Co-Q-10 plays a very important role at a very fundamental biochemical level as a carrier in a process known as the ‘electron transport’ chain. This process occurs with each cell and is the method by which the body produces energy.oenzyme Q10 is found in every cell in your body, and CoQ10 is critical in the production of energy within each cell in the human body. Co Q10 is essential for the health of cells, tissues, and organs, and Co Enzyme Q10 acts as part of another class of substances - enzymes. The role of enzymes is to facilitate, and act as an catalyst for countless chemical reactions in the human body.
Antioxidant CoQ10: CoEnzyme Q10- The Most Amazing Supplement for Increased Heart Health and Reduced Aging
What Is CoEnzyme Q10?
Co-Enzyme Q10 (Co-Q-10) is a most amazing supplement and is beneficial on so many levels and for so many different health problems, that it’shard to know where to start! Co-Enzyme Q-10, is similar to vitamin K, which protects our bodies against free radical damage and exerts a protective effect on cell membranes.
Co-Enzyme Q10 (Co-Q-10) is a quinone derivative with a tail, the number 10 referring to the length of the tail. It is also known as ubiquinone because it is ubiquitous in biological systems. Co-Q-10 is made within the body, but production falls, as we get older. Co-Q-10 is also found in foods, in particular raw meat, but cooking and processing tends to destroy it. This substance is particularly popular in Japan, where it is estimated that approximately 6 million people take a supplement daily.
It is a naturally occurring fat-soluble antioxidant, necessary to the functioning of every cell in our bodies. It is produced in the body and found throughout nature in plants and animals. Our bodies could not survive without it. If body levels start dropping, so does our general health. Low levels can result in high blood pressure, heart attack, angina, immune system depression, periodontal disease, lack of energy and obesity. As more energy is required, the more CO-Q-10 is needed in the diet, especially in the heart and other tissues that require lots of energy.
Tissues that require the most energy (such as the heart) need the largest amounts of CO-Q-10. Angina is a condition where inadequate oxygen is available to the heart muscle itself. People with failing cardiac systems have shown to greatly benefit with increased strength and vigour when supplemented with CO-Q-10. People with high blood pressure usually have lower levels of CO-Q-10. CO-Q-10 can naturally stimulate the immune system and result in a wider range of beneficial effects.
Bodies Energy Source
Ubiquinol works by being the catalyst for ATP. ATP occurs, in every cell of your body and serves as a source of energy for many of your body’s biochemical processes and represents the reserve energy in your muscles. Your heart for example, being a muscle which is continually in motion, needs a constant supply of ATP. This is where the importance of this nutrient comes into play: ATP cannot be produced without it. Coenzyme Q10 therefore plays a vital role in body health especially the heart.
Ubiquinol is produced by the human body and is necessary for the basic functioning of all cells. CoQ10 levels are reported to decrease with age and to be low in patients with some chronic diseases such as heart conditions, muscular dystrophies, Parkinson's disease, cancer, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS. Your body peaks in coenzyme Q10 production around 20 years of age and by 40 is very noticeably low.
The Benefits of Co-Q-10
Cardiovascular disease – A 75% reduction in the body’s Co-Q-10 level leads to the heart ceasing to function properly.
Blood pressure – It complements the action of blood pressure reducing drugs.
Gum disease – It has been shown to restore gum health by preventing the progress of gum diseases such as Pyrrohea and gingivitis, and increasing the rate of gum healing. Research has shown that diseased gums tend to have lower levels of Co-Q-10 than healthy gums.
Weight loss – Research has shown that some overweight people have low Co-Q-10 levels.
Tissue Hypoxia – A condition leading to conditions such as stomach ulcers. Co-Q-10 has been shown to be effective against this condition.
Ageing and the Immune System – studies with mice increased their lifespan by 50% with Co-Q-10 supplementation, and extended the youthfulness and ability to ward off infection.
Energy booster – Co-Q-10 has been shown to stimulate energy production in people feeling tired or run down.
Powerful Antioxidant
In the Ubiquinol form this coenzyme is a powerful antioxidant with significant benefits. It also helps the body preserve Vitamin E another powerful antioxidant. Recent studies have shown very promising correlations when consuming high levels of Q10 can lead to reduced symptoms (or slowed onset of symptoms) from Parkinson's Disease and Congestive Heart Failure. It has also been found to produce a small reduction in both systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Low levels of Q10 have been found in patients with hypertension.
