand more efficient energy
engines.
SPEAKER_01 (06:32):
And on the flip side, let's look at toxic
inputs.
Substance use.
How does something like a highdose of a stimulant or alcohol
break down this machinery?
SPEAKER_00 (06:42):
High doses of stimulants, amphetamine,
cocaine, they causemitochondrial hyperstimulation.
They just start running way toofast.
SPEAKER_01 (06:49):
Overheating the engine?
SPEAKER_00 (06:50):
Basically.
It leads to instability in theelectron transport chain.
Electrons start to leak out,which creates what we call
reactive oxygen species or ROS.
SPEAKER_01 (06:58):
Then that's essentially cellular rust,
right?
SPEAKER_00 (07:00):
Exactly.
And that rust damages themitochondria themselves, leading
to chronic dysfunction andfailure.
That mechanism links stimulantabuse directly to long-term
chronic illness, heart failure,mood disorders.
SPEAKER_01 (07:12):
And what about alcohol?
SPEAKER_00 (07:13):
With alcohol, we've known since the 1960s that it
causes liver cirrhosis throughmitochondrial toxicity.
The byproduct of alcohol,acetaldehyde, is just highly
toxic to the mitochondria inyour liver cells.
SPEAKER_01 (07:26):
The quality of the fuel we put in is clearly a huge
deal.
Let's shift from toxic inputs tojust poor quality fuel,
ultra-processed foods.
What's the hard data linkingthese products to the decline in
mental health?
SPEAKER_00 (07:38):
Okay, so the first thing you have to understand is
the regulatory gap.
Many of these UPF additives fallunder the generally regarded as
safe or G RAS concept, oftenwithout any real long-term
safety testing.
SPEAKER_01 (07:50):
So we're kind of the test subjects.
SPEAKER_00 (07:52):
In many ways, yes, but the epidemiological data is
stark.
We see a direct linearrelationship.
The more UPFs you consume, theworse your mental health
outcomes are across the board.
SPEAKER_01 (08:03):
How big is that difference?
SPEAKER_00 (08:04):
One very large study, we're talking hundreds of
thousands of people, showed athreefold difference in poor
mental health outcomes betweenthose who rarely ate UPFs and
those eating them multiple timesa day.
SPEAKER_01 (08:14):
Three times.
That's not subtle.
SPEAKER_00 (08:16):
It's not subtle at all.
That metabolic stress istranslating into severe systemic
inflammation and really amitochondrial drag on the whole
system.
SPEAKER_01 (08:24):
Okay, so given that impact, let's talk about the
most aggressive dietaryintervention, the ketogenic
diet.
Why is keto being used forsevere psychiatric disorders
like schizophrenia and bipolar?
SPEAKER_00 (08:36):
The ketogenic diet is a powerful metabolic
intervention because it mimicsthe fasting state.
It forces your body and brain torun on ketones for fuel.
SPEAKER_01 (08:46):
And it has a history in medicine.
SPEAKER_00 (08:48):
A long one.
It's been used for epilepsy for100 years, and controlled trials
show it is six times more likelyto result in seizure freedom
than just trying anotherantiepileptic drug.
SPEAKER_01 (08:58):
That's an incredible statistic.
SPEAKER_00 (09:00):
It really is.
And for mental health, we nowhave over 50 published reports
covering almost 2,000 peopleshowing documented remission in
treatment-resistantschizophrenia and bipolar
disorder.
SPEAKER_01 (09:10):
So what's the mechanism?
What's happening inside thecells that explains that kind of
profound impact?
SPEAKER_00 (09:14):
The strong animal data suggests that shifting the
ketones improves two criticalmitochondrial processes.
The first is mitophagy, that'sthe cell's cleanup crew, getting
rid of old, broken downmitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (09:27):
Speeding out the trash.
SPEAKER_00 (09:28):
Exactly.
And the second is mitochondrialbiogenesis, which is building
brand new ones.
So keto appears to reset theentire mitochondrial population,
leading to a much healthier,more numerous supply of energy
engines in the brain.
