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The Importance of CoQ10
Article provided by New Chapter & authored by Eliza Secrist,
Certified Nutritionist & Wellness Consultant.
 CoQ10
is essential to energy production in the body. Without sufficient
CoQ10, none of the systems in the body can function optimally because
they simply do not have enough fuel to do their job. The systems most
sensitive to deficiencies are those with high energy needs such as the
cardiovascular and immune systems. In addition to energy production,
CoQ10 also offers important antioxidant protection in the cells. It is
believed that the combination of antioxidant protection and energy
production creates the clinically documented benefits people
experience when they supplement with CoQ10. As with all nutrients, the
most bio-available form is that found in whole food. A recent study
concluded that whole food CoQ10 offered 9.6 times more antioxidant
activity than the isolated chemical USP form found in almost all
supplements.
CoQ10 is a vitamin-like substance required by the body to
transform food into cellular energy. Amazingly, it is so essential
to life processes that, without it, life would cease to exist in a
matter of minutes! How can this be? To answer this question, let's
back up a few steps and take a microscopic look at the cells in our
body. Each of our cells are self-contained little units with their own
tasks, agendas and needs. Just as the whole body requires energy to
work, so does each individual cell. Our cells produce energy to fuel
their work and that, in turn, fuels the entire body. The mitochondria
within each cell are the energy generators. If our cells (or bodies)
were automobiles, the mitochondria would be the engines, and food
would be the gasoline.
This is when
CoQ10, also known as ubiquinone, enters the picture. During
digestion, much of what we eat is converted to glucose to be used as
fuel. However, the mitochondria must further reduce the glucose before
it is usable by the cells. To accomplish this, the cell and its
mitochondria use several complicated processes and substances that
convert glucose to ATP, or cellular energy. CoQ10 is required for
these processes.
Although
CoQ10 may be synthesized in the body and found in food,
deficiencies do exist. Refining and processing robs our food
supply of this essential nutrient. Moreover, to synthesize CoQ10, the
body must have a healthy liver and an adequate supply of other
nutrients that are also often lacking in the diet. Consequently,
after about age 35, CoQ10 levels in the body begin to diminish.
Studies have shown that if levels decline by 25%, our bodies won't
have enough cellular energy to stay healthy. A decline of 75% is
fatal.
To understand the enormous impact
CoQ10 levels have on our health, we must keep in mind that
diminished cellular energy is different from our colloquial use of the
word "energy". In common language, we often say "I don't have the
energy to______." Rarely are we referring to life sustaining
activities. The statement usually refers to leisure activities,
housework, an evening out, or physical exercise. While any of these
things may improve our health, our immediate survival does not depend
upon them. Such is not the case with cellular energy. Our lives do,
literally, depend upon our cells having enough energy to do their
work. Consider for a moment heart cells. Heart cells have one job-to
sustain rhythmic contraction and release in the heart muscle so that
oxygen and nutrient rich blood is delivered to the cells and
oxygen-depleted, carbon dioxide rich blood is carried away. If these
cells don't have enough energy to do their work, you have an
immediate, major, life threatening problem. Your heart cells don't
have the luxury of reclining on the sofa until their "energy" returns!
When scientists and researchers first began to study
CoQ10, they found the highest concentrations in the heart, the
immune system and the liver. This makes sense as these are also the
cells that require the most energy. Focusing on these CoQ10 hungry
cells, research and clinical trials began to reveal some very
impressive findings and results. They first found that people with
poor health have insufficient levels of CoQ10 in their systems while
healthy people have normal levels of this vital nutrient. This
finding lead scientists to explore the effects of supplementing with
oral CoQ10. Truthfully, their findings have been remarkable. A
multitude of clinical trials demonstrated that CoQ10 is very useful in
the treatment and prevention of congestive heart failure, angina,
arrhythmia, myocardial degeneration and high blood pressure. In one
study 80% of patients with severe congestive cardiomyopathy showed
significant improvement after they began supplementing daily with
CoQ10. In another, over 50% of high blood pressure patients were able
to eliminate their hypertension medications after 5 months of daily
CoQ10 use.
