Founder, MitochondrialHealth | 40+ years in rehabilitation | Metabolic Health • Brain Health • Strength • Healthy Aging
Clermont, FL
Joined April 2024
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I’m Ted Langdon, founder of MitochondrialHealth.
This didn’t start with social media, a podcast, or the latest longevity trend.
My journey in health, exercise, physical therapy, and rehabilitation began more than 40 years ago.
As a teenager in the early 1980s, I began volunteering and observing in hospitals, rehabilitation settings, and sports medicine. That early exposure eventually became a lifelong career working in physical therapy and rehabilitation.
Along the way, I studied exercise, fitness, prevention, rehabilitation, strength, nutrition, and metabolic health. I had opportunities to learn in respected clinical and academic environments, including UNC Chapel Hill and Duke, and to work across different areas of rehabilitation and healthcare.
But some of my greatest lessons did not come from a classroom.
They came from people.
For more than four decades, I have worked with and learned from people dealing with weakness, pain, injury, neurological conditions, chronic disease, falls, loss of mobility, and the difficult process of trying to regain function and independence.
I have watched people fight their way back after illness and injury.
I have also seen what happens when years of declining muscle, poor metabolic health, inactivity, inadequate recovery, and loss of physical capacity finally catch up with someone.
That experience changed the questions I began asking.
What if we focused more attention on preserving health before people lost it?
What if we protected muscle and strength earlier?
What if we paid more attention to metabolic health, movement, nutrition, sleep, recovery, and the cellular processes that help support human energy and resilience?
What if the goal of healthy aging was not simply living longer, but remaining strong enough and capable enough to keep living your life?
Those questions eventually helped lead me to create MitochondrialHealth.
Mitochondria are an important part of that story, but they are not the entire story.
Human health is complex.
Muscle matters.
Strength matters.
Movement matters.
Metabolic health matters.
Nutrition matters.
Sleep matters.
Recovery matters.
Brain health matters.
And the ability of our cells to produce and manage energy matters.
MitochondrialHealth brings those pieces together through evidence informed education focused on metabolic health, mitochondrial function, strength, movement, recovery, brain health, and healthy aging.
My perspective is not that of a laboratory scientist or physician.
It comes from more than 40 years around rehabilitation, physical therapy, exercise, prevention, recovery, and real people trying to remain strong or regain their independence.
That is the perspective I bring to MitochondrialHealth.
I will continue studying the research, learning from physicians, scientists, researchers, clinicians, coaches, and other experts, and translating that information into practical education people can understand and use.
No miracle promises.
No single explanation for every disease.
No one size fits all approach.
Just a continuing effort to understand the science, ask better questions, share what the evidence shows, and help people think earlier about the health and physical capacity they want to preserve for the future.
Because after decades in rehabilitation, one lesson has stayed with me:
It is much easier to protect strength, mobility, and independence than to try to rebuild them after they are gone.
That is why MitochondrialHealth exists.
Build strength.
Protect muscle.
Improve metabolic health.
Prioritize recovery.
Preserve mobility.
Protect independence.
And keep learning.
MitochondrialHealth
Education for a Healthier Tomorrow.
MitochondrialHealthLLC.com
General education only. Not medical diagnosis or treatment.
After 40 years in physical therapy, I’ve seen firsthand what happens when we stop treating weakness as an inevitable part of aging. People in their 80s and 90s can still build muscle, improve strength, and regain independence! Skeletal muscle is one of our greatest assets for metabolic health, longevity, and quality of life. You’re never too old to get stronger! 💪
It's never too late to build muscle, and some of the best proof comes from people in their 90s. Frail nursing home residents who averaged 90 years old did eight weeks of heavy strength training, and their strength nearly tripled on average, and their thigh muscle grew and their walking got faster too.
Many people assume that past a certain age, losing muscle is just something to accept. I think that belief is one of the biggest obstacles to healthy aging, because strength is what keeps a person independent.
Lift something heavy a few times a week at any age, and add weight as it gets easier.
An average HbA1c of 5.67% in people with TYPE 1 DIABETES eating approximately 36 grams of carbohydrates daily!
That’s a result worth investigating.
Carbohydrate restriction may reduce mealtime insulin requirements and improve glucose stability, but type 1 diabetes ALWAYS requires insulin.
The study was observational, not a randomized trial. We need more rigorous research, particularly involving children.
Nutrition matters. Insulin matters. And better metabolic outcomes deserve serious scientific investigation!