Co-Enzyme Q10 for the Heart
More CoQ-10 is found in the heart tissue than in any other muscle of the body. The heart is the most important muscle in the body. It works constantly night and day and unlike so many other muscles, that we can choose to use or exercise, our heart always has to work; it is a central and vital organ to our life.
Two researchers, Dr. Karl Folkers, from the University of Texas (recognised as the father of CoQ research in the USA), together with Japanese co-worker Tatsuo Watanabe compared blood samples from 100 patients suffering from coronary heart disease with a control group of the general population with no diagnosed heart problems. The CoQ levels for the cardiac sufferers were significantly lower: around 25% less than those of healthy subjects.
Through time, Dr. Folkers conducted his own thorough studies and reviewed Japanese studies. He found that heart tissue was deficient in CoQ-10 in about 75% of all heart victims and that therapeutic effects were reported in at least 70% of all people using the supplement.
Your heart beats 70 times a minute, 100,000 times a day, and pumps the equivalent of 2,500 - 5,000 gallons of blood per day through some 60,000 miles of blood vessels. With each beat, blood travels as far as your big toes and back again, nourishing trillions of cells within your body. Since the demands upon your hearts' energy are so great, current research supports the supposition that heart disease may be connected to insufficient CoQ-10.
According to Dr. Roger Williams of the University of Texas: 'It has been found that Co-Enzyme Q-10, a vital link in the metabolic machinery of living cells, is often deficient in the heart tissues of cardiac patients, while in the tissues of patients who's hearts are healthy (biopsy specimens), this deficiency does not exist.'
High blood pressure, known as the 'silent killer'; because its victims often have no symptoms, kills over 60,000 people a year (USA) and is directly related to more than 250,000 deaths (USA) from stroke and cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure contributes to conditions such as arteriosclerosis (hardening of the arteries) and arteriosclerosis (cholesterol plaques on the artery walls), both of which are major causes of heart attack. By helping bring blood pressure down, CoQ-10 may significantly reduce the risk of heart at tack and cardiovascular disease.
It appears that this wonderful nutrient is not only useful for treating heart disease and high blood pressure but it can also be utilised to protect the heart from further damage, improve the effects of heart surgery, protect the heart from potentially toxic drugs, and even work as a preventative. In addition, as far back as 1975 experiments showed CoQ-10 to be effective in reversing gum disease. An amazing 30-40% of all Americans have chronic gum disease. As many as 32 million will lose teeth, face possible facial disfigurement and worse.
At the forefront in CoQ-10 periodontal research is Dr. Edward G. Wilkinson, an Air Force dentist. In his research, Dr. Wilkinson and his team took tissue samples from over 120 dental patients with periodontal disease. These showed a marked deficiency of CoQ-10. Supplements not only stopped the progress of the disease but also initiated what the scientists described as 'extraordinary healing tissue healing in five days which would ordinarily be expected in 10-15 days.'
Dr. Wilkinson states, 'Periodontal tissues are deficient in CoQ-10 when they are diseased and appear to require more CoQ-10 to heal. I believe persons suffering from periodontal disease could benefit from coenzyme Q-10 as an adjunct to routine periodontal therapy'.
Recent research has shown that periodontal disease is not localised in the gums but is a generalised disease with a heavy involvement of the immune system. Another reason for the success of CoQ-10 treatment of gum disorders is its proven ability to stimulate immune response. Our bodies retain extra supplies of CoQ-10 where they are needed most. Major repositories are the heart, the liver and immune system.
CoQ-10 is an immuno-stimulating agent that brings extra energy to the cells of the immune system. The extra energy revitalises the cells so that they can do a better job defending our bodies. Specifically CoQ-10 does not stimulate the production of new cells in the immune system nor does it attack microorganisms. It increases the immuno-competence of the existing cells.
There is an irrefutable link between immune system health and the individual ageing process. It is the staying power of the immune system which makes it possible for some people to 'age better' than others. Scientific studies have linked decreasing levels of CoQ-10 with human ageing. These studies have also lead researchers to believe natural ageing decreasing levels of CoQ-10 may actually play a causative role in the process of ageing itself, and correcting these deficiencies by taking supplements can be considered valid anti-ageing therapy.
'You're only as young as your immune system,' as Bliznakov and Hunt put it. A decrease in immono-competence is a major symptom of ageing and, as scientists are discovering, so is a CoQ-10 deficiency.
