“All in all, there are said to be 10 million billion mitochondria in an adult human, which together constitute about 10 per cent of our body weight.”
― Nick Lane, Power, Sex, Suicide: Mitochondria and the meaning of life
To put this in perspective a 175 pound male, would have approximately 17.5 pounds of mitochondria in their body.
If that were a turkey it would take a whopping 262 minutes to cook and feed about 18 people.
The same 175 pound male would have a total blood volume of about 5 litres, weighing in at about 11.5 pounds of blood. That is about the weight of 8 bowls of oatmeal which can only feed a measly 8 people. On the plus side 8 bowls of oatmeal only take about 2 minutes to order at the local diner.
If that reference does not ring close to home, it is about the same weight as a cat, a brain, and a medium sized, traditionally carved Jack-o-lantern. I know what you are thinking and the answer is yes. It must be traditionally carved.
So with 11 ish pounds of blood, and 17 ish pounds of mitochondria, the billions of little mega bots that convert all the energy you need to blink, blush, run, jump, and throw, shouldn’t we be paying more attention to improved mitochondrial function as the next frontier for our athletic gains.
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Check back with us regularly because Mitochondria Are Literally Everywhere.
