Lee Know - Life - The Epic Story of Our Mitochondria: How the Original Probiotic Dictates Your Health, Illness, Ageing, and Even Life Itself

Life

The Epic Story of Our Mitochondria

How The Original Probiotic Dictates Your Health, Illness, Ageing, And Even Life Itself

Lee Know, ND

Table of Contents

Part One:
The Force

Part Two:
Dark-Side of the Force

Part Three:
Nurturing the Force

READING A GOOD BOOK SHOULD NOT MORTGAGE THE FUTURE OF OUR ENVIRONMENT

The book in your hands has been printed and published with environmental sustainability in mind. The printer I have chosen is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative (GPI), a non-profit program which takes a collaborative approach in the book and newspaper industries to minimize social and environmental impacts, including impacts on endangered forests, impacts on climate change, and impacts on communities where paper fibre is sourced.

The printer is also committed to the environment by making the best use of our resources, and by minimizing our ecological footprint. Resources are used as carefully as possible reusing and recycling at every opportunity. My printer also uses:

• only hydro-generated power provided by the Nelson River watershed, a renewable source of clean energy with zero carbon (hydro-powered plants produce no air pollutants, no toxic waste, and contribute 18-60 times less greenhouse gases than natural gas or coal-fired plants)
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To publish your own environmentally sustainable book, please contact Dr.Know@3dmedicine.org for a 10% discount code.

Dedicated to

H.E.A.L.
the Knords
Erin, Aidan, and Hudson

Figure/Illustration Credits

Figure

Author: Kelvinsong, from Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mitochondrion_structure.svg

Figure

Author: Public Domain Material obtained through PubMed Central Open Access Subset

http://openi.nlm.nih.gov/detailedresult.php?img=1751057_cc5014-1&req=4

Figure

Author: Fvasconcellos, from Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Complex_I.svg

Fugure

Author: Fvasconcellos, from Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Complex_II.svg

Figure

Author: Fvasconcellos, from Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Complex_III_reaction.svg

Figure

Author: Fvasconcellos, from Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Complex_IV.svg

Figure

Author: Fvasconcellos, from Wikimedia Commons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mitochondrial_electron_transport_chain%E2%80%94Etc4.svg

Figure

Author: Alex.X, from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Atp_synthase.PNG

Figure

Author: Slagt, from Wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Acyl-CoA_from_cytosol_to_the_mitochondrial_

matrix.svg

DISCLAIMER:

Neither the author not publisher is engaged in rendering professional advice or services to the individual reader. The information in this book is for educational purposes only and not to be construed as medical advice. It is not meant to diagnose, or in any way replace qualified medical supervision. For any medical conditions, each individual is recommended to consult with their health care provider before using any information, idea, or products discussed. Neither author nor publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising from any information or suggestion in this book. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, neither the author nor publisher assumes any responsibility for errors.

Part One:
The Force

Without the Midi-chlorians, life could not exist, and we would have no knowledge of the Force. They continually speak to us, telling us the will of the Force. When you learn to quiet your mind, youll hear them speaking to you.

Qui-Gon Jinn, to Anakin Skywalker

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away there were intelligent microscopic life forms called Midi-chlorians that lived symbiotically inside the cells of all living things. When present in sufficient numbers, they allowed their symbiotic host to detect the pervasive energy field known as the Force. Midi-chlorian counts were linked to ones potential in the Force, ranging from normal human levels of 2,500 per cell to the much higher levels in a Jedi. The highest known Midi-chlorian count (over 20,000 per cell) belonged to Jedi Anakin Skywalker.

Present in all life, Midi-chlorians are the same on every world that supports lifein fact, Midi-chlorians are necessary for life to exist. In sufficient numbers, Midi-chlorians will allow their host organism to detect the Force, and this connection can be strengthened by quieting ones mind, allowing the Midi-chlorians to speak to their host and communicate the will of the Force.

For many reading this book, Im sure youre thinking, Whatthe has he gone completely sideways? What the heck am I talking about? Well, science-fiction fansand the generation(s) who grew up in the era of Star Warsmay have a better chance at guessing that Midi-chlorians are a creation of George Lucasor are they?

Midi-chlorians were first conceived by George Lucas as early as 1977. At this time, Lucas sat down with a member of his staff to dictate a number of guidelines for these works, explaining various concepts of his universe. Among them was an explanation of Midi-chlorians (even though Lucas did not feel he had the time or opportunity to introduce the concept until 1999, when it was first mentioned during Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace ). Explaining why some were sensitive to the Force while others were not was an issue that he needed to addressan issue that he had left unresolved since the original film Star Wars .

Midi-chlorians in The Phantom Menace are part of a recurring theme throughout the moviethat of symbiotic relationships. Whats fascinating to me is that Midi-chlorians were loosely based on mitochondria, organelles that provide energy for cells on our non-science fiction, real-world planet.

Like Midi-chlorians, mitochondria are believed to have once been separate organisms that inhabited living cells and have since become part of them; even now, mitochondria act in some ways as independent life forms, with their own DNA.

Most will remember them from high school Cell Biology class, described as the powerhouses of the cellthe tiny generators living inside cells that produce almost all the energy cells need to live. Depending on the type of cell, there are usually hundreds to thousands of mitochondria in each cell. They use the oxygen from the air we breathe to burn up food we eat to produce useful energy.

Some people may have heard of the term Mitochondrial Eve. Mitochondria are inherited maternally, so if we trace our genetic lineage from child to mother, to maternal grandmother, and so on, Mitochondrial Eve would be the mother of all mothers. She is thought to have lived in Africa approximately 170,000 years ago. This does not necessarily mean she was the first human; it only means that she is the most recent ancestor common to all humans living today.

The reason we can trace our ancestry this way is because all mitochondria have their own DNA (the genes), which are normally passed on to our children only in the mothers egg, not in the fathers sperm. This means that mitochondrial DNA (abbreviated as mtDNA) act like a genetic surname. However, unlike typical Western surnames passed down the paternal line (which can change for any reason, including marriage), mtDNA is fairly constant and unchanging, which allows us to trace our ancestry down the female line. This fact also means that it is usually possible to confirm or disprove familial relationships. It also makes mtDNA of great use in forensics, where its commonly used to identify people or corpses.