Mitochondria, bone cells, and movement.

FGF23 is promoted by exercise, promotes Nrf2, and enhances mitochondrial function. & Inversion boards are a fun way to exercise your abs. *Video of me.

“During exercise, muscles also make a molecule called beta-aminoisobutyric acid (BAIBA) that influences fat and insulin responses to the increased energy use. Bonewald has found that BAIBA protects osteocytes from dangerous byproducts of cellular metabolism called reactive oxygen species. In young mice that were immobilized — which normally causes atrophy of bone and muscle — providing extra BAIBA kept both bones and muscle healthy.” […]

“Gut microbes also appear to moderate another signal that affects bone: parathyroid hormone (PTH), from the parathyroid glands at the base of the neck. PTH regulates both bone production and breakdown. But PTH can only promote bone growth if mice have a gut full of microbes. Specifically, the microbes make a short-chain fatty acid called butyrate that facilitates this particular conversation. (Incidentally, that FGF23 made by osteocytes also acts on the parathyroid glands, tuning down their secretion of PTH.)”

How Bones Communicate With the Rest of the Body, “A new vision of the skeleton as a dynamic organ that sends and receives messages suggests potential therapies for osteoporosis and other problems…” by Amber Dance, Knowable, March 3, 2022, reprint in Smithsonian Magazine.

Antibiotic use weakened bones, probiotics helped. Microbes would need zinc and resistant starch to promote the butyrate and other short chain fatty acid producing species of the colon.

The bone osteocytes are support cells that make signaling chemicals which include Fibroblast growth-factor 23, (FGF23), a growth factor that regulates phosphorus release or retention by the kidneys. Too much of FGF23, seen in a gene difference, causes softening of the bone matrix from lack of phosphorus. Too much phosphorus is excreted. (Smithsonian Magazine) FGF23 is promoted by exercise and improves exercise performance by helping reduce reactive oxygen species (oxidative stress chemicals) and it enhances the function of mitochondria in skeletal muscle, (animal-based study.). (Li, D.J., et al., 2016) That sounds a lot like FGF23 promotes Nrf2 - and it was found to in spinal cord astrocytes. Nrf2 then promoted heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) (Vargas, et al., 2005), which normally is anti-inflammatory, however if it is made with glyphosate instead of glycine then it may form a functional protein that is inflammatory instead of being anti-inflammatory. Inflammation promotes more HO-1, so a malfunctioning form would lead to a positive feedback loop that promotes more inflammation instead of dampening it down. This info is covered in the more recent of my extensive series of posts about glyphosate that I included in the last post: The last post got a big edit and has resource links now.

• The last post got a big edit and has resource links now. (Niacin/wild hamster cannibalism/glyphosate.) (substack.com)

• And that post was a follow up to this post: Niacin deficiency linked to glyphosate and cannibalism (in wild hamsters). (substack.com)

Glyphosate may really be impacting health in a number of negative ways that are not all obvious without some extreme chemistry to look at exactly what is being produced in living organisms when glyphosate is available as a synthetic amino acid that can be incorporated into normal protein sequences. Our body is a little haphazard at building proteins and then has a more elaborate system for checking and removing bad proteins. “Misfolded protein” conditions in part are due to the body getting behind on the clean-up - too many bad proteins are being made and filling-up the endoplasmic reticulum to a point of dysfunction or are present in extracellular fluid disrupting flow or function of the area.

This particular post is more of a follow up to the mitochondria series and my theory that our symbionts need us to move in order for them to recognize that we are a living host to continue maintaining instead of starting decomposition signaling.

Mitochondria, movement, the cerebellum and dystonia. (substack.com)

I like to move for fun or productive work. Exercise for the sake of “exercising” is less my thing. I moved my inversion board in for the winter and have been enjoying having it nearby instead of in a garage where I didn’t use it very often. Whining - menopause seems to have led to my stomach muscles forgetting their job. It feels like being pregnant - no abs down there for sitting up anymore. “Suck in your gut” is no longer effortless. Something about menopausal hormone changes causes women to start adding abdominal fat more readily (I had always gained in my hips - pear shape, not apple) and it also seems to change the muscle tone or memory. Staying fit as an older person may take DHEA supplements (promote muscle building) and conscious exercise habits, and progesterone cream for older women.

I always liked swing sets and swimming and teeter totters. An inversion board is like being the swing and like swimming or flying, a little. I enjoy it and my abs get stronger when I spend time on the inversion board regularly. (It was a midrange model, or budget model ~ $100 about ten years ago.)

Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes.

Reference List

(Li, D.J., et al., 2016) Li DJ, Fu H, Zhao T, Ni M, Shen FM. Exercise-stimulated FGF23 promotes exercise performance via controlling the excess reactive oxygen species production and enhancing mitochondrial function in skeletal muscle. Metabolism. 2016 May;65(5):747-756. doi: 10.1016/j.metabol.2016.02.009. Epub 2016 Feb 24. PMID: 27085781. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27085781/

(Vargas, et al., 2005) Vargas MR, Pehar M, Cassina P, Martínez-Palma L, Thompson JA, Beckman JS, Barbeito L. Fibroblast growth factor-1 induces heme oxygenase-1 via nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) in spinal cord astrocytes: consequences for motor neuron survival. J Biol Chem. 2005 Jul 8;280(27):25571-9. doi: 10.1074/jbc.M501920200. Epub 2005 May 3. PMID: 15870071. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15870071/