CoQ10 & More
CoQ10’s popularity is linked to more energy and a longer life. It is a coenzyme that is found in all body cells, working to help produce energy. The organ needing the most energy is the heart. It contains the largest amount of CoQ10 in the body. When you take CoQ10 as a supplement, it strengthens the heart without exercise. Research indicates that people who have had a heart attack or have high blood pressure greatly improve by taking CoQ10.
The severity of heart failure correlates with the severity of CoQ10 deficiency. [Drugs Exptl. Clin. Res. X (7) pp.497-502]
A 30-year review study from the University of Southern California lauded the potential of Co-Q10 for the prevention and treatment of heart disease (Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 2002, vol. 16, no. 4).
Consistently positive effects have been documented in patients with congestive heart failure , cardiomyopathy , heart arrhythmia , and angina . The case is also fairly strong for other health benefits.
People with type 2 diabetes , for example, are better able to control their blood sugar levels while taking Co-Q10 and chronic migraine sufferers experienced a dramatic reduction in migraine frequency.
This vitamin-like substance helps several enzymes in the complicated process of converting food into energy . Co-Q10 is the spark that starts cellular machinery producing energy. Because all cells need a constant supply of energy, Co-Q10 levels are important. The heart muscle consumes an extraordinary amount of energy and is very sensitive to Co-Q10 depletion. Co-Q10 is also an antioxidant that eats up harmful free radicals created during metabolism.
When we’re healthy, we are full of life and energy. Our heart is doing it’s job and that causes the circulatory system to function as it should, taking oxygen and nutrition to the cellular levels. This CoQ10 deficiency may well be a primary causative factor in some types of heart muscle dysfunction while in others it may be a secondary phenomenon. Whether primary, secondary or both, this deficiency of CoQ10 appears to be a major treatable factor in the otherwise inexorable progression of heart failure. The efficacy and safety of CoQ10 in the treatment of congestive heart failure, whether related to primary cardiomyopathies or secondary forms of heart failure, appears to be well-established.
CoQ10 also regulates the use of oxygen in our bodies. When free radicals are present, CoQ10 destroys them and makes more oxygen available to the system. Lack of oxygen and loose free radicals lead to aging in the body, so CoQ10 prevents aging.
When we’re young, CoQ10 is abundant in our bodies. Besides being produced in the body, it is also found in foods, such as beef, spinach, and peanuts. However, after age 20, CoQ10 levels begin to drop as we age. With supplementation of CoQ10 our heart is stronger to protect our cells and provide the proper amounts of oxygen and nutrition. We are also protected from the aging effects of free radicals.
Coenzyme Q10’s recent research suggests it can help bring hope to those with degenerative problems in the nervous system. Several studies published in the journals, “Neurology” and “Archives of Neurology” have documented the recent success and potential of Co-Q10.
CoQ10 is known to be highly concentrated in heart muscle cells due to the high energy requirements of this cell type. The great bulk of clinical work with CoQ10 has focused on heart disease. Specifically, congestive heart failure (from a wide variety of causes) has been strongly correlated with significantly low blood and tissue levels of CoQ10 [Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, U.S.A., vol. 82(3), pp. 901-4].