Kids and adults with type 1 diabetes eating about 36 grams of carbs a day had an average A1c of 5.67%. That was published in Pediatrics.
316 people answered, and 131 of them were parents of children with type 1. Only 7 reported a diabetes hospital stay in the past year. The authors called it "exceptional glycemic control."
This was a survey of a very low-carb online group, not a randomized trial, and the authors say trials are still needed. Type 1 always needs insulin.
Carbs are optional. If your child has type 1, work with their doctor before you change anything.
The Study and my videos below...
Your gallbladder was designed to STORE and RELEASE bile, not sit idle indefinitely!
Dietary fat stimulates gallbladder emptying. Chronically poor gallbladder motility and bile stasis can contribute to gallstone formation.
Here’s the irony: Fat helps stimulate normal gallbladder function, yet once stones develop, that same contraction can trigger pain.
We need to understand WHY gallstones develop, not simply blame dietary fat!
Type 2 diabetes doesn’t happen overnight. Insulin resistance can develop YEARS before fasting glucose reaches diabetic levels. By the time blood sugar rises significantly, metabolic dysfunction may already be well established. Stop waiting for a diabetes diagnosis to start protecting your metabolic health. Focus on insulin sensitivity, skeletal muscle, strength training, and real, nutrient-dense food!
Type 2 diabetes doesn't start the day your doctor diagnoses it. Fasting glucose is one of the last numbers to move.
A Lancet study tracked 505 people who went on to get type 2 diabetes, with measurements going back up to 13 years before diagnosis.
Their insulin sensitivity fell steeply for 5 years before diagnosis. Fasting glucose only shot up in the last 3 years, from 5.79 to 7.40 mmol/L (about 104 to 133 mg/dL). The pancreas pushed out more insulin for a while, then its output dropped until diagnosis.
So a "normal" fasting glucose can sit there while the problem builds. That's why I ask for a fasting insulin.
Carbs are optional. Eat your meat.
The Study and my videos below...
Your HbA1c can look normal while your metabolism is already struggling!
Repeated glucose spikes, elevated insulin, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction deserve far more attention than they’re getting.
Metabolic disease doesn’t begin the day someone is diagnosed with diabetes. It can develop silently for years.
Stop looking at glucose alone. Start looking at insulin resistance, skeletal muscle, and mitochondrial health!
"Blood glucose spikes are fine" No.
Ben is right about this.
Researchers swung people's blood sugar from 90 up to 270 mg/dL and back down every 6 hours for a full day. Their arteries relaxed worse and their oxidative stress markers ran higher than when blood sugar was held steady at 270 the whole time. That was true in healthy people and in type 2 diabetics.
Your A1C is an average. It can't see the roller coaster. The roller coaster comes from unneeded sugar and starch, meal after meal and snack after snack, and the hyperinsulinemia that rides along with it.
Eat meat, eggs and animal fat, and those swings flatten out. Carbs are optional & not helpful.
The Study and my videos below...
A woman can be lean, exercise regularly, and still have significant insulin resistance!
PCOS isn’t just about weight. Elevated insulin can disrupt ovarian hormones long before obesity becomes an issue.
The real conversation needs to include hyperinsulinemia, skeletal muscle, nutrition, and metabolic health.
Dr. Benjamin Bikman highlights why treating the underlying metabolic dysfunction matters more than simply chasing a number on the scale.
PCOS is often treated as a weight problem, but insulin resistance shows up even in lean women with the condition. Using the gold-standard clamp, researchers found insulin resistance in 75% of lean women with PCOS and 95% of overweight women with PCOS, compared with 62% of overweight women without it. High insulin pushes the ovaries to make more testosterone, and that's why lowering insulin with fewer refined carbs, more protein and regular lifting is one of the most useful first steps for a woman with PCOS, whatever her size.
LOWER SALT DOESN’T ALWAYS MEAN BETTER METABOLIC HEALTH!
Research suggests that aggressive sodium restriction can increase stress hormones and worsen insulin sensitivity, even in healthy adults.
Sodium is essential for your muscles, nerves, and cellular function. We need to stop treating this essential mineral as though less is always better.
Another excellent metabolic health insight from Dr. Benjamin Bikman! 👇
Cutting salt to a very low level has a metabolic consequence. When 152 healthy adults spent one week on a very low-salt diet and one week on a high-salt diet, insulin resistance was higher after the low-salt week, aldosterone was about six times higher and norepinephrine rose too. The body reads a sharp drop in salt as a stress and turns on hormones that work against insulin, so for a person eating mostly unprocessed food, salting it to taste is usually a better choice than chasing the lowest number possible.