SPEAKER_01 (09:41):
Beyond a full dietary overhaul, what about
targeted supplements?
What compounds do the sourceshighlight as directly supporting
this system?
SPEAKER_00 (09:49):
Two are really foundational.
First up is creatine.
It acts as a phosphate shuttle.
It's critical for rapid energytransformation, and you find it
almost exclusively in animalfoods.
SPEAKER_01 (09:59):
So vegetarians might be low.
SPEAKER_00 (10:00):
Potentially, yeah.
Lower levels are consistentlyassociated with neuropsychiatric
disorders.
And small trials suggest thatsupplementing with creatine can
significantly boostantidepressant effects and
improve symptoms in both majordepression and bipolar disorder.
SPEAKER_01 (10:16):
And what about the one that's getting a lot of buzz
for anti-aging and musclesupport?
SPEAKER_00 (10:19):
That would be urolithin A.
And this supplement is showingsome reasonably good data for
specific groups.
SPEAKER_01 (10:25):
Okay.
SPEAKER_00 (10:26):
Trials in older individuals, say 55 to 65 plus,
showed measurable improvement inmuscle mass and physical
performance in as little aseight weeks.
So if someone has reallymastered the six pillars, this
is an area for targetedoptimization.
SPEAKER_01 (10:41):
We've talked about supplements, but what about the
basics, the essential nutrientsthat we might be missing as a
society?
SPEAKER_00 (10:47):
Right.
Things like B12, folate, andiron are absolutely essential
cofactors.
And iron deficiency is a silentepidemic, especially among young
women.
SPEAKER_01 (10:56):
How bad is it?
SPEAKER_00 (10:56):
A JMA study found that 40% of females aged 12 to
21 in the U.S.
are iron deficient.
SPEAKER_01 (11:02):
40%.
Wow.
SPEAKER_00 (11:03):
Yeah.
It's due to menstruationcombined with low consumption of
iron-rich foods.
And that deficiency impairsoxygen transport and
mitochondrial function,affecting your whole body and
brain.
It's very likely a significantcontributor to the huge spike in
anxiety and depression we seeafter puberty.
SPEAKER_01 (11:19):
And B12 deficiency is also well known, but you
mentioned a really startlingdiscovery about B12 that
standard blood tests completelymiss.
SPEAKER_00 (11:26):
Yes.
This is a big one.
B12 is crucial for mitochondria,and deficiency is common,
especially if you take certainmedications like metformin or
oral contraceptives or haveautoimmune issues.
SPEAKER_01 (11:39):
But there's a new wrinkle.
SPEAKER_00 (11:40):
A huge one.
It relates to a newly recognizedautoimmune B12 deficiency that
targets the CD320 protein.
And this protein is whattransports B12 across the blood
brain barrier.
SPEAKER_01 (11:52):
So what does that mean for the patient?
SPEAKER_00 (11:54):
It means their blood B12 levels can look completely
normal because the transport isblocked.
But when researchers check thecerebral spinal fluid, they find
almost no B12 in the centralnervous system.
SPEAKER_01 (12:05):
The brain is starving for it.
SPEAKER_00 (12:07):
The brain is starving for this critical
nutrient, but the standard bloodtest gives you a false sense of
security.
It looks fine.
SPEAKER_01 (12:13):
That could explain why so many people with severe,
hard-to-diagnose psychiatricsymptoms just don't get better.
They're trying to solve ametabolic transport problem with
psychological tools.
SPEAKER_00 (12:24):
Exactly.
This specific antibody was foundin 6% of healthy controls and
50% of people with certaindemyelinating conditions.
It just highlights how manysevere psychiatric symptoms
might have a highly treatable,yet completely missed metabolic
root cause.
SPEAKER_01 (12:41):
We have to touch on one of the most contentious
public topics, the link betweenneurodevelopmental disorders and
public health issues likevaccines.
Viewing this through theimpartial evidence-based lens of
mitochondrial health, whatcontext do the sources provide?
Aaron Powell Right.
SPEAKER_00 (12:57):
We have to just report the evidence as it
stands.