In The Journal of Optimal Nutrition (Vol. 2, Number 4), a study was published on 154 patients with heart failure so severe that no further conventional therapy was available (except possibly heart transplants). The researchers carefully monitored blood levels of coenzyme Q10, B vitamins and carnitine in these patients and found that deficiencies of vitamin B1 and B6 specifically caused cardiovascular dysfunctions. The levels of carnitine were significantly reduced in-patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (50% below normal) and inflammatory myocarditis (80% below normal).
In the study, coenzyme Q10 was supplemented and almost all of the 154 patients clinically improved. About half of the 154 patients were dying, but after 12 months 97% of them were alive, after 24 months 96% were alive and after 36 months 95% were alive. This survival data on coenzyme Q10 may be compared to data obtained from nine publications on conventional drugs that reported survival of 50-78% at 6 months and 35-65% at 12 months. This extraordinary survival on coenzyme Q10 was superior to conventional drugs and is explained by coenzyme Q10's indispensable role as a mandatory energy cofactor of myocardial function and contractility. Patients with less severe heart disease were treated with 100-150 mg a day of coenzyme Q10, while dying patients were given 150-225 mg a day. Dosages for patients increased whenever blood levels failed to reach 2 micrograms per millilitre and whenever new medications were added.
These patients were followed for up to 58 months. These 154 cases included ischemic cardiomyopathy (coronary artery disease), dilated cardiomyopathy, rheumatic cardiomyopathy, chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy, and congenital cardiomyopathy. Ninety four percent of these patients improved by one class when treated with dosages of coenzyme Q10 ranging from 100 to 255 mg a day.
In studies published in the major medical journals, FDA approved cardiac drugs produce 50% improvements after 12 months and these studies are the basis for which cardiologists prescribe these medications. Yet, none of these FDA approved drugs addresses the underlying cause of these various forms of heart disease, and none of these FDA approved drugs compares to the 97% success rate using high doses of coenzyme Q10.
International research data documents the safety and efficacy of coenzyme Q10 in treating heart disease over a 35-year period, far in excess of the very short-term trials in which FDA approved drugs are used to treat cardiomyopathy. An example of conventional medicine overemphasising the benefits of FDA approved drugs was the 1987 Consensus Trial Study Group in which 50% of cardiomyopathy patients on the drug enalapril survived after 12 months, yet studies show that 95% of cardiomyopathy patients survive after three years when taking pharmacological doses of coenzyme Q10.
Heart Disease Is Caused By Nutrient Deficiencies
Since 1980, heart disease, the epidemic of the 20th century, has been widely documented to be a preventable disease. This new research adds credence to the fact that high doses of the nutrients used to prevent heart disease are significantly more effective than conventional medications in treating heart disease as they are able to build up the strength in the heart, and that these nutrients work synergistically with existing cardiovascular drugs to improve their safety and effectiveness.
Health Benefits of Coenzyme Q-10: are Supplements Needed?
The body produces its own supply of coenzyme Q-10, but its production may be reduced in people who suffer from chronic diseases such as heart disease or diabetes. The main dietary sources of Coenzyme Q-10 are fish and meat, although some is found in vegetables and whole grain foods. The average, healthy person probably doesn't need to supplement with Coenzyme Q-10 since there's little evidence that it prevents any particular disease at this point. There may be some benefit to supplementation in those with hypertension and heart disease, although this should be done under medical supervision. Coenzyme Q-10 can interact with some medications, particularly blood thinners which are commonly used by heart patients.
Another situation where supplementation may be beneficial is in people taking statins for elevated cholesterol levels. There's evidence that statin medications lower levels of Coenzyme Q-10. Most physicians are now recommending Coenzyme Q-10 supplementation to their patients on statins.
Coenzyme Q10 and foods
Coenzyme Q10 exists naturally in beef heart, liver, muscle and organ food as well as fish and green vegetables. Many argue that, as our food is nutritionally depleted, contaminated with insecticides and pesticides and artificially processed, we are not able to get sufficient Coenzyme Q10 benefits to fuel our cells. And as we age, we need to replenish Q10 more.
The big question is whether you have a deficiency of Coenzyme Q10 or not given the fact that it is abundant in food.
Is weight loss one of the Coenzyme Q10 benefits?
It appears that the only way Q10 assists with weight loss is to provide more energy.
More energy, of course, should mean a greater desire to indulge in a lot more physical activity and fat burning activity. It’s the old-fashioned way of losing weight: less calorie intake and more calorie-burning. You might call it CoQ10 weight loss.
Q10 may provide this all-essential energy to get you started. More energy means more physical activity. You will start to look better and feel better physically.
