What is Coenzyme Q10?
Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a substance similar to a vitamin. It is found in every cell of the body. Your body makes CoQ10, and your cells use it to produce energy your body needs for cell growth and maintenance. It also functions as an antioxidant, which protects the body from damage caused by harmful molecules. CoQ10 is naturally present in small amounts in a wide variety of foods, but levels are particularly high in organ meats such as heart, liver, and kidney, as well as beef, soy oil, sardines, mackerel, and peanuts.
Coenzymes help enzymes work to digest food and perform other body processes, and they help protect the heart and skeletal muscles.
CoQ10 is available in the United States as a dietary supplement. It is also known as Q10, vitamin Q10, ubiquinone, or ubidecarenone.
How CoQ10 Works:
- To sustain enough energy to perform bodily functions, inside our cells tiny organelles called mitochondria to take fat and other nutrients and turn them into useable sources of energy. This conversion process requires the presence of CoQ10.
- As a “coenzyme,” CoQ10 also helps other enzymes work to digest food properly.
- CoQ10 is not only necessary for producing cellular energy, but also for defending cells from damage caused by harmful free radicals.
- Coenzyme Q10 can exist in three different oxidation states, and the ability in some forms to accept and donate electrons is a critical feature in its biochemical functions that cancel out free radical damage.
- As a powerful antioxidant, CoQ10 can increase the absorption of other essential nutrients. It’s been shown that it helps recycle vitamin C and vitamin E, further maximizing the effects of vitamins and antioxidants that are already at work in the body.
- Although the body has the ability to make some CoQ10 on its own, production naturally declines as we age — just when we need our cells to help defend us most. This means we can all benefit from consuming more CoQ10, both naturally within our diets, and also from high-quality supplements
Health Benefits of Coenzyme Q10
1. CoQ10 Sustains Natural Energy
CoQ10 plays a role in “mitochondrial ATP synthesis,” which is the conversion of raw energy from foods (carbohydrates and fats) into the form of energy that our cells use called adenosine triphosphate (ATP). This conversion process requires the presence of coenzyme Q in the inner mitochondrial membrane. One of its roles is to accept electrons during fatty acid and glucose metabolism and then transfer them to electron acceptors. The process of making ATP has many benefits, from preserving muscle mass to helping regulate appetite and body weight.
2. Reduces Free Radical Damage
Oxidative damage (or free radical damage) of cell structures play an important role in the functional declines that accompany aging and cause disease. As a fat-soluble antioxidant, CoQ10 has been found to inhibit lipid peroxidation, which occurs when cell membranes and low-density lipoproteins are exposed to oxidizing conditions that enter from outside the body. In fact, when LDL is oxidized, CoQ10 is one of the first antioxidants consumed to help offset the effects. Within mitochondria, coenzyme Q10 has been found to protect membrane proteins and DNA from the oxidative damage that accompanies lipid peroxidation and neutralizes free radicals directly that contribute to nearly all age-related diseases (heart disease, cancer, diabetes, etc.).
3. CoQ10 Can Improve Heart Health and Offset Effects of Statin Drugs
Although experts feel that additional well-controlled clinical trials are still needed to prove its effects, CoQ10 has strong potential for the prevention and treatment of heart ailments by improving cellular bioenergetics, acting as an antioxidant and boosting free radical-scavenging abilities. A 2015 report published in Frontiers in Bioscience referenced earlier stated that “CoQ10 deficiencies are due to autosomal recessive mutations, mitochondrial diseases, aging-related oxidative stress and carcinogenesis processes, and also a secondary effect of statin treatment.”
What we do know is that CoQ10 supplementation seems to be useful for those taking statins, since it lowers side effects that they often cause. Statins are used to reduce an enzyme in the liver that not only decreases the production of cholesterol but also further lowers the natural production of CoQ10. It’s now widely accepted that CoQ10 can interact with lipid-lowering medications that inhibit the activity of HMG-CoA reductase, a critical enzyme in both cholesterol and coenzyme Q10 biosynthesis. A supplement of CoQ10 is therefore essential to restore natural levels to their optimum and counter the effects of statin drugs.
4. Coenzyme Q10 Can Slow Down Effects of Aging
Mitochondrial ATP synthesis is an important function for maintaining a fast metabolism, strength of muscles, strong bones, youthful skin, and healthy tissue. Tissue levels of coenzyme Q10 have been reported to decline with age, and this is believed to contribute to declines in energy metabolism and degeneration of organs, such as the liver and heart, and skeletal muscle.
Although supplementing with CoQ10 has not been shown to increase the life span of animals that have been tested with it, researchers believe it can slow down the age-related increase in DNA damage that naturally affects us all. More research is still needed to draw conclusions, but possible anti-aging benefits of consuming more CoQ10 include decreased muscle loss, fewer signs of skin damage, and protection from bone or joint injuries.
5. Helps Maintain Optimal pH Levels
Within cells, CoQ10 helps transport proteins across membranes and separate certain digestive enzymes from the rest of the cell, which helps maintain optimal pH. It’s believed that diseases develop more easily in environments that don’t have proper pH levels, specifically those that are not overly acidic.
For several reasons, likely including its ability to maintain proper pH, several studies have found that CoQ10 can help improve overall immune function and might even lower risk for cancer. Starting around the 1960s, researchers began testing the effects of CoQ10 on immune function and found that people with certain types of cancers (myeloma, lymphoma, breast, lung, prostate, pancreas and colon) had reduced levels in their blood. Recently, studies involving adult women with breast cancer found that when patients supplemented with CoQ10, the women’s conditions improved.
6. Protects Cognitive Health
In those with cognitive impairments, such as Parkinson’s disease, increased oxidative stress in a part of the brain called the substantia nigra is thought to contribute to symptoms. CoQ10 has been shown to offset decreases in activity of mitochondrial electron transport chains that affect nerve channels and brain function, and studies show that people with cognitive disorders tend to have reduced levels of CoQ10 in their blood.
Dosage of Coenzyme Q10
- According to a survey done by ConsumerLab.com including over 50 CoQ10 products tested, the suggested daily serving size ranges from 30 milligrams to 1,000 milligrams daily.
- Most experts recommend that adults take at least 200 milligrams daily to experience benefits.
- Those on statins or weighing over 200 pounds should consider a higher dose.
Flowchart of Production
Package and Shipping
- By Express: Suitable for under 50kg, 5-10 days
- By Air: Suitable for more than 50kg, 7-15 days
- By Sea: Suitable for more than 500kg, 15-45days
Why Choose FYZ Coenzyme Q10?
- FYZ is a professional Coenzyme Q10 manufacturer in China, provides private labels service.
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