Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)
|
Why you need CoQ10?
Coenzyme Q10 is recognised as an essential component in your body's production of ATP (also known as "muscle fuel"). Without ATP, our muscles cannot move. Without CoQ10, we can't manufacture ATP. After age 20, levels of CoQ10 in your body decline gradually. After 50, it plummets. Coenzyme Q10 is also one of the most powerful antioxidants every discovered, and has been found to improve athletic performance, and help intensive training athletes recover quicker. In short, CoQ10 may well be one of the most important and versatile nutrients ever discovered. The only downfall of CoQ10 relates to its oral absorption.
Are you Coenzyme Q10 Deficient?
If you are eating well, but not losing weight; if you are working out but seem to have no energy after a few minutes; if you are over 30; if your immune system seems weaker than it should be, chances are you are Coenzyme Q10 deficient. Today’s food additive Coenzyme Q10 is basically of very high purity and quality, made from natural sources, and available in doses from 75mg to 150mg. If you suffer from any of the conditions above, you might benefit greatly by including some Coenzyme Q10 in your diet (as a food supplement). You might choose a soft gel capsule rather than a hard tablet, as it is absorbed much faster. Also, if you taking Coenzyme Q10 for heart reasons, ask your doctor about higher doses. I Use Statins – Can I take Coenzyme Q10? Statins are the main ingredient in many cholesterol reducing medicines. They are also one of the most prescribed medications today. Researchers believe that statins can inhibit Coenzyme Q10 production in our bodies. If this is so, we need to take this supplement more than we had previously thought. If you are a statin taker, you must discuss with your doctor the possibility of taking Coenzyme Q10 at the same time.
Health Benefits
Coenzyme Q10 has several health benefits. They include slowing down the aging process, strengthening the heart, improving the immune function, and lowering blood pressure.
CoQ10 and Heart Health
CoQ10 is highly concentrated in heart muscle cells because of their high energy requirements. Add this to the fact that heart disease is the number one killer in developed and developing countries and one can see why the bulk of scientific research on CoQ10 has been concerned with heart disease. Specifically, studies on congestive heart failure have demonstrated a strong correlation between the severity of heart failure and the degree of CoQ10 deficiency. The lower the levels of CoQ10 in the heart muscles the more severe the heart failure. If indeed CoQ10 deficiency is a primary cause of congestive heart failure then, in such cases, the remedy is simple and cost effective; CoQ10 supplementation. Congestive heart failure is a condition where the heart does not pump effectively resulting in an accumulation of fluid in the lungs. Symptoms may include shortness of breath, difficulty breathing when lying flat and leg or ankle swelling. Causes include chronic hypertension, cardiomyopathy (primary heart disease) and myocardial infarction (irreversible injury to heart muscles). Heart muscle strength is measure by the ejection fraction which is a measure of the fraction of blood pumped out of the heart with each beat. A low ejection fraction indicates a weak heart. “In heart disease, CoQ10 has shown benefits in patients with heart failure - 50mg daily for 4 weeks resulted in improvements in dyspnea, heart rate, blood pressure, and ankle edema. Cardiac patients supplemented with CoQ10 prior to heart surgery tend to recover sooner and maintain blood and tissue levels of CoQ10 better than patients not receiving supplements." On top of this, Coenzyme Q10 also helps with protecting the heart for those who are taking cholesterol-lowering medications as well as doxorubicin, a drug used to treat cancer, but with damaging side effects.