Mind & Matter
Whether food, drugs or ideas, what you consume influences who you become. Learn directly from the best scientists & thinkers alive today about how your mind-body reacts to what you feed it.
The weekly M&M podcast features conversations with the most interesting scientists, thinkers, and technology entrepreneurs alive today.
Not medical advice.
At M&M, we are interested in trying to figure out how things work, not affirming our existing beliefs. We prefer consulting primary rather than secondary sources and independent rather than institutional voices. If we encounter uncomfortable truths or the evidence suggests unfashionable ideas may be valid, so be it.
As the host, my aim is to help you better understand how the body & mind work by curating & synthesizing information in a way that yields science-based insights that you can choose to use or disregard in your own life. Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
I am motivated to connect the dots and distill general principles from what I learn, preferring to ask questions and play devil’s advocate to debating or incessantly pushing my own viewpoint.
My beliefs:
- Taking ownership of your health starts with taking ownership of your information diet.
- All knowledge is provisional and we must work hard to prevent ourselves from becoming attached to our favorite ideas & preferred conclusions.
- Wisdom comes from an iterative, trial-and-error process of learning and unlearning. Letting go of pre-conceived notions can be painful, but pain is information.
Sometimes modern discoveries teach us we must unlearn received wisdom. Other times, modern information overload & historical chauvinism cause us to forget ancient wisdom which stills applies. The framework for learning that I embody is inspired by three Ancient Greek maxims inscribed in the Temple of Apollo at Delphi:
- “Γνῶθι σεαυτόν” (Know thyself)
- “Μηδὲν ἄγαν” (Nothing in excess)
- “Ἐγγύα πάρα δ Ἄτα” (Certainty brings insanity)
Mind & Matter
How & Why Mitochondria Make Their Own Fat | Sara Nowinski | 263
Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis is a little-known but essential pathway that supports energy production and metabolic health.
Summary: Dr. Sara Nowinski explains how mitochondria not only burn fuels to make ATP but also synthesize their own fatty acids inside the matrix; this conserved pathway produces lipoic acid (an essential enzyme cofactor) and longer-chain fats required for proper assembly of the electron transport chain, and disrupting it impairs respiration, glucose handling, and insulin sensitivity while enhancing it appears protective against obesity and heart injury.
About the guest: Sara Nowinski, PhD is an assistant professor in the Department of Metabolism and Nutritional Programming at Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where since 2021 she has led a lab focused on mitochondrial biology and the mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mitoFAS) pathway.
Topics Discussed:
- Basic mitochondrial energy production: food → pyruvate/fatty acids → acetyl-CoA → TCA cycle → electron transport chain → ATP
- Mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis (mitoFAS): a bacterial-like pathway that builds fats on an acyl carrier protein inside the matrix
- Lipoic acid: an 8-carbon fatty acid made only by mitoFAS, covalently attached to key enzymes (e.g., pyruvate dehydrogenase); cannot be rescued by supplements for cofactor use
- Longer mitoFAS products (14–16 carbons) stabilize electron transport chain assembly factors, explaining why pathway loss collapses respiration even when lipoic acid is intact
- Knocking out mitoFAS causes embryonic lethality, insulin resistance, poor glucose homeostasis, and a rare neurodegenerative disorder (MEPAN syndrome)
- Overexpressing the mitochondrial acyl carrier protein protects mice from diet-induced obesity, insulin resistance, and cardiac injury
- Muscle cell differentiation fails without mitoFAS, hinting at a role in tissue development and repair
Practical Takeaways:
- Supplemental lipoic acid can act as an antioxidant but cannot replace the lipoic acid your mitochondria must make themselves for enzyme function.
- Severe impairment of mitochondrial fatty acid synthesis is linked to insulin resistance and metabolic disruption, suggesting mitochondrial health (beyond just biogenesis) matters for glucose control.
*Not medical advice.
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