Many people believe their gut problems are caused by an unhealthy diet, a viral infection, chronic stress, or genetic predisposition. While these factors certainly play a role, the true cause often lies deeper. Specifically, in how your cells (insufficiently) produce energy.
Scientific evidence and our own clinical experience show that with many chronic health complaints, there are always two underlying issues at play:
- Timing is disrupted: the biological clock no longer functions properly
- Energy production is disrupted: mitochondria in the cells no longer function properly
In this blog, we will examine the second problem in relation to gut issues: how does a chronic lack of energy in your cells cause problems in your gut?
After reading this blog, you will know:
- The importance of properly functioning mitochondria for gut health
- How the energy status of your brain impacts the quality of your gut
- Why increasing energy is always a fundamental tool for optimal recovery
- Whether your gut is in balance with the help of the gut checklist
Mitochondria: the Energy Engines in your Cells
The intestines cannot function without healthy cells. What makes a cell healthy largely depends on how effectively that cell can produce energy to perform all its tasks. Energy production takes place in the mitochondria of your cells. Mitochondria are organelles within the cell that can be thought of as the energy engines of your cells. They are present in almost all body cells (from your muscles and liver to your brain and intestines) and are essential for the proper functioning of your entire body. An average cell (including the intestinal cell) contains between 1,000 and 2,500 mitochondria, while a heart cell contains around 5,000.
Mitochondria do more than just produce energy. They regulate repair processes, assist in waste removal, are essential for the production of certain hormones, support the immune system, and even determine whether a cell lives or is broken down (Casanova et al., 2023). In your gut, mitochondria regulate, among other things, the production of digestive juices, the renewal of intestinal cells, the maintenance of your mucous membrane, and the control of your immune system (Haque et al., 2024).
The functioning of mitochondria is therefore not only crucial for energy production but also forms the basis for repair, defense, and renewal in your gut and beyond.
Mitochondria, Light, and the Biological Clock
Mitochondria do not function in isolation. They respond to signals from their environment such as light, oxygen, temperature, and nutrition. This makes mitochondria sensitive sensors that convert environmental stimuli into processes within the cell. Particularly, the infrared light from the sun (which is present throughout the day) has a stimulating effect on energy production in the mitochondria (Tafur & Mills, 2008; Arranz-Paraiso et al., 2023). Furthermore, infrared light penetrates deep into the body and can thus activate mitochondria in deeper-lying cells (Jagdeo et al., 2012).
Artificial light, on the other hand, especially in the evening, reduces the efficiency with which mitochondria produce energy and increases stress in your cells (Regmi et al., 2023; Teixeira et al., 2019).
The functioning of mitochondria is also linked to your biological clock. This central clock in your brain must synchronize with the local clocks in your gut cells. Chronically late eating, night work, insufficient sunlight, or excessive screen time can disrupt this rhythm. As a result, mitochondria no longer know when to be active, and energy production in the cell, and consequently in the gut, becomes disrupted (de Goede et al., 2018, Gopalakrishnan & Kannan, 2020).
Energy Deficiency in the Gut
Furthermore, a disruption of mitochondria in intestinal cells can contribute to the weakening of the protective layer. Tight junctions then become more vulnerable, which can promote leakage in the intestinal wall (Chernyavskij et al., 2023). When mitochondria do not function properly, your digestion also declines because the energy supply required for cell renewal and immune support is lost. Additionally, your intestinal wall can become leaky, your body may react overactively to food, and your abdomen may become bloated or inflamed (Haque et al., 2024). This leads to symptoms that many people recognize: food intolerances, bloating, disrupted bowel movements, and pain in the intestines.
How the Energy Status of your Brain Controls your Gut
Besides the microbiome, your brain is an important factor. Your brain and gut are closely connected via the so-called gut-brain axis: a bidirectional communication pathway that constantly exchanges information. This connection runs, among other things, via the autonomic nervous system, which automatically regulates much of your digestion. Less known is that this communication depends on energy, originating from the mitochondria.
