Mitochondrial Testing Review

For people whom conventional medicine has failed to provide answers

The past 2 years, Ive talked about labs, protocols, peptides, and “optimization”. I want to live a long time with as much healthspan as possible.

My goals are not to defy death and be Bryan Johnson.

Rather, I simply want to see my children grow up, and eventual grandchildren.

Hence my proactiveness.

While making new friends this year in Austin, I met some great people whose personal health journeys had begun in working to solve their chronic illnesses.

It was interesting to say the least, and gave me new perspective. Ive been healthy my whole life, and never had complex health problems.

But this is a reality for millions of people.

We are living through an explosion of chronic illness, autoimmune disease, and vague, life-draining conditions that don’t fit neatly into diagnostic boxes.

You talk to these people, and their frustration is palpable.

Autoimmune conditions have skyrocketed. Chronic fatigue is everywhere. Anxiety, depression, metabolic dysfunction, gut disorders, all rising together. These aren’t isolated problems. Mainstream medicine is incredible at acute care, but deeply confused when it comes to long-term, systemic dysfunction.

They dont get answers from their doctors. They go through a wheel of specialists, hoping someone applies some real critical investigation in their cases.

Despite unprecedented spending on healthcare, more specialists, more tests, and more pharmaceuticals than any society in history, a huge number of people are getting worse, not better.

Around 10% of Americans have a chronic disease, and around half have chronic health conditions that affect quality of life.

We can tell people to do the basics, but that is not a magic wand to every problem.

You can do everything you’re told and still feel broken, inflamed, exhausted, and stuck.

What do you do when routine testing fails to provide answers? What comes Next

Before we Dive In

• Infrared Saunas are health changing and life changing and worth the investment. Order one from High Tech Health, and mention AJAC on the phone to get a deal

• For your research needs in the world of peptides and small molecules, I recommend Elite Research USA.

• Fitness genes is awesome, use code AJAC20, 10/10 recommend to everyone reading.

Enter Mitochondrial Testing

The concept of testing mitochondria is very new. Weve all heard the “powerhouse of cells” line, but that understanding is outdated.

Mitochondrial organelles do much more than make ATP, they also function as dynamic information processors that shape how cells function and communicate.

Hence the term “Motherboard of the cells” thats been promoted recently.

Mitochondria originated when a bacterium became permanently integrated into a host cell about 1.5 billion years ago (endosymbiosis), and that set the stage for complex multicellular life.

Whereas the old view of biology was mitochondria being static energy factories, in reality mitochondria move, interact, and adapt. They communicate within cells and across tissues by responding to environmental signals, adjusting their membrane potentials, and releasing regulatory molecules. This means they power not only metabolism with ATP productin, but affect gene expression, stress responses, aging, and disease risk.

Mitochondria are not all uniform in function either. Its been discovered they specialize by cell type and region. They “know” where they are in the body. They dont operate as independent entities, but as a collective. They can fuse and share DNA to rescue damaged units, showing collective behavior.

When mitochondria work well, tissues and systems thrive; when they malfunction, it shows up in metabolic diseases, neurodegeneration, and aging.

Supporting mitochondrial health is to support the energetic information flow that drives cell health and resilience.

The Mitome Test was Developed by Chris Masterjohn, Phd

Chris is a friend of mine, and one of the most brilliant people in the health industry. His Phd is in nutrition sciences, and his holistic and in depth grasp of metabolism down to the molecular level of is unmatched.

Hes been publishing for almost two decades now, and its been gratifying to see him reach mainstream success with his appearances on Rogan and his work being incorporated into the MAHA movement.

Chris developed the Mitome test over a time period of working with clients with difficult-to-solve health issues that conventional medicine failed to address

He recognized that people with unexplainable symptoms, immunocompromised, low energy, brain fog, poor digestion, skin issues, there was an underlying energetic problem not being addressed.

His approach was simple in theory

Mitochondria are what power the body, and help control immune system and overall resilience

But they are overlooked entirely in conventional medicine.

The challenge was how to test them?

Chris learned over time that direct biochemical analysis of buccal cheek cells could be used to assess each complex of your respiratory chain in real-time.

Mitchondria produce waste products, and these can in fact be measured in cheek cells through a salivery collection test. While this sounds simple, mapping out what chemicals to test for and how they fit into ETC complex took years of work and massive amounts of analyzing data.