First, high levels ofinflammation, whether from a bad
flu, an infection, or eveninterferon treatments, they
unequivocally impairmitochondrial function.
SPEAKER_01 (13:07):
That's a fact.
SPEAKER_00 (13:08):
That is a documented cellular response.
It's why you feel so exhaustedand have no libido when you're
sick.
SPEAKER_01 (13:13):
And how does that inflammation impact a developing
brain?
SPEAKER_00 (13:16):
Well, we have decades of evidence showing that
infections during pregnancy likerubella increase the risk of
neurodevelopmental disorders inthe child.
Animal models confirm thatinflammatory reactions increase
that risk.
SPEAKER_01 (13:26):
Okay, so where do vaccines fit in?
SPEAKER_00 (13:28):
Vaccines do cause a temporary increase in
inflammation.
That's how they work.
In very rare cases where a childhas a pre-existing, likely
undiagnosed, severemitochondrial disorder, a
hyper-exaggerated inflammatoryresponse could impact
neurodevelopment.
And we do have records of courtcases where this premise was
(13:49):
argued successfully.
SPEAKER_01 (13:50):
Aaron Powell But the sources point to a much, much
bigger factor, the elephant inthe room driving the crisis in
disorders like autism and ADHD.
SPEAKER_00 (13:58):
Yes.
The crisis appears to befundamentally driven by a
generation-wide collapse inparental metabolic health.
This is the main influence.
SPEAKER_01 (14:06):
And what do the numbers say?
SPEAKER_00 (14:07):
Aaron Powell The statistics are just impossible
to ignore.
Women with obesity have doubledthe risk of having an autistic
child.
Women with diabetes have doubledthe risk.
SPEAKER_01 (14:15):
And it's not just mothers.
SPEAKER_00 (14:17):
No.
Crucially, men with obesity havetwice the risk of fathering an
autistic child.
And that's a significantlygreater risk increase than
what's attributed to, say,advanced paternal age.
SPEAKER_01 (14:27):
Aaron Powell So the skyrocketing rates of these
disorders aren't really aboutone single thing.
They're a reflection of amassive societal crisis in
metabolic health that's beingpassed down.
SPEAKER_00 (14:36):
Aaron Powell It is the systemic poor metabolic
health of the parents that isthe primary environmental
influence on the developingoffspring.
And given that only 7% ofAmericans are healthy in all
five metabolic syndromebiomarkers, well, we are looking
at a generational metaboliccrisis impacting
neurodevelopment.
SPEAKER_01 (14:54):
Aaron Powell That completely reframes the entire
discussion.
Instead of seeing these labelsas permanent brain defects, the
message is that we have to lookfor these highly treatable
metabolic and mitochondrialcauses.
SPEAKER_00 (15:05):
Exactly.
A label like schizophrenia orchronic depression should not be
a life sentence.
The core message is one ofadaptation and survival, all
unified by the health of yourmitochondria.
SPEAKER_01 (15:15):
For you, the listener, the key takeaway is
that you have agency here.
Focusing on those six pillars oflifestyle is the foundation
because those are the leversthat control the health of your
cellular engines.
SPEAKER_00 (15:25):
We have to move from just treating symptoms to
effective prevention.
The complex puzzle of mentalhealth is absolutely solvable.
SPEAKER_01 (15:33):
And to leave you with a provocative thought,
right now research groups areracing to develop a simple,
accurate blood biomarker test,maybe just five to twenty
markers, that reflects youroverall mitochondrial health.
SPEAKER_00 (15:45):
A check engine light for your body.
SPEAKER_01 (15:47):
Exactly.
And it could potentially predictsevere outcomes like
neurodevelopmental disorders oreven suicide risk years in
advance.
This tool, once it's validated,will finally incentivize
proactive metabolic health.
It will give everyone a clearmetric for their internal
cellular health.
So consider what your metabolicprofile might reveal and what
foundational steps you can taketoday to support those
(16:08):
mitochondria.
Thank you for joining us on thisdeep dive.
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