Then, naturally, you will experience greater mental clarity which should help to alleviate those symptoms of depression.
It could also fit in nicely with a regular nutritional cleansing program and this will help to accelerate the entire process of rejuvenation.
Toxicity of Coenzyme Q10
The toxicity of coq10 is very low, so there is little danger if too much is used. However, the body may not absorb doses larger than 100 mg per day, so taking more is a waste of money. Side effects are limited, and include nausea, diarrhea, heartburn, and loss of appetite, but spreading the dosage out over the day and taking the supplements with meals can help you avoid these symptoms.
Drug Interaction
CoQ10 can reduce the body’s response to the blood thinner (anticoagulant) warfarin (Coumadin), if you are taking a blood thinner talk to your doctor before taking coenzyme Q10.
The cholesterol lowering drugs known as statin drugs can lower the levels of CoQ10 in the blood, for this reason many doctors will supplement patients with coenzyme Q10. This is ironic since statin drugs are given to reduce the risk of heart disease and the lowering of Q10 has been shown to increase the risk of heart disease.
Beta-blockers that are used to lower high blood pressure also lower the amount of CoQ10 in the body and have numerous side effects. Coenzyme Q10 has been shown to dramatically reduce these side effects.
CoQ10 can also decrease the insulin requirements in people with diabetes.
Statin Drug Reduce COQ10 to Dangerous Levels
These drugs lower COQ10 in the body to dangerous levels. Several doctors have expressed the opinion that these drugs' ability to reduce cardiovascular mortality has nothing to do with cholesterol reduction, but instead can be attributed to their anti-inflammatory effects. (A viewpoint that has been appearing in medical journals over the last few years.) Furthermore, physicians have stated they are united in their concern that these drugs deplete the body of Coenzyme Q10, an important anti-oxidant with muscle wasting and heart failure as a result. Peter Langsjoen, MD, of Tyler, Texas, said that he left his invasive cardiology practice at the University of Texas Health Center to specialize in "congestive heart failure, primary and statin-induced diastolic dysfunction and other diseases of the heart muscle." For over 20 years, he has been using coenzyme Q10 to treat a broad range of cardiovascular diseases. Q10, as he called it, can be purchased over the counter as a dietary supplement in health food stores and pharmacies. Because statin cholesterol drugs can inhibit the production of coenzyme q10, it has become common for some doctors prescribe coq10 supplements along with statin drugs.
Dr. Langsjoen said that the research on the importance of Q10 ties in nicely with the underlying philosophy of this conference because increased levels of this "vitaminlike" substance can be found in traditional foods with high fat content like organ meats, seafood, and red meat. "I call Q10 vitaminlike because it has properties of a vitamin," explained Dr. Langsjoen, "but since we synthesize it, as well as get it in our diet, it's not truly a vitamin." All statin drugs decrease both the blood levels and cellular concentrations of Q10, observed Dr. Langsjoen, the higher the dose, the greater the decrease in Q10. "As we get older, our Q10 levels fall, but we really don't know why--could be the diet," he said. "People who make it to 90 tend to have high Q10 levels, though. Most of the Q10 research has been focused on heart failure, said Dr. Langsjoen because the heart uses a huge amount of Q10. "It has been pretty well documented from biopsies that the severity of heart failure correlates with the people who have the lowest levels of Q10."
What's more, there is a serious gap in information regarding the role of statins in treating heart failure. "All the major statin trials excluded patients with class III and IV [advanced] heart failure, so we have no safety data in these patients with heart failure, though statins are prescribed to them with reckless abandon." Dr. Langsjoen is not alone in this concern which was expressed over a year ago by Australian physicians who asked, "Statins and Chronic Heart Failure: do we need a large-scale outcome trial?" in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.
Most medications destined to cause an adverse effect will do so early on, according to Dr. Langsjoen, who found this not to be the case with statins. "You don't realize you're in trouble until two or three years later, and it's hard to relate it to a drug you started a few years ago.
Supplementing with Coenzyme Q10
How much coenzyme Q10 is usually taken? Adult levels of supplementation are usually 30–90 mg per day, although individuals with specific health conditions may supplement with higher levels, such as 100 mg 3-4 times per day. Most of the research on heart conditions has used 90–150 mg of coenzyme Q10 per day. Co-enzyme Q10 is normally present in every cell of your body. Toxicity and side effects have not been encountered in several decades of clinical use at doses up to several hundred mg a day.
