Page 69 - The Miracle of Electricity in the Body

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ries (420 kilojoules) per hour, which is equivalent to a power requirement
of 116 watts — slightly more than that of a standard household light bulb.
But, from a biochemical point of view, this requirement places a staggering
power demand on our mitochondria. 1
Because mitochondria must serve as energy-producing centers, there are differ-
ent numbers of them in different cells. Muscle cells, due to the high levels of en-
ergy they require, contain a large number of mitochondria, whereas their num-
ber in skin cells is much lower. If every cell contained only one mitochondrion,
then we could not provide the 1,100-1,500 metabolic calories that the body
needs to function, even if we were lying down and not moving, let alone going
about our daily life.
A typical dramatization of this can be seen in those afflicted with the disease
myasthenia gravis. These patients are unable to move since their muscles are
paralyzed: Their mitochondria cannot multiply themselves in order to supply en-
ergy necessary for movement. Since there are insufficient numbers of mitochon-
dria in each cell, they are unable to provide sufficient energy for the muscles to
contract. This disease is enough to demonstrate the sensitive balances in our
bodies and the proofs of a purposeful creation.

1 Peter Rich, “Chemiosmotic coupling: The cost of living”, Nature, vol. 421, 6 February 2003,
p. 583
Mitochondria use the oxygen we breathe to oxidize the
nutrients. Just like a power plant that uses coal or oil, mi-
tochondria produce electricity from the energy released
during the oxidation process, allowing the cells to obtain
the energy they need to maintain their activities.

Cell

Outer
Inner membrane
membrane

Mitochondrion