Page 68 - The Miracle of Electricity in the Body

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Mitochondria:

The Cell’s Energy Plants That Produce Electricity
The energy you need to stand up and walk, to breathe, and open and close
your eyes—and to remain alive—is produced in tiny generators in the cells
known as mitochondria. In much the same way that the energy factories require
is supplied by energy plants, so our bodies’ energy is supplied by these or-
ganelles. In the absence of mitochondria, cells cannot perform any of the func-
tions they need to. Muscle cells lacking mitochondria cannot contract, liver
cells cannot cleanse the blood, and brain cells cannot issue commands.
Mitochondria produce practically all the cell’s energy. They use the energy to
oxidize the oxygen we breathe and burn the food we eat. Just as an energy
plant using coal or oil, mitochondria use the energy that formed during the ox-
idation process to produce electricity. In this way, your cells literally operate
on electrical energy.
The mitochondrial engines that work with electricity are very small, and in
them the chemicals obtained from foodstuffs is turned into energy packets that
the cell can use. These packages, known as ATP (adenosine triphosphate), are
a highly functional form of energy for the cell. Professor of Bioenergetics at
University College London, Peter Rich described the connection between bio-
logical electron transfer in mitochondria and ATP synthesis in an article pub-
lished in the scientific journal Nature:
An average human at rest has a power requirement of roughly 100 kilocalo-

Mitochondria consist of proteins that are synthesized inside the cell
and work just like a power plant providing the energy needed for the
cell’s activities. Despite their being involved in so much activity, mito-
chondria continue working with no need for repair or maintenance.