The safety and tolerability of high dosages of coenzyme Q10 were studied in 17 patients with Parkinson's disease in an open label study. The subjects received an escalating dosage of coenzyme Q10 --1200, 1800, 2400, and 3000 mg/day with a stable dosage of vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 1200 IU/day. The blood level reached a plateau at the coenzyme q10 2400 mg/day dosage and did not increase further at the 3000 mg/day dosage.
Dr. Sahelian says: I'm still not comfortable recommending dosages of Coenzyme Q10 above 100 mg a day for prolonged periods until we have at least a 3 year study of high doses given to humans. Another study shows that Coenzyme Q!0 and Vitamin E work well together in reducing inflammatory symptoms.
It is recommended that coenzyme Q10 be taken with a meal that contains oil to improve absorption. CoQ10 is fat soluble, and like most other fat-soluble compounds, is poorly absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, especially when taken on an empty stomach. Regardless of age or health almost everybody would benefit from taking CoQ10 daily. Our health and quality of life are based on feeling good and having healthy energy supplies.
For Energy and Heart Health
Coenzyme Q10 can really increase your energy, your heart health and dramatically increase the antioxidant level of your body. This is one of natures true healing forces. Coenzyme Q10 gives your body needed tools so that it may heal itself.When you are young your body manufactures enough coq10 to do the job nicely. However as the toxin load increases and you get past 25 the amounts of Coq10 decrease and at age 50 you are down significantly.. If you take prescription drugs, especially the statin drugs, it makes conditions even worse. Statin drugs have been shown they can almost completely drain your system of the needed CoQ10
There are many health professionals who swear by Coenzyme Q10. Some are so emphatic that they tell us conventional doctors do not want us to know about it. I am not sure that is true because many conventional doctors are fast coming around to nutrition supplements that work. And believe it, supplementation with COQ10 works.
Your body is made up of more than 100 trillion living cells. Each one of these cells contains several hundred mitochondria, which are described as power generators. These generators burn the food nutrients and produce cellular energy! And each cell is powered by Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). CoQ10 is a vital enzyme that acts like a very small lighting bolt that starts the process to convert stored fat and nutrients into energy your body can use. The heart beats approximately 100,000 times a day give or take a few beats. Without COQ10 your heart is not getting the nutrients to make the energy it needs for a strong long lasting heart. Without plenty of energy, your cells can’t heal. That means you won’t have the strength, stamina and get-up-and-go you need to enjoy life to its fullest.
Today heart failure affects an estimated 4.6 million Americans each year and another 500,000 more will be diagnosed with heart disease this year. On top of that there are literally millions that have heart disease and do not know it. In order for the body to heal these disease’s it needs the proper amount of COQ10 to have the spark that starts the process.
Good food and nutritional supplements provide the fuel to generate the energy but the fuel is useless without CoQ10 to turn it into energy. You can choose to take action right now to increase your energy and heart health. Start by increasing the amounts of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes and seeds in your diet. Also try to lower your caloric intake, most of use just eat to much. Next add a highly absorbable COQ10 to your daily intake.
This can help energize a failing heart and aging brain. It can help lower blood pressure and neutralize free radicals. Since COQ10 is essential in every cell it is also an expert at helping cells repair and reproduce normally. And CoQ10 can do all this with no negative side effects. CoQ10 has been proven 100% safe in over 1000 human and animal studies.
What characteristic does every cell in the human body share? They all contain substantial amounts of coenzyme Q10. Without an ample supply, our body simply cannot function at peak performance. As an active contributor to all aspects of cellular function, CoQ10 has become universally regarded as one of the most vital nutrients ever made available to the public. As a powerful antioxidant, it significantly reduces the oxidation of LDL cholesterol, and is absolutely essential to the production of energy within the mitochondria. And just as the human heart contains high concentrations of this absolutely crucial nutrient, without it we would be unable to produce enough energy to live.
However, coenzyme q10 can interfere with the effectiveness of certain anticoagulants, such as Coumadin. Never use Coumadin or other
anticoagulants with coenzyme q10 unless it is approved by your physician.
The Bottom Line
Numerous studies confirm that coenzyme Q10 is healthy for the heart, heart rhythm and the health of our cells, fights cancer and boosts the immune system. I would say coenzyme Q10 is a supplement worth the money.
Disclaimer: This website is for information purposes only. By providing the information contained herein we are not diagnosing, treating, curing, mitigating, or preventing any type of disease or medical condition. Before beginning any type of natural, integrative or conventional treatment regime, it is advisible to seek the advice of a licensed healthcare professional.