The American Heart Association ranks the severity of
a patient's heart disease with a class system. This system ranges from
mild Class I heart disease to severe Class IV heart disease. Often
clinical trials use this ranking system when evaluating their
participants' progress. In England, an eight year clinical trial of
patients with various cardiovascular diseases found 58% of the
participants improved by one Heart Association Class; 28% improved by
two classes! This same study also found significant improvement in the
thickness of the left ventricular wall of the heart and mitral valve
flow.
CoQ10 is such a powerful ally in heart health that Japanese
physicians recommend it regularly to over 12 million of their
patients. Imagine the positive effects of supplementing with CoQ10
before serious problems develop! The Medical Hypotheses journal
published in England suggested that preventative supplements would be
more useful as "insurance" if CoQ10 was regularly included.
Studies on
CoQ10 and the immune system have resulted in similar findings.
Like the cardiovascular system, the immune system is highly
energy-dependent. After all, it has a huge job. Conditions such as
allergies, Candida overgrowth, cancer, AIDS, chronic fatigue, and
periodontal disease are all a result of immune system dysfunction.
Immune system function does decline with age, stress and poor
nutrition. Fortunately, studies reveal that CoQ10's effect on the
immune system is as beneficial as its effect on the cardiovascular
system. Numerous clinical trials have documented an overall
improvement in immune system function among the participants using
CoQ10 daily.
CoQ10 improves function of the cardiovascular and immune systems
simply by providing the cells with the raw material they need to
function optimally. It allows the cells, and therefore the systems, to
express their full potential. Without sufficient CoQ10, these systems
(along with many others) are handicapped. There is simply no way they
can perform their jobs at the level needed to sustain good health-they
don't have the energy!
CoQ10 protects our health in yet another profoundly significant
way. As CoQ10 levels decline, the incidence of symptoms we associate
with aging tend to increase. This is related not just to
insufficient cellular energy, but also to CoQ10's antioxidant
activity. Too little oxygen in a cell results in a lack of energy; too
much results in free radical damage. CoQ10 balances the oxygen through
adding or subtracting oxygen from biologically active molecules. This
is why it is important to actually have more CoQ10 in the cell than is
required for ATP production. The excess CoQ10 is able to offer
superior antioxidant protection while at the same time enabling the
cell to produce its full capacity of energy.
Supplementing the diet with any nutrient is always a
tricky business. There is no question among researchers, scientists
and healthcare providers that the safest, most effective forms of
nutrients are those in whole food forms. The reason for this is
actually quite simple. In food, no one compound occurs in isolation. A
multitude of compounds travel together, supporting and enhancing each
other's efficacy and efficiency. This cooperation naturally produces
checks and balances that promote safety and potency. Conversely, in
most supplements, what you find is one, chemically manufactured,
isolated USP compound. Sometimes companies add a few other ingredients
to support the active ingredient, but that does not even begin to
replicate the complexity and synergy found in whole food. This lack of
complexity and synergy makes it necessary to take much higher doses of
isolated nutrients than one actually needs. This is due to the fact
that we are not certain how much of an isolated nutrient the body is
able to absorb and utilize; neither are we certain how much a
nutrient's efficacy may be diminished by the absence of its traveling
companions.
Thankfully, it is now possible to purchase
supplements that are 100% whole food. In these supplements, there are
no compounds in isolation. All the nutrients are traveling with the
support of their naturally occurring companions and allies. The
synergistic benefits inherent in this "companionship" are multiple.
Dr. Joe Vinson, Professor of Chemistry at University of Scranton,
found that whole food
CoQ10 offered 9.6 times more antioxidant activity than an
identical potency of isolated USP CoQ10. That is a significant
difference! Not only is whole food CoQ10 more bio-available and active
in the body, it also provides the health-enhancing compounds found in
the naturally occurring co-factors or "companions".
The body's need for CoQ10 never diminishes.
As long as we are breathing, we need CoQ10. After a deficiency has
occurred, studies indicate that it takes some time for tissue levels
to rebuild. For this reason, it is advisable to supplement with CoQ10
for at least 5-6 months before evaluating its beneficial effects.
New Chapter’s Whole-Food CoQ10+ Complex formula brings
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The author of this article is Eliza Secrist. She is a Certified
Nutritionist and Wellness Consultant. The former Director of a Women's
Resource Center and the Clinic Manager of a Women's Health Center, she
has been teaching and counseling for 10 years.
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*This statement has not been evaluated by the Food
and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose,
treat, cure or prevent any disease. |
