Mitochondrial Imbalance Linked to 90 Percent of Chronic Diseases
7th November 2024
Mitochondria are often called the power generators of human cells. They convert nutrients such as glucose and fatty acids that we obtain from food into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the primary energy source in our cells during metabolism.
At the same time, mitochondria are the core of human immunity, too. Healthy mitochondria effectively regulate immune responses, while mitochondrial dysfunction can damage immune cells, resulting in many chronic diseases and impaired cellular differentiation.
Chen argues that seemingly diverse conditions—including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, allergies, autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, and even various mental illnesses—can be understood through a “unified theory” of mitochondrial imbalance. This means that almost every disease can be traced to mitochondrial imbalance. In other words, in mitochondrial imbalance, there is invariably something wrong with the body’s basic metabolism. This perspective suggests that approximately 90 percent of chronic diseases stem from problems with mitochondrial metabolism.