Bioenergetic Glossary

Lost in a sea of scientific jargon while trying to upgrade your biology? You're not alone.

When I first dove into bioenergetics and metabolic optimization, I felt like I needed a PhD in biochemistry just to understand why my mitochondria weren't cooperating. Terms like "oxidative phosphorylation," "NAD+ precursors," and "metabolic flexibility" were getting thrown around like everyone was supposed to know what they meant.

Here's the thing: the science of cellular energy is game-changing, but the language barrier keeps most people from accessing it. This glossary cuts through the academic noise and gives you plain-English definitions for the terms that actually matter.

What you'll find here:

  • The essential vocabulary for understanding how your cells make energy
  • Practical context for why each term matters to your performance
  • No fluff, no filler—just the concepts you need to optimize your biology

Think of this as your cheat sheet for conversations with longevity researchers, biohackers, and that one friend who won't stop talking about their latest supplement stack. Master these terms, and you'll have the foundation to implement the strategies that can genuinely upgrade your cognitive and physical performance.

Pro tip: Bookmark this page. You'll be back.

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)

Think of ATP as the ultimate performance currency—your body’s Bitcoin, if you will. This molecular powerhouse is what separates peak performers from the metabolically mediocre. Ray Peat often emphasized that ATP isn’t just about energy storage; it’s about cellular stability and anti-stress signaling. When your 💬
Aerobic Respiration

Aerobic respiration is the gold standard of cellular energy production—the difference between burning clean, high-octane fuel versus running on metabolic sludge. This oxygen-dependent process allows your cells to completely oxidize glucose, fats, and other substrates, extracting maximum energy while producing relatively clean byproducts: carbon dioxide 💬
Anaerobic Respiration

Anaerobic respiration is your metabolic emergency protocol—fast, dirty energy production when oxygen becomes the limiting factor. While it gets the job done in crisis situations, running on anaerobic metabolism chronically is like redlining your car engine: effective short-term, destructive long-term. During anaerobic conditions, your cells 💬
Cellular Respiration

Cellular respiration is the complete energy-extraction program your cells run to convert food into usable energy. Think of it as the ultimate metabolic software—a series of interconnected processes that, when running optimally, turn simple molecules into the energy currency that powers every aspect of human 💬
Chemiosmosis

Chemiosmosis is the elegant mechanism that converts the electron transport chain’s proton gradient into usable ATP—like a molecular water wheel that harnesses ion flow to generate energy. This process demonstrates one of biology’s most sophisticated examples of energy coupling, where the potential energy stored in 💬
Critic Acid Cycle (Kreb’s Cycle)

Welcome to the metabolic octagon—the eight-round championship fight where your cells extract maximum energy from food. The Krebs cycle is where the real magic happens, transforming simple molecules into the building blocks of cellular energy. Danny Roddy and other bioenergetic researchers recognize this as the 💬
Electron Transport Chain

This is where your mitochondria become molecular power plants, executing the most sophisticated energy-generation system on the planet. The electron transport chain is like a perfectly orchestrated relay race where electrons get passed between protein complexes, each handoff generating the proton gradient that ultimately powers 💬
Endothermic Reaction

Endothermic reactions are the energy-requiring processes that build complexity and maintain cellular order—essentially, the metabolic investments your body makes to stay organized and functional. These reactions absorb energy from their surroundings, typically in the form of ATP, to drive processes that wouldn’t occur spontaneously. In 💬
Exothermic Reaction

Exothermic reactions are your body’s energy-releasing processes—the molecular combustion chambers where stored chemical energy gets converted into usable forms. These reactions release more energy than they consume, making them the fundamental drivers of all biological activity. The breakdown of glucose, fats, and other nutrients involves 💬