Why is it so hard to turn things around with chronic illness? Why is recovery so difficult? "Mitochondrial dysfunction (MD) can begin in childhood under the influence of basic factors of an unhealthy lifestyle (overeating with poor diet, nutritional deficiencies, physical inactivity, toxic load on the body)." "MD can occur and progress in adulthood under the influence of key factors of an unhealthy lifestyle that have a direct damaging effect on mitochondria (smoking, alcohol, and other toxic substances)." "The development of Mitochondrial dysfunctions in NCDs (non-communicable diseases) can be described in a continuum model, which begins in childhood under the influence of unhealthy lifestyle factors (malnutrition and physical inactivity) leading to functional disorders of the digestive organs, the occurrence of MD in the cells of their tissues, the emergence of a metabolic pattern, and conditions for the occurrence of atherosclerosis." "Further progression of mitochondrial dysfunction leads to metabolic disorders in the cell, pathological signaling, and the occurrence of pathological histomorphological changes." "Thus, mitochondrial dysfunction is a universal mechanism that causes organ dysfunction and comorbidity. Continued progression of mitochondrial dysfunction aggravates pathological changes in cells and leads to complications and the end of the continuum—to the death of the organism." mdpi.com/2079-9721/12/11/277