Sometimes I ask myself why this wonderful antioxidant supplement was given such a technical name, many people feel intimidated by the name alone, thus refusing to take CoQ10. But the truth is that this nutrient is one of the most effective antioxidants and it has been proven to help many serious diseases. In this issue, we will study in depth the benefits and properties that researchers have found in this "vitamin like" substance called Coenzyme Q10.
Probably you haven't even heard the name Coenzyme Q10, or if you have, you don't even know what it does or why you should take it.
The potential and most of the properties found in CoQ10 have been recognized rather recently. CoQ10 is known to scientists as ubiquinol, this is a naturally occurring nutrient normally present in every cell in the body, so it is only logical to believe that it plays an important part in treating many conditions and preventing them.
The body makes CoQ10, but most likely the majority of people don't make it well or enough of it, the good news is that we can absorb CoQ10 from foods, especially fish, and meats (particularly organ meats like liver, kidney, etc., more on this later), the bad news is that most people don't eat these types of meats, plus as we age the body loses it efficiency in manufacturing important nutrients, it has been proven that people suffering from heart diseases and cancer have lower levels of CoQ10, thus supplementation is recommended.
You may ask yourself, why do you call it a "vitamin like substance" and not a vitamin, if it has so many properties? That is a great question, and the answer is that a vitamin is defined as any nutrient that cannot be manufactured by the body (at least not in sufficient amounts) and hence has to be taken by supplementation or by ingesting it through foods, that's the reason why it was not called a vitamin, although my personal opinion is that they should have named it a vitamin.
The role of CoQ10 in our health and body functions
This important nutrient plays two major roles in the body. First, CoQ10 helps in the energy production within each cell. The body, just like a car, needs fuel. Our primary source of fuel is through fats, proteins, and carbohydrates in our diet. After digestion in the stomach, the nutrients from foodstuffs are absorbed into the bloodstream and circulate to various tissues and cells. The cells have to break down the sugars, fats and amino acids in a form that makes energy. This energy production occurs in organelles, or microscopic organ-like structures, called mitochondria, and CoQ10 plays a key role in this activity.
There are hundreds, sometimes thousands, of mitochondria within each cell. In a sense, they are the factories of your cells, with the final product being energy. The energy that is produced is stored in a chemical called adenosine triphosphate, or simply ATP. It is carried by electrons and protons, which are sub atomic particles. These energetic electrons and protons are moved around in cells to their destinations by numerous compounds. CoQ10 is one of the most important compounds.
CoQ10 also serves as an antioxidant, which is its second role. By controlling the movement of electrons, CoQ10 limits the production of dangerous free radicals, which are molecules lacking one electron in what should be a pair. To learn more about free radicals and antioxidants go here http://www.homemademedicine.com/articles/antioxidants.html
So far many researches and clinical studies have shown CoQ10 to be an amazing tool that helps us fight and prevent many dangerous conditions. Among these are:
Congestive heart failure
Coronary artery disease
High cholesterol
High blood pressure
Mitral valve prolapse
Breast Cancer
Periodontitis or Gingivitis
and Fatigue
Another important aspect in the uses of CoQ10, is the prevention of many conditions, CoQ10 helps maintain normal heart function and preventing serious heart disease. Our heart works 24 hrs a day, using lots of energy, to pump blood though the body, and since CoQ10 plays an important role in energy production, it has shown to be a very valuable heart energizing nutrient.
But why doctors don't recommend more the use of CoQ10?
Hundreds of scientific studies have been published on CoQ10, including many involving humans. CoQ10 has also been the subject of ten international scientific and medical meetings. Furthermore, the role of CoQ10 in energy production was basis of the 1978 Nobel prize in chemistry, given to Peter Mitchell, Ph.D.
Unfortunately, most doctors in the US are not familiar with the published research regarding the potential of CoQ10 because many of the journals they read rarely discuss the benefits of this and many other nutrients. The reason for this is very simple, nutrients cannot be patented so they are of very little interest to pharmaceutical companies and drug manufacturing laboratories and these are the companies that sponsor and publish most of the journals read by doctors.
However, traveling around Europe, China, Japan and South America, has shown me that the story is completely different in the rest of the world, where most health-care professionals are treating their patients with heart failure and other conditions by prescribing CoQ10. In fact, CoQ10 is the fifth most commonly prescribed "drug" in Japan.
But how much CoQ10 do we get from foods and is it enough?
Dietary intake of CoQ10 normally ranges from 2 to 20 mg a day. Most of this comes from meats and fish. The richest source of CoQ10 is organ meat, like liver, kidney, and heart. If you don't eat these types of meats, chances are that your body does not have adequate level of CoQ10. Supplements in these cases is recommended. Younger people tend to get enough CoQ10 from food and from their own body production, but as we age the ability of the body to make and absorb CoQ10 drops significantly, for people in the middle age group I recommend a dosage of 30mg a day, although people taking 60 to 100 mg a day have reported a significant improvement in alertness, energy level, motivation, mood elevation, and enhanced focus.
Fortunately, CoQ10 has no serious side effects, 1.5 percent of people taking 60 to 100 mg a day have reported nausea, and insomnia, due to the energizing effects of CoQ10. Also, this wonderful nutrient can be taken for years non-stop with only positive results. I recommend to start slow, with a dosage of 10 mg a day and gradually increase it to the desired dosage or until satisfactory results have been achieved.
I hope this issue helps you come to the conclusion that Coenzyme Q10 is one of most important essential nutrients which are needed for a healthy body and to treat several conditions.
If you are looking into buying CoQ10 from the web, please note that it's very important to get good quality and price, please visit our site to see more recommendations.
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See you next time, in another issue of "The Homemade Medicine E-zine"
Best regards
Charles Silverman N.D. Author of "The Homemade Medicine e-Book 1st Edition" Owner of http://www.homemademedicine.com
The Home Made Medicine e-book and the Home Made Medicine.com Web site were created by Charles Silverman a Naturalist and Herbalist since 1979. Charles is from Miami, FL and has dedicated part of his life to the preparation of natural remedies and natural products, to help people with allergies and chemical intolerance. He has travel around the world from Germany, France, and India, to the mountains of Peru and Argentina (South America), researching and studying the different domestic species of herbs and plants. All his knowledge has been transferred to his web site, and now to this amazing book, that takes advantage of the latest technology in order to bring you the most complete guide ever made.