🇺🇸 If America loses its independent farmers and ranchers, we lose far more than farmland. We lose control over our food supply, our agricultural independence, and an important part of our nation’s future.
Support American farmers. Protect family farms. Keep real food production in American hands!
Hey @grok, why are we told to fear a steak, but the government is happy to push lab-grown meat and insect protein?
🎃 Halloween candy is just the beginning! Thanksgiving pies, Christmas cookies, and weeks of sugar-filled celebrations are right around the corner.
Don’t wait until January to address your metabolic health. Prioritize animal protein, protect your skeletal muscle, keep moving, and make insulin sensitivity a priority.
Your health doesn’t need a holiday vacation! 💪
Halloween is in a couple days. 🎃
This is often the first domino to fall in the holiday weight gain cascade. 🦃🥧🍾
Don't let that happen this year! ❌
My latest video offers 4 strategies for navigating the holidays so you can start 2027 feeling empowered and proud of your choices, instead of regretting and lamenting and feeling like you need to "start over."
Get a realistic plan in place NOW and avoid the last-minute "Should I or shouldn't I" internal debates around the dessert table. ✅
👇
youtu.be/hr_vH9kh4QU
#keto #lchf #nsng #lowcarb #holidays #holidayseason
Did you know that much of the citric acid added to processed foods is manufactured using black mold?
A 2018 scientific publication raised questions about possible inflammatory reactions associated with manufactured citric acid.
Four case reports don’t prove causation, but they certainly raise questions worth investigating.
Know what’s in your food—and how it’s made!
99% of citric acid is produced using black mold (Aspergillus niger).
A 2018 case series described inflammatory symptoms (joint/muscle pain, respiratory issues, fatigue, abdominal symptoms, etc.) linked to foods or supplements containing manufactured citric acid. No bueno.
Know what is in your food and supplements.
We need more research here, but I would avoid anything with citric acid, especially if you experience these symptoms.
🎃 What if we handed out PROTEIN instead of SUGAR this Halloween?
Three fun-size Snickers bars contain 24 grams of added sugar, nearly the entire daily limit recommended by the American Heart Association for children!
Childhood metabolic health matters. Let’s normalize real food, healthy muscles, and better nutrition from an early age.
🥩 Meat sticks over candy! 💪
#MetabolicHealth #ChildhoodNutrition #MitochondrialHealth
We're giving out meat sticks this year!
I called candy slow poison two Halloweens ago. The label on a fun-size Snickers backs me up.
Three of those little bars nearly use up a child's whole day of added sugar. Why? Read on...
One fun-size Snickers has 8 grams of added sugar. Three of them is 24 grams. The American Heart Association says children should get no more than 25 grams of added sugar a day, and children under 2 should get none at all.
That 25 grams is supposed to cover the cereal, the juice and the snacks too. And very few kids come home with three pieces.
The AHA's own statement says the links between added sugar and heart risk factors in kids show up "at levels far below current consumption levels." It ties added sugar in children to more body fat and worse blood lipids.
Let them dress up and have fun. Feed them meat and eggs before they go out, and read the labels on what comes home.
The Study and my videos below...
Nine diet tribes. Nine different philosophies. 😂🥩
Meanwhile, I’m over here eating beef, eggs, and butter, lifting weights, and focusing on metabolic health.
Keep it simple. Feed your muscles. Protect your metabolic health. Stay strong! 💪
#Carnivore #MetabolicHealth #MitochondrialHealth
America’s chronic disease epidemic didn’t happen overnight, and reversing it will take more than hope. Our children deserve a future built on metabolic health, real nutrition, strong bodies, and prevention—not a lifetime of managing preventable disease. 🇺🇸💪
Two years ago, Steak 'n Shake Chief MAHA Officer Michael Boes was a dad scared for the country his children would inherit.
Now he says he has hope we can reverse chronic disease in America.
“Two years ago I was a dad that was scared for the country that my children were going to inherit.”
“I really have hope that we can reverse chronic disease in this country.”
“I have hope that we can reverse the epidemic of child obesity and diabetes.”
“But hope is not enough.”
“We need you to go out there and vote.”
@SteaknShake
Just because an animal didn’t end up on your plate doesn’t mean an animal didn’t die to produce your food. 🌱🥩
Crop production has consequences too. Let’s have an honest conversation about the true cost of feeding humanity!
