BayouHealth | Reclaiming Your Energy

How Women Heal Future Generation by Healing Themselves
BY SHANNON DAHLUM, FDN-P 

If there’s one thing women are known for, it’s giving. We give our time and energy to our families, our careers, our communities. But what we give goes even deeper, down to the cellular level, and it’s a legacy that impacts not only our children, but future generations.

I’m not just talking about eye color or personality traits that we pass down. I mean something even deeper than that- our energy. Every single mitochondrion (the tiny powerhouses in our cells that create energy) comes directly from our mothers. Unlike most of our DNA, which is a mix from both parents, mitochondrial DNA is passed down only through the maternal line. That means the energy running through you was once inside your mother, your grandmother, your great-grandmother. 

Mitochondrial health isn’t solely about genetics, though. It’s also influenced by stress, trauma, toxins, and lifestyle choices. The negative impacts these have on our mitochondrial health can be passed down, too. However, if stress and depletion can be inherited, so can healing. The way you care for yourself today doesn’t only impact your energy; it can shift the health of future generations. This means that if you start prioritizing your own energy, you could help break the cycle of exhaustion for your future children and your children’s children.

Science has shown us that trauma can be passed down through generations. Studies have revealed that children of Holocaust survivors, for example, have epigenetic markers that make them more sensitive to stress even though they never directly experienced the trauma themselves.

It’s not just humans, either. In one study, scientists exposed male mice to the scent of cherry blossoms while giving them small electric shocks. Unsurprisingly, the mice learned to fear the smell. But here’s the wild part: when these mice had babies, their offspring, who had never experienced the shocks, also showed fear when they smelled cherry blossoms.

A similar experiment was done with rabbits. A mother rabbit was exposed to the scent of peppermint while being poked with a needle, so she learned to associate peppermint with pain. Later, her babies, who had never experienced the needle, showed the same fear response to peppermint.

These studies show that stress and trauma don’t just affect us; they can change the way future generations respond to their environment. But the flip side to this is that positive changes can be inherited, too. Just like trauma and toxicity can be passed down, so can healing, resilience, and mitochondrial strength.

For healthy functioning mitochondria, we need to ensure we are providing them with the specific nutrients they need. Here are a few they thrive on:

• Magnesium: Required for ATP (cellular energy) production. Found in leafy greens, nuts, and dark chocolate.

• CoQ10: A powerhouse antioxidant that supports mitochondrial function. Found in grass-fed beef, sardines, and organ meats.

• B Vitamins: Critical for energy metabolism, especially B1, B2, and B3. Found in beef liver, fatty fish, eggs, mushrooms, and bee pollen.

• Potassium & Sodium: Electrolytes that help keep your mitochondria firing properly.

We also need to pay attention to the toxins we are exposed to, which create cellular inflammation and diminish the ability for the mitochondria to produce energy. Toxins like heavy metals, mold, pesticides, highly processed foods, and endocrine disruptors (plastic water bottles and chemical-laden beauty products, for example) wreck mitochondrial function. To lower your toxin load, choose non-toxic cleaning and beauty products, organically raised foods, and filter your water (reverse osmosis is a good choice) to remove heavy metals and contaminants.  It’s also important to make sure your body is eliminating toxins efficiently with regular bowel movements, physical activity, and sweating.

Blood sugar crashes also stress your mitochondria and make your energy levels swing wildly. Instead of skipping meals or relying on caffeine to push through, focus on eating balanced, nutrient dense meals throughout the day.  Including protein, healthy fats, and fiber at each meal will support a healthier blood sugar response than consuming carbohydrates or protein alone.  Food isn’t the only thing that can spike blood sugar- stress can, too.  For this reason, avoiding excess caffeine on an empty stomach can be important.  Stress hormones should be highest in the morning, but if we skip breakfast and go straight for caffeine, we will increase stress hormones even more and potentially trigger an adrenaline and blood sugar roller coaster. A nutrient dense morning meal will calm the stress response and support healthier energy all day long.

Stress of any kind, which is simply anything that creates imbalance, drains your mitochondria. High cortisol levels shift your body into survival mode, robbing your cells of the energy they need to thrive. To support balance and disrupt chronic stress, prioritize the following:

• Move your body, but don’t overdo it. Gentle movement like walking, yoga, and strength training is best for mitochondrial support. Chronic cardio can backfire if you’re already depleted.

• Get outside in natural light. Sunlight in the morning signals your mitochondria to function properly, while consistent exposure to indoor lighting leads to chronically elevated cortisol.

• Prioritize deep breathing, meditation, or time in nature. Even 5 minutes of focused relaxation or presence every day can shift your nervous system into a healing state.

Mitochondria have their own internal clocks. When your sleep is off, your energy suffers. To support restful sleep, wake up and go to bed at the same time every day (yes, even on weekends).  As mentioned previously, get sunlight exposure first thing in the morning to reset your circadian rhythm. Avoid indoor blue light and electronic screens (without the protection of blue light blocking glasses) after sunset so your body can produce melatonin, which supports sleep and is also a mitochondrial antioxidant that protects them from damaging inflammation.

Women have spent generations running on fumes, pushing through exhaustion, and sacrificing their own well-being for everyone else’s. But when you take back your energy, you’re not just healing yourself, you’re changing the trajectory for future generations.

You don’t have to accept burnout as the norm. You don’t have to be stuck in survival mode. The choices you make today in regards to how you protect your energy don’t just affect you; they ripple outward, shifting the health of your children, grandchildren, and beyond.

Your mitochondria are a gift from the women before you. How you take care of them and pass them along is up to you.