PhD Defence Heather Lauren Petrick

Keywords: Mitochondria, nutrition, physical inactivity, physical activity 
 

"Nutritional approaches to modulate mitochondrial bioenergetics"

Mitochondria are important for producing energy in the body, which is essential for performing physical activity and maintaining health. When mitochondrial function becomes disrupted, it can contribute to numerous health problems including obesity, cardiovascular disease, and muscle disuse atrophy. This dissertation investigated how mitochondrial metabolism changes in these conditions and how nutrition affects mitochondrial function. The studies in this dissertation identified that consuming a high-fat diet causes many of the mitochondrial impairments observed in obesity. It was found that consuming dietary nitrate can prevent these impairments and improve overall health. Dietary nitrate also showed beneficial effects on mitochondrial function during muscle inactivity. In addition to examining nutritional approaches which prevent mitochondrial dysfunction, this dissertation also examined the ability of different macronutrients to support mitochondrial function during and after exercise. In summary, this dissertation has identified that mitochondria play an essential role in both health and disease and that mitochondrial function can be influenced both negatively and positively by nutrition. 

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