A combat veteran. Traumatic brain injury. PTSD. Multiple orthopedic injuries. 14–15 medications. 330 pounds.
Then he changed his nutrition.
80 pounds lost. All but one medication discontinued. Functional capacity reportedly doubled.
Imagine what healthcare could accomplish if restoring metabolic health and physical function received as much attention as prescribing medications! 💪🥩
Just interviewed a 44 year old US army veteran medically retired from a traumatic brain injury with PTSD and numerous orthopedic traumatic injuries from a Humvee accident and another IED blast injury.
On 14 or 15 medications from the VA doctors - narcotics, anti-depressants, anti-anxiety meds and meds for the side effects from the other meds- swelled up to 330 lbs
Went keto and the carnivore in his own when a buddy told him about it a few years ago, got of all meds but 1, lost 80 lbs and doubled his level of function - his doctors don’t support what he is eating (meat, eggs etc..) but like the results
Once again, another example of the medical system trapped by the pharma dogma failing their patient, but fortunately good nutrition was able to bring him back!
Here’s a question worth asking: Are we investing enough in preventing chronic disease, or are we spending too much managing it after the damage is done? Follow the evidence, follow the money, and always put patients first! 💪
MAHA Action President Tony Lyons says Big Pharma's lobbying money has skyrocketed in the last 18 months.
He says 100 million Americans have changed their minds about food and drugs, and Big Pharma is scared to death.
“The amount of money that pharmaceutical companies have been paying on lobbying has skyrocketed in the last 18 months.”
“They're using every trick in the book.”
“They're trying to turn people against each other.”
“They're getting their corrupt friends in the media to write stories all day, every day, because they're scared to death of the progress of MAHA.”
“And no, it's not perfect. And it's not done. It's not settled. Science is never settled.”
“But the progress is heading in the right direction.”
@Bannons_WarRoom
Cheap imported seafood isn’t much of a bargain if it comes at the expense of human health, environmental destruction, and American fishermen! Know where your seafood comes from! 🦐🇺🇸
RFK Jr. says the days of foreign companies dumping fish and shrimp loaded with toxic chemicals into American markets are coming to an end.
“Vietnam and Cambodia, they have companies that go in there, they fence off a mangrove swamp, they poison the fish in it, they grow shrimp.”
“They can do that for 5 seasons and all the mangroves are dead. They destroy the environment.”
“The shrimp are so loaded with antibiotics and disinfectants that no European country will take them.”
“So they ship them all over here.”
“Our shrimpers here… have to compete against criminal enterprises abroad.”
“President Trump is rebuilding the infrastructure. He’s reopening the markets for our commercial fishermen.”
Alzheimer’s doesn’t just steal memories. It changes entire families. After 40 years in physical therapy, I’ve seen the heartbreak firsthand. We need more research, greater emphasis on metabolic and brain health, earlier prevention strategies, and far more support for the caregivers who sacrifice so much every day. ❤️🧠
Dr. Oz shares why the fight against Alzheimer’s is deeply personal to him.
His own mother has the disease, and he knows firsthand the heartbreaking toll it takes on families and caregivers.
“I’m therefore one of the 13 million people who’s a caregiver.”
“As many of you know, it’s hard because you lose your loved one twice.”
“When they forget you and then when they leave you.”
“When you think no one’s paying attention and you feel like you’re by yourself, overwhelmed by the daunting task of taking care of someone that could still live for 10 more years.”
“You’re challenged to figure out what is the right thing to do.”
🎃 The real danger of Halloween candy isn’t kids bouncing off the walls for an hour. It’s the metabolic consequences of making excessive sugar consumption a daily habit. The sugar rush may be a myth, but insulin resistance and metabolic dysfunction certainly aren’t!
💪 Losing lean mass on a DEXA scan doesn’t necessarily mean you’re losing muscle! Glycogen and water can dramatically influence the numbers. Before declaring that fasting is destroying muscle, understand what the scan is actually measuring. Muscle strength, function, and performance tell an important part of the story that DEXA alone cannot!
Something most people don't know about DEXA scans: they count the sugar stored in your muscles, and the water it holds, as "lean mass."
When trained cyclists simply loaded up on carbs for a few days, their DEXA lean mass went up 2%. That's far too fast for real muscle to grow. A water fast runs it in reverse.
So some of those 7 pounds were real muscle, and some were an empty sugar tank that refills once he eats normally again.