In the past year, he finally completed his testing model, applied to have it patented

As mitochondria function 24/7, a “simple” salivary test

The Mitome test is idesigned to identify the specific bottlenecks limiting your mitochondrial performance in each complex. This targeted approach pinpoints exactly what your cells need to optimize energy production, based on the bodys current state of function.

I had the Mitome test done recently in December

Had I had more foresight Id have taken pictures.

The testing kit is straightforward, but does require some prep.

You get a package with 4 plastic test tubes.

You do a cheek swab, and place one swab in each tube.

The tubes must be kept cold, so the kit includes some cold packs which you freeze first, and then put them into a sealed temp controlled bag to be mailed.

From there, you wait for results in 4 weeks

The results are in a PDF file

Let me preface; this is a COMPLEX test. In simple terms, instead of guessing based on symptoms or generic lab work, it measures how efficiently different energy-producing pathways inside your cells are working, and where the real bottlenecks are.

Useful, but its also a systems-level test: the results don’t spit out a simple yes/no answer, rather they show patterns that need to be interpreted carefully and acted on in a specific order with specific protocols.

The test results are around 20 pages long, and you MUST read through the whole report to make sense of them.

This is the easiest to understand part of the report, showing your Complex function

Interestingly, I did the test at the same time I was using high dose vitamin C (around 2 grams daily), which seemed to influence the Complex IV function. Genetically my test results on the Fitness genes test showed I have reduced capacity for vitamin C utilization and need to supplemen with higher than RDA amounts.

The Mitome test showed a similar finding as I dived into the results; my Complex IV function showed an increased need for Vitamin C.

The Fitness Genes test had also showed I have very poor genetics for aerobic exercise and endurance. This also aligned with my Complex 1 and Complex II and III function being “normal” but not optimal.

Where the results get complex to apply is in the protocol portion

The protocol itself is a multi step process of and supplement and diet changes which should be done sequentially.

While following the protocol, its recommended to do at home testing with blood sugar, ketone strips, and lactate strips.

Suffice to say, this is NOT a braindead “just do this” set of recommendations, rather its in depth and data driven

What is most impressive is the level of real customization

This is my protocol, it was 10 Steps in total

1. Clean up sulfur metabolism
   Identify and resolve issues related to sulfur amino acid breakdown that can create toxic byproducts and impair mitochondrial function.

2. Adopt a ketogenic (low-carb, high-fat) diet
   Shift fuel use toward fats to better match mitochondrial energy pathways that favor fat metabolism.

3. Supplement with disodium succinate
   Directly feed mitochondrial Complex II to improve energy production efficiency.

4. Add alpha-ketoglutarate (AKG)
   Support the citric acid cycle and further enhance Complex II energy flow.

5. Increase glutamine intake
   Provide additional fuel that preferentially supports mitochondrial energy production through Complex II.

6. Adjust carbohydrate intake
   Fine-tune carb levels to find the personal sweet spot between too low and too high for optimal energy and metabolic stability.

7. Support sulfur / cysteine needs (e.g., NAC)
   Only if sulfur issues are resolved; used to maintain antioxidant capacity and mitochondrial protection.

8. Add vitamin K2 (MK-4)
   Required to properly shuttle energy and support downstream mitochondrial reactions.

9. Add high-dose vitamin C
   Feeds energy directly into mitochondrial Complex IV and supports redox balance.

10. Use near-infrared light exposure
    Light in the 700–1000 nm range directly stimulates mitochondrial energy production and cellular repair.

Each step is meant to be implemented one at a time, in order, with monitoring before moving on.

The level of detail in each step was immense

Mitome does have the option of consulting with a health coach to apply the protocol and make health adjustments, which I think is wortwhile.

I will say plainly, this test best suited for people with real health bottlenecks

If you are a healthy, high energy person, this test could be interesting and useful. But its not essential.

However, if you are someone chronic fatigue, metabolic issues, brain fog, poor recovery, unexplained symptoms, or long-standing health problems, this test might be the mastery key you’ve beens searching for

There are many cases of people “doing all the right things” but it still isn’t working healthwise.

For those individuals, Mitome may save years of trial-and-error by pointing directly to the limiting factor in cellular energy production. When something is clearly off with your health and not responding to standard optimization, this test can be a smart investment to stop guessing and start fixing the actual problem at the cellular level.

You can Order the Mitome Test Here.