In your brain cells, mitochondria provide the energy needed to process signals and send information to the gut. When the energy state of your brain becomes disrupted (for example, due to chronic stress or lack of natural light), the mitochondria become depleted. The signals to your gut then become weaker or more chaotic.
The consequence is that your digestion becomes dysregulated, the control of your gut function falters, and the protection of your intestinal wall weakens. Gut bacteria also react to these disturbed signals. They depend on a stable environment and adapt their behavior based on input from the brain. If that input is chaotic, your gut flora also becomes imbalanced.
Therefore, you cannot have a healthy gut if your brain lacks sufficient energy to fulfill its coordinating role. That is why true gut health does not begin in your gut, but in your brain. More precisely: in the mitochondria of your brain cells.
It all Starts with Energy
Gut health depends entirely on proper energy production. Whether your intestines can digest, repair, and protect depends on whether your cells can supply sufficient energy.
When the mitochondria in your intestinal cells become disrupted, the intestinal wall weakens. When those in your brain are under pressure, the signals to your intestines also become disrupted. And when your living environment (think of artificial light, stress, or sleep deprivation) undermines your rhythm and light exposure, energy production in all body cells decreases. Everything is interconnected: intestines, brain, rhythm, light, recovery, and energy. And at the center of it all are the mitochondria.
Yet, many people do not recognize this connection. They feel tired, bloated, or hypersensitive to food, and seek the cause in their gut or diet. While the true cause lies deeper: their cells have been running on reserve for a long time. Without energy, cells cannot recover. And this often becomes visible first in the gut or skin.
That is why probiotics or specific diets often only work temporarily. They give the system something to work with, but not the power to recover. A leaky gut cannot be healed with a diet alone. More is needed: the imbalance between energy supply and demand must be restored. Only then will the body stop surviving and begin healing.
True gut health does not begin in your gut, but with the energy that needs to get there. And that energy comes from your mitochondria.
Gut Check: Do You Recognize Yourself?
Answer 10 questions honestly with ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
References
- Tafur, J., & Mills, P. J. (2008). Low-Intensity Light Therapy: Exploring the Role of Redox Mechanisms. Photomedicine and Laser Surgery, 26(4), 323–328
- Arranz‑Paraíso, D., Sola, Y., Baeza‑Moyano, D., Benítez‑Martínez, M., Melero‑Tur, S., & González‑Lezcano, R. A. (2023). Mitochondria and light: An overview of the pathways triggered in skin and retina with incident infrared radiation. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 238, 112614.
- Jagdeo, J. R., Adams, L. E., Brody, N. I., & Siegel, D. M. (2012). Transcranial Red and Near Infrared Light Transmission in a Cadaveric Model. PLoS ONE, 7(10), e47460.
- Gopalakrishnan, S., & Kannan, N. N. (2020). Only time will tell: The interplay between circadian clock and metabolism. Journal of Biosciences, 45, 131.
- Regmi, P., Young, M., Minigo, G., Milic, N., & Gyawali, P. (2023). Photoperiod and metabolic health: Evidence, mechanism, and implications. Metabolism, 143, 155770.
- Teixeira, K. R. C., dos Santos, C. P., de Medeiros, L. A., Mendes, J. A., Cunha, T. M., De Angelis, K., Penha-Silva, N., de Oliveira, E. P., & Crispim, C. A. (2019). Night workers have lower levels of antioxidant defenses and higher levels of oxidative stress damage when compared to day workers. Scientific Reports, 9, Article 4455.
- Casanova, A., Wevers, A., Navarro-Ledesma, S., & Pruimboom, L. (2023). Mitochondria: It is all about energy. Frontiers in Physiology, 14, Article 1114231.
- Haque, P. S., Kapur, N., Barrett, T. A., & Theiss, A. L. (2024). Mitochondrial function and gastrointestinal diseases. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 21, 537–555.
- de Goede, P., Wefers, J., Brombacher, E. C., Schrauwen, P., & Kalsbeek, A. (2018). Circadian rhythms in mitochondrial respiration. Journal of Molecular Endocrinology, 60(3), R115–R130.
