When Every Chronic Condition Touches Your Mitochondria: A New Perspective on Universal Health

Published February 2026

A conversation that reframes how we think about health at the cellular level.

In the closing moments of a recent podcast conversation with Dr. Sundeep Dugar PhD, at A4M Longevity Fest 2025, a question was posed that cut to the heart of precision medicine: “What types of patient profiles would benefit from mitochondrial support?”

His answer was both simple and profound: “Pretty much every pathology touches the mitochondria. There isn’t one that does not.”

The Downward Spiral

Dr. Dugar painted a picture that many practitioners will recognize immediately. As we age, we’re naturally losing mitochondria. If we’re not exercising enough, we’re not replacing them. But then add any external or internal insult (a monogenic disease, an infection, metabolic disorders) and the mitochondria become stressed trying to address those challenges.

“So you get into a spiral,” he explained. “The extent of internal bioenergetics is now depleting faster than if you just have a healthy baseline with no chronic conditions.” Even when healthy, at age 21, we naturally lose 10-15% of our mitochondrial content per decade.

From mental health to physiological processes, the mitochondrial impact is universal. Which raises an important question: if mitochondria are the sentinels of health, what happens when we can actively support their regeneration?

The Nutrition Imperative

But Dr. Dugar was quick to emphasize a critical point that often gets lost in supplement discussions: mitochondrial support must be matched with proper nutrition.

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Returning to his fireplace metaphor, he distinguished between soft wood (processed foods and sugars) that burns fast, creates smoke, and provides little sustained heat, versus hardwood (proteins, fibers, and healthy fats) that burns clean and provides lasting energy.

“You can have all the fireplaces in the world,” the implication was clear, “but what you burn in them matters profoundly.”

The Complementary Approach

Perhaps the most important moment came when Dr. Dugar addressed how this fits into existing treatment protocols. His message was unequivocal: “Nobody’s saying you should not take chemotherapy for cancer.”

The concept isn’t about replacement. It’s about foundation.

“But in the background, if you supplement, or better, catalyze mitochondrial biogenesis, it will help you. It will intrinsically help you to have a better response to the things that bother you.”

This evolutionary perspective resonated through his words. Mitochondria have existed in eukaryotic cells for 2.5 billion years. Every species on planet Earth uses them for life, sustenance, and health.

“And if you are losing it, you need to get it back,” he stated simply.

A New Paradigm

When asked for an elevator pitch, one participant offered: “Exercise in powder form.”

Dr. Dugar’s response was measured but telling. While acknowledging the cleverness of the phrase, he emphasized the reality: “It helps to supplement if you are unable to access exercise.”

The key word being supplement: to exercise when possible, and to use better nutrition always.

What we’re witnessing here isn’t just a new product category. It’s a fundamental shift in how we think about cellular health. Not as isolated interventions for specific conditions, but as support for the universal foundation upon which every cell, every organ, every system depends.

For practitioners navigating an increasingly complex landscape of interventions, the question becomes: What does it mean to support health at its most fundamental level? And if we could help patients rebuild their cellular energy infrastructure while they address specific pathologies, what might become possible?

The research suggests we’re only beginning to understand the answer.

View the entire A4M interview with Ovation Labs at

Dr. Sundeep Dugar PhD, a pharmaceutical drug discovery expert with nearly 40 years of experience and over 100 patents, spent 16 years unraveling why exercise is so good for you. What he discovered could transform how we approach aging and energy.